This week the Church celebrates Vocation Awareness Week. It is a time for us to recall and recommit ourselves to living out our response to God’s call in our lives.

One way is to respond by choosing to live in the single state. Living the Single Vocation is responding to God’s call by living as a chaste, single person. This vocation is a gift to the Church because those who live this vocation are freer to allow God to work through them in the world. They witness to God’s love and presence in their jobs, neighborhoods and relationships.

Another way to respond to God’s call in our lives is to live the sacrament of Marriage. In this sacrament, individuals respond to God’s call in their lives by striving to love their spouse completely and unconditionally. People who live this vocation respond to God’s commandment to love one another as God has loved us. The love of husband and wife is so powerful that new life is created because of the celebration of this love. They witness to the Church about the presence of a God who is always faithful and always there for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for all of eternity.

People who respond to God’s call by living a consecrated life are set aside and choose to live their lives in community and by making vows to Almighty God. They strive to put God first in their lives and witness to God’s love in a world that seeks instant gratification and satisfaction. These consecrated Religious Sisters and Brothers witness to the Kingdom of God in our midst.

The final way to respond to God’s call in our lives is through the ordained life. These men are ordained for service in God’s church and offer their lives in service to the Church and the world. Deacons and Priests offer the gift of their lives to God to help build up His Kingdom and Church. These ordained men are called to be a visible sign of God for the world. They are called to bring God’s loving presence into everyday life in the world. They offer their lives in service to God and His Church.

May we all recommit ourselves to hearing the call of God in our lives and witness to this presence by the way we live our lives.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
Fr. Jim