This weekend, we also celebrate all those celebrating a wedding anniversary this quarter. Let us reflect this weekend on what "vocation" means . . .
Prayer for Vocations
What is your vocation? When I started my theology degree, one of my professors asked, "What is your vocation?" My answer, a theology student. "Wrong!" was his thunderous response. He then began to explain the difference between vocation and avocation. Basically, that which you do for a living is your avocation, and that which you ARE at the most basic level of your being is your vocation. For us as Roman Catholics, our being, that which is part of our soul, is our vocation. Sacraments change and add something to our soul. At baptism, our very being is changed so that we now belong to Christ. During the sacrament of matrimony, we are wedding to another human being. Our soul is wedded, not just our person. When a man is ordained, his soul is changed. He becomes a part of Christ in his very being.
So, if someone asks what your vocation is, a more appropriate answer might be, I'm a baptized Christian, or I'm married, or I'm a deacon or priest.
Let us pray...
Good and gracious God,
we became part of you when you claimed us in baptism.
When two of us become married,
you wed us together with you as the third person.
When one of us is ordained,
you implant your very being into us,
a part of your holy Paschal Mystery.
Bless all of us as we live out our vocation to you with our lives and breath.
Bless all of us also as we work in the world in our avocation
so that we may honestly live our vocation in the Church.
We ask all this in Christ's name.
Amen.