Vocations Newsletter

“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you…”John 15:16Remembering and celebrating her on Mother’s Day… That’s how I will honor my mother today—remembering how kind she was and celebrating her many gifts, especially the faith she gave me.Some of us are fortunate to have our Moms with us today. Some of us have entrusted her to God and the saints. However you remember your mother today, I will pray for you both at Mass, asking our Blessed Mother in particular to hold you close.We all have special memories of Mother’s Day growing up and I certainly have mine. My mother is the one who first modeled prayer and the Sacraments. She taught me the virtues of respect and compassion, and also forgiveness. Later as an adult and young missioner in Bolivia, I learned new lessons about motherhood. When Bolivians observe Mother’s Day, the world might as well come to a complete stop. You just spend time with your mother—no excuses! Watching their joyous family celebrations, I learned something new. Central to the Bolivians’ understanding of a mother’s love is the connection to their other provider, the earth—a spirit they call Pachamama or Mother Earth. How extraordinary……
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The journey is as important as the destination—an adage that rings ever more true after our past year of enormous sacrifice. So many heroes, caregivers, and prayer—givers dedicated themselves to the healing. Their work has been a special calling, and we are grateful for all they do. They exemplify for me the value and dignity of all work—by the sung and unsung, the known and the unknown. Yesterday was the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker, our steadfast model of the man who understood the dignity of work. He underscores by example the contribution we can each make to the well-being of our communities when we use our God-given skills for the greater good. Some call Joseph the Silent Saint. But through his work he was more than eloquent. Joseph provided for his family with the skills of a carpenter and the devotion of a husband and father who understood he had a noble role to fulfill. In recognition of Joseph’s special calling, the Church celebrates the dignity of all work on May 1. Joseph taught us that work is the way we participate in the creative life of God our Father. Through our work-offering, whatever and wherever that…
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Not many of us have ever owned sheep let alone taken care of sheep—but I have. At one point during my mission days in Peru, I was asked to serve as director of a seminary. As was the custom, when a seminarian arrived to begin his studies, the families would each give a sheep as a gift. Before long, our grounds had become something more than a petting zoo! This city boy had to learn on the fly how to care for his flock.One day I needed to corral the sheep but they just would not respond. The more I tried to move them together, the more they scattered in all directions. “They’re not very smart,” I thought. Seeing my frustration, a wonderful woman who worked in our kitchen and usually took care of the sheep, came out to rescue me. With a deft call to attention, she brought all the sheep back in what seemed like seconds, including the ones who had jumped the wall and were in danger of getting lost.
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The actual meaning of the word “apocalypse” is not "disaster" but “unveiling.” Drawing on John’s prophetic Apocalypse, Keller unveils a “dreamreading” of our current global crisis—particularly the threat of climate change and ecological devastation. John’s text is not a foretelling of future events, but a parable of our present reality, which exposes the deep spiritual roots of these threats.
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