Word to the Wise
Saturday, July 13, 2024 - Saturday in the 14th Week in Ordinary Time
[Isa 6:1-8 and Matt 10:24-33]Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" "Here I am," I said; "Send me!" [Isaiah]
More than 53 years ago, I had those words of Isaiah's call printed on one of the "souvenir" cards that are customarily given at one's ordination to the priesthood. Was I hearing "voices" when I entered religious life after graduating from college, and then went through seven more years of study to ordination? No, but the idea wouldn't leave me alone until I tried it, and I'm still trying. The biblical accounts of God "calling" a person to preach and serve can have the effect of expecting the same ourselves. Often, in my years of campus ministry, I have heard a student say, "I wish God would tell me to...." or "I just want to do the will of God....." And I have had to reply that the very fact that he or she is considering something may indeed be the "call" they are looking for. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, St. Paul, etc. etc. are not the ordinary examples.
The ordinary "call" to active discipleship comes with our baptism. The Second Vatican Council gave special emphasis to the importance of this sacramental event - a universal call to holiness. The specific ways in which we can respond to this call are left to discernment. Sometimes it may be necessary to talk to a trusted spiritual advisor or to a career counselor to help sift through the many alternatives. Those refer to careers. The "deeper" calls to marriage or religious life require faith and trust in God and in love.
After nearly sixty years as a Dominican friar and fifty-three years as a priest, I realize that I made the right choice for me, but I have to realize that every day. I thank Isaiah, however, for putting it into words. AMEN