Vidimus Dominum: Sorting out a Vocation?

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Sorting out a Vocation?

(Extracted from "Peter on the Shore" by Rev. Fr. Anthony Bannon, LC)

You are not an island. You have parents, relatives, friends and neighbors, groups you belong to, people who make demands on you. As if that were not enough, you know that our world is not limited to the people we see or the things we feel inside.

We live another life too, the world of the spirit, the world of the interaction - love, interest, salvation - between you and Christ. There is a further interaction - deception, seduction, undoing - that Satan is trying to establish, although he would probably blush if he had to say so in public: you see, that is his private morality and you have no right to question it.

Now, where is this leading us?

You said you think you might have a vocation but you feel you are being pressured. Well, what you have to do is sort out what you mean by that.

Is someone standing over you, waving a finger at you and saying we have a lawyer, we have a doctor and now you are going to be the priest of the family? They say it used to happen in the past, I couldn’t tell. That would be obvious pressure. I’ve never seen it. Or rather I have seen it, but only used in the other direction: Don’t you dare go into the seminary, after all your mother and I have spent on your education...

What is more common for us is to feel a vocation and then to start questioning it. Where did it come from? Was it the Sisters in school? Am I just doing this to please my parents? It seems that I got the thought of a vocation from such and such a circumstance, from someone who mentioned it to me... how can it be a real vocation if I could never have felt it without going on that on retreat?... all those interminable stumpers that seem to force us to conclude, maybe I am thinking or doing this under someone else’s influence, maybe it is not a free decision.

So I think you should look at the root of the pressure you feel. If it is from the outside and nothing more, don’t give it a second thought. Don’t let that be a motive for doing something as important as making a life-decision. If it starts from the outside, but really bothers you because there is something working on the inside too, if your conscience is saying that might be right, then it is time to do something.

It is time to go on your knees if you haven’t done so yet. Because you and your Friend have a lot to talk about.

Labels: Books, Priesthood, Vocation

# posted by Vidimusdominum : Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Comments:

Well! this one is certainly a surpise, and not a bad one! Been a long time since I delved into these matters, and I like the music, but you should put up some gregorian chant on a spearte page, no? Good work.

# posted by

Volpone : Wednesday, February 14, 2007 8:53:00 AM

Indeed, the Legionaries have many good articles and books. I've wanted to upload gregorian chant for the background music but can't seem to be able to find any sources online.

# posted by

Vidimusdominum : Thursday, February 15, 2007 8:53:00 PM

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"A man who fails to love the Mass fails to love Christ. We must make an effort to "live" the Mass with calm and serenity, with devotion and affection. And this is why I have always suspected that those who want the Mass to be over with quickly show, with this insensitive attitude, that they have not yet realized what the sacrifice of the altar means" (St. Josemaria Escriva)

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"...we ought to get back to the dimension of the sacred in the liturgy... the essential in the liturgy is the mystery, which is realized in the common ritual of the Church; all the rest diminishes it. Men experiment with it in lively fashion, and find themselves deceived, when the mystery is transformed into distraction, when the chief actor in the liturgy is not the Living God but the priest or the liturgical director." (Pope Benedict XVI in sermon to Chilean Bishops, 13 July '88)

"Who's going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, and the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops act like bishops, and your religious act like religious." (Abp. Fulton Sheen)

On Ad Orientem: "... When a general leads his troops into battle does he face them? When a representative of the people approaches the Ruler on their behalf does he face them? When a priest is going to the Lord on behalf of his people should he face them? When the priest is acting as the intermediary between the people and God he faces the Altar. When he is dispensing the gifts of God, or speaking to the people, he faces the people." (Fr. Joseph Santos)

"Bad theology is supported by bad liturgy and together they spawn bad morality. As Catholic clergy and as baptized members of the Church, we ask that across the board, our shepherds enforce the universal laws of the church; to protect and serve the people of God by ensuring that every ordained deacon, priest or bishop will act morally, properly and pastorally; defend the deposit of faith as taught by the Magisterium; and insist that reverent and proper celebrations of the sacred liturgy be done everywhere, from seminaries to parishes to cathedrals." (Confraternity of Catholic Clergy)

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O Immaculate Mother, Queen of Heaven, hear the cries of your suffering children in purgatory and intercede for them at the throne of the Almighty. Behold in them, O Mother most faithful, the image of your Divine Son Who offered Himself in their behalf. Recall His bitter passion and death, and see in them His very sufferings. We feel confident, then, O Mother of Mercy, that you will obtain their liberation; so that they, in union with you and the choir of Heaven, may contemplate the Beatific Vision in heaven forever. Amen.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

We need them in life's early morning,
We need them again at its close;
We feel their warm clasp of true friendship,
We seek them when tasting life's woes.
At the altar each day we behold them,
And the hands of a king on his throne
Are not equal to them in their greatness;
Their dignity stands all alone;
And when we are tempted and wander,
To pathways of shame and of sin,
It's the hand of a priest that will absolve us--
Not once, but again and again.
And when we are taking life's partner,
Other hands may prepare us a feast,
But the hand that will bless and unite us--
Is the beautiful hand of a priest.
God bless them and keep them all holy,
For the Host which their fingers caress;
When can a poor sinner do better,
Than to ask Him to guide thee and bless?
When the hour of death comes upon us,
May our courage and strength be increased,
By seeing raised over us in blessing--
The beautiful hands of a priest.

"The priest is the minister of Christ,
an instrument, that is to say,
in the hands of the Divine Redeemer.
He continues the work of the redemption
in all its world-embracing
universality and divine efficacy,
that work that wrought so marvelous
a transformation in the world."

O Jesus, Eternal Priest, keep all Thy priests within the shelter of Thy Sacred Heart, where none may harm them. Keep unstained their anointed hands which daily touch Thy Sacred Body. Keep unsullied their lips purpled with Thy Precious Blood. Keep pure and unearthly their hearts, sealed with the sublime marks of Thy glorious priesthood. Let Thy holy love surround them and shield them from the world's contagion. Bless their labors with abundant fruit, and may the souls to whom they have ministered be here below their joy and consolation and in Heaven their beautiful and everlasting crown. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, in Your infinite love You instituted the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the Last Supper. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, You continue to pour forth the same graces and spiritual blessings that once flowed from the Sacramental Fountain of Your opened side. Lord, we thank You for manifestating Your Divine Love for us by becoming Sacramentally present in the Eucharistic Species. We beseech You, our Almightly Lord and King, to defend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass from all abuses and sacrileges. Arise Lord, and deliver us, we humbly pray, from these detestable and abominable acts of impiety that threaten the blessed memory of Your sorrowful passion, cruel death, and glorious resurrection. Send forth Your Holy Spirit to illuminate the hearts of all Your priests. Give them a spirit of reverence, humility, patience and love. Enkindle in their hearts a more fervent love for the Eucharist. Lord, You are the True Light of the world, radiate Your Light now to dispel the traps and snares that the evil one has set before Your priests. We pray especially pray for Your priest(s), N., the shepherd(s) to whom You have entrusted the duty of the salvation of souls. O Lord, grant all of us true faith. May we always celebrate the Eucharist in reverence, love, care, devotion, and orthodoxy. St. Peter Julian Eymard, St. Francis Fasini, St. Padre Pio, St. Josemaria Escravia, St. Benedict, and all ye other Eucharistic Saints, pray for us! Amen.

-Paul Domingo Molina

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Vidimus Dominum

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Sorting out a Vocation?

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