Our Road to Holiness: Our Vocation
By Father Abraham Feliciano
Back in high school, I had a good friend who was really a wonderful example of a youthful saint. He prayed morning, noon and night, went to daily Mass, regularly prayed the rosary and was extremely virtuous. He was humble, patient, hardworking, generous, and always very kind toward others. Not surprisingly, many people (including me) had him pegged to become a priest. And, while he did briefly consider a priestly vocation, he is now happily married to a lovely lady, and they live a good life together. When some people learned that he was engaged, the comment that was often made was, “He’s too holy to get married!”
One of the greatest misunderstandings that we often have as Jesus’ disciples is precisely what it means to be holy and how this relates to our vocation, whatever that vocation may be. The first point to clarify is that we all have a vocation: to marriage, priesthood, or consecrated life (as a religious brother, sister or single person with vows). God personally calls each and every single one of us to a special way of life that has one primary objective: to get us to Heaven. And, while there are many beautiful roads to Heaven, God Himself has picked one particular path out for every single one of his children that will take us there. For some, the best road is to be married. For others it is to become a religious sister or brother. For still others, it is to become a priest, either diocesan or religious. And finally, there are those who make a formal commitment (often by promise or vow) to life as single people in the world. No one road is better than the other, but together they lead us on the collective journey of faith that God has mapped out to lead us to eternal life with Him. Our Church teaches this to us in a document from the Second Vatican Council entitled “Light to the Word” (or “Lumen Gentium” in Latin):
“Thus it is evident to everyone, that all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity; by this holiness as such a more human manner of living is promoted in this earthly society. In order that the faithful may reach this perfection, they must use their strength accordingly as they have received it, as a gift from Christ. They must follow in His footsteps and conform themselves to His image seeking the will of the Father in all things,” (Lumen Gentium #40)
When we follow our vocation faithfully and enthusiastically, we are following our road to holiness. This is the second key point to bear in mind. Living our life well, with joy and cheerfulness, and doing good for God and others is being holy. St. John Bosco would tell the boys,
“To his dying day man will stay on the road which he chose when he was young, . . . That means if we start out with a good life when we are young we shall remain good through our later years, and our death will be peaceful and open the gate to eternal joy.”
And, while that road that is our vocation, like any other road in life, will have twists and turns, bumps and potholes, we can be sure that if we are on the correct highway that God has called us to, we will be going in the right direction. Moreover, there will be plenty of joys and blessings, like on any good road trip, that will make the journey all the more worthwhile. But, it is paramount that we be on the correct highway. Don Bosco understood the intimate connection between one’s vocation and a life of holiness, and, therefore said,
“In doubts about vocation say to yourself: if I found myself on the point of death what decision would I take? What state would I have desired to embrace where I could the easier save my soul and do good?”
During this month of All Saints and All Souls, let us ask God to help all of us discern our vocation, to give us the courage to accept and follow the vocation he has called us to, and to grant us the strength to persevere in that vocation. If we do so, we can be sure that whatever our vocation may be, as long as we are faithful to it, we will be living a joyful life of holiness. And you can never have too much of that!
One of the greatest misunderstandings that we often have as Jesus’ disciples is precisely what it means to be holy and how this relates to our vocation, whatever that vocation may be. The first point to clarify is that we all have a vocation: to marriage, priesthood, or consecrated life (as a religious brother, sister or single person with vows). God personally calls each and every single one of us to a special way of life that has one primary objective: to get us to Heaven. And, while there are many beautiful roads to Heaven, God Himself has picked one particular path out for every single one of his children that will take us there. For some, the best road is to be married. For others it is to become a religious sister or brother. For still others, it is to become a priest, either diocesan or religious. And finally, there are those who make a formal commitment (often by promise or vow) to life as single people in the world. No one road is better than the other, but together they lead us on the collective journey of faith that God has mapped out to lead us to eternal life with Him. Our Church teaches this to us in a document from the Second Vatican Council entitled “Light to the Word” (or “Lumen Gentium” in Latin):
“Thus it is evident to everyone, that all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity; by this holiness as such a more human manner of living is promoted in this earthly society. In order that the faithful may reach this perfection, they must use their strength accordingly as they have received it, as a gift from Christ. They must follow in His footsteps and conform themselves to His image seeking the will of the Father in all things,” (Lumen Gentium #40)
When we follow our vocation faithfully and enthusiastically, we are following our road to holiness. This is the second key point to bear in mind. Living our life well, with joy and cheerfulness, and doing good for God and others is being holy. St. John Bosco would tell the boys,
“To his dying day man will stay on the road which he chose when he was young, . . . That means if we start out with a good life when we are young we shall remain good through our later years, and our death will be peaceful and open the gate to eternal joy.”
And, while that road that is our vocation, like any other road in life, will have twists and turns, bumps and potholes, we can be sure that if we are on the correct highway that God has called us to, we will be going in the right direction. Moreover, there will be plenty of joys and blessings, like on any good road trip, that will make the journey all the more worthwhile. But, it is paramount that we be on the correct highway. Don Bosco understood the intimate connection between one’s vocation and a life of holiness, and, therefore said,
“In doubts about vocation say to yourself: if I found myself on the point of death what decision would I take? What state would I have desired to embrace where I could the easier save my soul and do good?”
During this month of All Saints and All Souls, let us ask God to help all of us discern our vocation, to give us the courage to accept and follow the vocation he has called us to, and to grant us the strength to persevere in that vocation. If we do so, we can be sure that whatever our vocation may be, as long as we are faithful to it, we will be living a joyful life of holiness. And you can never have too much of that!
