|
To be a Vincentian is to answer a call from God. This is why we call it a “vocation,” a word which is rooted in the Latin word meaning “to call.” Unlike volunteers, who sign up to do something, we join the Society in order to be something. That is why our Rule explains that this is a “vocation for every moment of our lives.” [Rule Part I, 2.6] Volunteers are volunteers until the task is complete. Vincentians are Vincentians until we are complete. This vocation is our pathway of formation, leading us towards the holiness God wishes for us on our lifelong journey of becoming.
It is natural to wonder, especially when we are new members, whether we are truly called, whether it is truly God’s will for us to be, and to remain, and to grow as Vincentians. St. Vincent believed that we should constantly seek to discern God’s will for us, not only in one moment, but all along our journey. “A calling is a choice God makes of some souls to use them for a certain good work.” He explained. “He then enlightens their understanding, causing them to discern His plan and moving the will to take on this good work.” [CCD XIIIb:417] Discernment means always to pause to reflect, to renew, and to seek God’s will for us, especially as He reveals it through the people and events in our lives.
As a young man, still discerning his own vocation, Frédéric Ozanam did not yet understand that God sometimes chooses to speak to us through other people. He even complained that so many people “wish to make me a sort of leader of the Catholic youth in this country. . . I must be at the head of all endeavors, and whenever there is something difficult to be done, it must be I who bears the burden. Impossible to have a gathering . . .unless I chair it.” [67, to Falconnet, 1834] What seemed so unclear, and perhaps even unfair to young Frédéric seems very obvious to us, but we have the benefit of knowing that all those people saw something real in Frédéric, something he did not yet recognize himself. And the knowledge that they all were right suggests God’s inspiration in their insights.
We all encounter experiences and people whose full meaning in our lives is not clear to us at first. The times that we do recognize God’s hand in our lives should remind us that we cannot know in advance which person the Holy Spirit has inspired, or which event God has chosen to speak through. After all, as Vincent explained, “God uses different means to call persons to His service.” [CCD XIIIb:360] To discern is to open our hearts, along with our eyes and ears, and to always seek God’s will in our lives. To be open to other people is to be open to God.
To grow in holiness is the purpose of the Society, and the goal of our lifelong formation. In our sharing and discernment together, we need not ask God for a sign, but instead pray for the wisdom to understand all of the signs that He has already placed before us
Contemplate
Do I seek God’s will in all of the people and events in my life?
Recommended Reading
Use the Spirituality of the Home Visit to help you discern God’s Will from your Vincentian works
| 
