Vocations Newsletter

Oh, that today you would hear his voice: “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works.”Psalm 95: 7-9Do I really want to be tested? Does anyone? The answer to my Sunday morning rumination is obvious. “God, please don’t test me too much! Just enough to know I’m worthy of your love.”When the Israelites left Egypt, their journey became more difficult than what they bargained for. Some wanted to turn back. And isn’t that us at times? When life takes an unwanted turn, we immediately want to know where God is and ask, “Why is this happening to me? How do I get out of this mess?”
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“Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior.”Psalm 25:4-5Last week we talked about the first intuition we had of God’s presence in our lives—and how that insight matches perfectly with our own very human desire for fulfillment. Today, I’d like to dwell on the scripture from the Book of Psalms that gives us a path forward.“Teach me your ways…” We say this in prayer all the time. We ask the Lord to show us how to better reflect his love and compassion. And we pray for the strength to witness that love even when it’s hard.This is what we pray for—an understanding of what God is calling us to be, and the courage to accept the invitation. We pray about it because witnessing God’s love isn’t always easy, right? Jonah is a good example of how our lives can go off track. Today’s reading needs a little context but it’s still a teaching moment. Jonah had disobeyed God and found himself in a tight spot. But God being God, Jonah got a second chance. When he obeyed God’s will by going to…
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This compelling account of the life-and-death struggles migrants face in the United States demonstrates how broken the system is, and the deep harm that it does to struggling families and communities. Author and lawyer Linda Dakin-Grim, who represents children and families pro-bono in immigration proceedings, offers a proposal informed by Catholic faith for a comprehensive immigration reform and shows how ordinary people can contribute to solving this difficult and polarizing issue.
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“Come, and you will see. “So they went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.”’John 1:39John’s Gospel is so precise about the exact time the apostles stayed with Jesus and came to understand that he was the Messiah. How did John know that?I have always been amused by this scripture. And it makes me think: What time was it when I first saw God? When I first understood that I was being called to glory? Here’s one I can think of: When I was just a kid in grammar school, my hero was a priest that I knew. The way he loved and cared for people was amazing to me and I wanted to be just like him. Another moment came later in life. As a young adult in formation to become a Maryknoll priest, I was assigned to Peru for overseas training. The first time I got off the boat, after crossing Lake Titicaca, I knew immediately that I had come home. And eventually that’s where I would spend 20 years of my life, serving the Aymaran community and experiencing the power of God’s presence.In the…
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