Timothy Radcliffe / Vocations

I've been reading some articles lately by Timothy Radcliffe, former Master of the Dominican Order, and there's a new one in the latest issue of the online Catholic Herald - Our vocation is to share in God’s happiness. The article, the first in a series, describes vocations, callings and answerings, and while it may seem off topic for those not interested in being a vowed religious, I think it has relevance for anyone who might wonder if their life has a purpose or meaning. Here below is the beginning of the article .....

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In the Church, we sometimes say that everyone has a vocation. But that’s not quite right. It’s more accurate to say that everyone is a vocation. We often think that our existence is a bald fact. But it isn’t. To exist at all is to be called by God. A star would not exist if God had not called it into being. There is a lovely passage in the Book of Baruch where God sees the stars and they joyfully cry out: “Here we are! Here we are!” The stars say “yes” to God. And everything that exists – including our own apparently insignificant lives – is a “yes” to the God who calls.

What’s odd about human beings is that we don’t just say “yes” by existing; we also say “yes” with our words. God speaks a word to us and we reply with words. And that, in fact, is why we were created: to answer God’s word. This human vocation, which we all share regardless of our particular calling, is expressed in the beautiful Hebrew word hineni, which means, “here I am”. When God calls Moses from the burning bush, Moses replies: “Hineni.” When Isaiah hears a voice asking “Whom shall I send?” he replies: “Hineni. Send me.” So, the human vocation is to say “here I am” when God calls.

We live at a time when there is an awful loss of confidence in the meaning of human existence .... Vocations to the priesthood and religious life are a sign that every person is living a story that leads to God. They are signs to people who see their life going nowhere. They may be stuck in boring jobs. Their marriages might be going wrong. They may have been diagnosed with cancer. When they reach these moments of disaster, they ask: “What is the point?” The lives of priests and religious offer an answer. They say: “I have put myself in the hands of God, because I believe my life is heading towards him.” Such vocations are a tremendously vital sign to anybody who feels their life is disintegrating .....

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