God's Promise to Be with Moses and with Us

In today's first reading, Exodus 3: 1-6, 9-12, Moses encounters God in the burning bush.  curious that the bush is not being consumed, Moses approaches the bush, saying to himself: "I  must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned."  As he approaches the bush, he hears a voice announcing his name"   "Moses! Moses!   ...'Here I am,'  Moses responds.  "Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.  I am the God of your father,..., the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."  God then tells Moses that he has heard the people's cry and is aware of the fact that the Egyptians are oppressing them. He wants Moses to lead God's chosen ones out of Egypt. Moses questions God:  "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?"  God says to him: "' I will be with you."

Imagine being Moses, a man in hiding out of fear of being killed by Pharaoh for killing an Egyptian in retaliation for his murder of one of Moses' kinsman. "Me go back into Egypt?  You have got to be kidding, God! I killed a man there!  I will be put to death!" God, of course, knows Moses' past crime and yet chooses him to confront Pharaoh and to lead the Israelites out of slavery!  Our sins are not a deterrent for God's choice of us to do the work of liberating others from that which enslaves them.  In fact, God has liberated Moses from his sinful past and empowers him to be a liberator with God's help.  The same is true for us! Or is it? Do we cooperate with God when God calls us to partner with Him?  Or do we resist, offering God every excuse in the book of why there is no way that we can do what he is asking of us?

What if Mary has said no to God?  What if Jesus had likewise refused to become one of us and show us the way to the Father and reveal the Father's love for us?  Both Mary and Jesus, however, said yes! They held nothing back! Nothing!

What am I, what are you, willing to do for God, for other's well-being, in accord with God's will for us and them, namely that we be reconciled to God and one another, that we become recipients of the fullness of life that Jesus came to give us?

Discernment: What Vocation is Right for Me?

In discerning which vocation you believe is right for you, I recommend that you look at how God has been present in the major events of your life thus far.  Those places and events in which you found God are clues to God’s call.  God is always present. God is always searching for you. God is always ready to respond to your desires for peace and love and fulfillment. God wants you to blossom into the person God created you to be.

 Where have you felt most like yourself? Where have you experienced a deep sense of meaning and purpose. Where and when and with whom have you said to yourself: “This is it.” “This makes sense to me.” “ I feel one with my Creator God.” “I feel a sense of goodness welling up in me.” “This is for me!”   “I can grow in this way of life!”  “Yes, I believe that I can become my best self as a single person committed to this particular profession.” “When I think of becoming a woman/man religious within this particular community devoted to the mission God entrusted to them, I feel a deep sense of peace. I find God here!”  Or maybe you are saying to yourself: “I can see  this woman/man as my spouse. I feel a wholeness when I am with this person. I feel hope-filled with him/her. Together, I believe that we can build a life of faith, grow in love and support one another in our professions. “This feels right for me!”

When you hear such messages, are you not hearing God, sensing God, knowing that God is calling you to seriously consider that call?

Discernment: God's Call in the Ordinary Events of Life

Both of today’s Scriptures, 1 Samuel 9: 1-4, 17-19; 10: 1a and Mark 2: 13-17, are about being called by God.  Saul was out looking for his father’s donkeys when he was called by Samuel and anointed for the purpose to which God was calling him, that is, to be king of the Jews or, in the words of 1: Samuel 10: 1a,  “commander over his heritage.”  Levi was collecting taxes and, yes, pocketing some of the money, when Jesus walked by his station and called him to be one of the apostles.  

Where were you when God called you to the vocation you have chosen, whether that is marriage, religious life, priesthood, or the single life?  I was in eighth grade and, out of the blue, I knew that I was called to be a Sister.  At age 20 that call became a reality for me when I made first vows as a Sister of the Sorrowful Mother; five years later I made that commitment permanent.   Many years later I found out the origin of my call. After being a full-fledged Sister of the Sorrowful Mother for many years, and perhaps when I was in my 30s or 40s,  I heard in prayer from my identical twin sister (who returned home to heaven at age 2 ½) that my religious vocation was a gift from her. She wanted me to experience the intimacy with God that she enjoys.  And religious life provides all kinds of opportunities to grow in that intimacy. I have been truly blessed.  I cherish the vocation to which I was called, not that it is better than any other vocation but it is God’s will for me.  It’s choosing that vocation to which God is calling you that will give you the fullness of life, the peace, the joy, that God wills for you.

Which vocation is right for you?

Discerning a State in Life

Are you discerning the direction you want to take in life?  Are you wanting God to show you what He is asking of you?  Broadly speaking, in any state in life, God asks you to “act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6: 8).  But how do you go about discerning to which State in Life God is calling you.

Sister Clare Wagner, OP, identifies four key points connected to discerning one’s state in life:

1.      Listening to God’s purpose

2.     Listening to your heart

3.     Listening to the data available and

4.     Listening to the decision being made in you  (emphasis is mine)

(Source: “Make a difference! A guide for life choice,” National Religious Vocation Conference, 1995)

 I will develop each one of these over the next four discernment blogs.

“Listening to God’s purpose”:  From the quote from Micah, it is obvious that God desires justice toward the oppressed, the orphaned, the widowed, those  who are treated with disdain, the “have nots” of society, the marginalized, against whom society discriminates. His purpose is that all people are set free from bondage of any kind and that hungers for righteousness are addressed.  Love is to triumph over hatred in every segment of society.  No one is to be excluded from one’s love.

If I am “acting justly, loving tenderly and walking humbly with my God”, if I am following Jesus’ way, then, truly, I am making a difference in the world as did Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day, St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi and, yes, the Foundress of my own religious community, Mother Frances Streitel.  Do you want to make a difference in the world as did these men and women?  Do you want to make Jesus’ mission to the poor, the sick and the outcasts of society your own mission? Do you want to participate in the mission of Jesus to bring fuller life to others by revealing God’s love for all, especially the poor (Mission Statement of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, 2013)?

Do you see yourself abandoning all to serve the poor and the needy of this world---needy in any area of their lives—and giving your all to bring fullness of life to yourself and others,  excluding no one from experiencing God’s love through you?