VOCATION AWARENESS WEEK
As Catholics, we firmly believe that God has a plan for our lives! God calls some to marriage, some to the priesthood, and others to religious life or to live as generous single people. Fully living out our own vocations, and teaching young people how to discern God’s call, is a serious duty, but also a joyful one.
During this week, please pray and encourage the young people in your life—children, grandchildren, students, and friends—to be open if God calls them to the priesthood and religious life.
EVERYONE HAS A DIVINE VOCATION
“Jesus has a specific task in life for each and every one of us. Each one of us is hand-picked, called by name by Jesus! There is no one among us who does not have a divine vocation! Some are called audibly by God, but the usual kind of call is internal, through the inner working of the Spirit.”
—Homily by Pope Saint John Paul II
FOOD FOR THOUGHT (continued)
The wellness industry is redefining the concept of purity as what you consume, rather than the moral state of your soul. This new use of the word purity to describe only the material world feels hollow. There may be some ritual comfort in collecting crystals or forgoing meat, but they are not substitutes for paying attention to our souls. Do you know a single woman who would prefer to be married to an adulterous vegan husband than a faithful husband who consumes the occasional hamburger?
In its worst form, wellness purity allows us to escape from our own moral impurity rather than make a genuine attempt to be a better person. Buying and consuming organic fruit smoothies is expensive, but it’s easy. Making an earnest attempt to confront one’s own moral failings and to be held accountable for them is challenging and uncomfortable—even if the financial cost is almost nothing.
The challenge for contemporary Catholicism is to reclaim ground that has been ceded to the wellness industry. Our faith tells us that embracing the virtues of confession is a great form of self-care. After all, sin hurts our relationship with God and with those around us. Therapy may be good for your mental health, and diets good for your body, but the Sacrament of Confession is still the way toward purity for your soul.