S JESUS CALLING YOU TO BE A
SERVANT?
By Rev. Thomas J. Richter
First Lesson: You must encounter Christ
•
One experiences the beauty of God’s call in a moment of grace
which could be defined as “falling in love.”… It is only when a
young man has had a personal experience of Christ that he can
truly understand the Lord’s will and consequently his own
vocation.
- Pope Benedict XVI
World Youth Day in Cologne
•
Discovering one’s vocation is not a navel-gazing, self-focused,
psychological exercise. It’s not about figuring something out, It
is not about solving a confusing puzzle. It is about meeting a
person: the person of Christ. Then, Christ reveals His chosen
vocation to the man.
So, where do you encounter Christ? You encounter Him in the
sacraments and in silent prayer.
•
“ Discovering one’s
vocation is not a
navel-gazing, selffocused,
psychological
exercise. It’s not
about figuring
something out, It is
not about solving a
confusing puzzle.”
Second Lesson: Learn to desire what God
desires for you
• Seeking God’s will must include the
desire to do it. The first step is to
want to be faithful to the Lord.
• Trust in the goodness of the Father.
This is the needed fundamental
disposition for anyone who wants to
know his/her vocation.
“All you need is to desire whatever God may desire for you. Remaining true to this desire opens
your heart to receive what God wants for you. Then, God himself will take care of you.”
Third Lesson: Trust God
•
•
•
•
You can’t receive your vocation until you trust in God.
(Mt. 14:22-33)
The classroom of dependence is the place where God
wants you to receive His help, where He wants you to
experience Him taking care of you, where He wants you to
let Him do something for you. And He will, if you trust
Him in that place.
How does your heart trust when you enter this classroom
of dependence? What is the choice you make?
“ When the thought
of your vocation
comes to your
mind, dwelling on
it over it over
trying to control it
or trying to get rid
of it, then you will
be choosing not to
trust.”
Fourth Lesson: It takes time
• Coming to know what God wants for us takes
time. It is a process. Following God is not
about a one-time experience.
• God’s will becomes known to us over a
period of time. It is easy for a man to get
focused on the question, “Am I supposed to
be a priest or sister? Yes or no?” This usually
causes one to feel pressure and anxiety to
figure out this “problem.”
• One needs a listening heart and patience to
know and do God’s will.
• The Father simply wants you to trust Him
enough to take the next step, not the 10th or
20th step.
“The Father simply
wants you to trust Him
enough to take the next
step, not the 10th or the
20th step. He wants you
to focus on going from A
to B, not on going from
A to Z. When you take
that step, Jesus will
reveal the next one.”
Fifth Lesson: Your peace is found in Jesus
• The first desire of the risen Christ for His followers was for them to have
peace.
• “ Peace be with you.” (John 20:19)
• Christ’s presence is enjoyable; it gives us peace, stillness, clarity and
gratitude.
Sixth Lesson: Your fear is from the Spirit
against Christ
• God does not reveal Himself
through fear, pressure or
confusion. This is where the
spirit against Christ reveals
himself.
• (Luke 1:26-30)
Seventh Lesson: God’s will is found in your
will when you are in Christ
• The thoughts, feelings and
desires one has within the
experience of peace and
stillness in the presence of
Christ are God’s thoughts,
feelings and desires.
• In order to know God’s will,
one simply needs to pay
attention to one’s thoughts,
feelings and desires when one is
experiencing the peace,
stillness, clarity and gratitude
found in Christ’s presence.
“God’s will, His desire for you is
not out there somewhere! It is found
in your own desire when you are in
Christ! That is the will of God for
you!”
Eighth Lesson: The will of the spirit
against Christ is revealed in fear
• As the seventh lesson
stated, God does not reveal
Himself by fear or through
fear. God reveals His
desires to us and draws us
by a peaceful presence.
“God does not scare a man into the priesthood,
nor does He scare a man into a marriage. God
does not scare a man into celibacy, nor does He
scare him from celibacy. God does not scare
anyone into anything.”
• The spirit against God, not
God, reveals his desires in
fear. He leads us by a fear
flowing from a false belief,
a lie.
“The spirit against Christ drives a man by a fear of
something false, while the spirit of Christ draws a man
by a peaceful presence to something that is true.”
Ninth Lesson: You must stand firm in faith
in what you have received from God
• This lesson is about choosing to follow the spirit of God or choosing to
follow the spirit against God.
• The need to stand firm in faith in what you have received in your heart
from God.
“This is the essential choice.
If one does not make this choice,
his spiritual life
will be the experience of a ping
pong ball, bouncing back and
forth,
believing one desire one day and
the opposite one the next He will
be a confused man.
Tenth Lesson: Jesus speaks to you through
the Church
• Every vocation must be confirmed by the Catholic Church.
• Christ speaks to each individual human heart, but he also speaks most
authoritatively to the heart of his bride, the Church.