'Speak, Lord, your servant is listening'

Intermountain Catholic

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In 1 Samuel 3, verses 1 and following, we read of the call of Samuel while he was under the supervision of Eli the priest. Again and again, Samuel thought that the elderly Eli was calling to him in the night only to discover that it was God himself doing the calling. With Eli’s help, Samuel heard the call of the Lord and responded as he had been counseled, "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening." These words have echoed throughout the ages as human beings have heard the call of the Lord in their lives. It is an amazing phenomenon that Almighty God, completely transcendent and all-powerful, enters into a personal relationship with each of us and calls each of us by name. That is to say that God has a plan for each and every one of us. We are not simply a number or a faceless being here one day and gone the next. Rather, each of us is a unique and unrepeatable life that God loves into existence and for which God has a unique purpose. It is this vocation that is our personal road to holiness, a road that leads to eternal life.

This issue of the Intermountain Catholic deals with the theme of vocation, exploring the great mystery and incredible grace that God has a plan for each one of us. Allow me to give a few brief thoughts on this important theme.

One of the great truths of our faith is that God’s plan for each of us can be discerned and, once we say "yes" to it, God will give us all that we need to bring it to fulfillment in our lives. The first step of this process is to acknowledge that God does indeed have a plan for each and every one of us. This reality is a great antidote to the lack of self-esteem many of us experience. Regardless of how many times we have been put down or of how many failures we have experienced, it is always true that God is continually affirming us through his call for us to live the life that only we can live. God’s plan for each of us is unique and there is nobody in the world – past, present or future – who can fulfill this task but the given individual.

Of course, recognizing that God has a plan for me is only the first step of vocational discernment. The next thing is for me to listen to that call so that I might know what it is. We live in a very noisy world in which it is difficult to hear God speaking to us. In addition, we like to hear ourselves talk and quite often we forget how to listen, to really listen, to the voice of God. All too often we allow the media, commercials and other special interests to tell us what it is we want when in fact only God can make us happy and only God can reveal to us our true vocation, our true path to happiness. Listening to God is the necessary first step in discerning my vocation.

The next step toward vocational discernment is to have the courage to follow God. Once we have heard him we must make the decision to follow him in whatever life God has marked out for us. It is not easy for us to forego immediate pleasures in life and commit ourselves to those goals that will ultimately make us truly happy, but will also demand self-sacrifice, courage and patience. In this society that has grown accustomed to instant gratification it is difficult to eschew immediate pleasures in favor of the pursuit of true happiness in a vocation that will develop our full potential as God intends.

Clearly, it is not easy to discern, much less follow, our true path in life. We need help, the kind of help Samuel had in Eli. Theirs was a special relationship in which Samuel believed that Eli would help him follow God in his life. God used Eli to communicate more clearly to Samuel, who trusted him wholeheartedly. Many of us in the diocese of Salt Lake City are called to be an Eli, or a mentor, for many of our young people as they discern their vocation. It is a special calling to be able to assist a young person in listening deeply to God’s voice within them as they are discerning their vocation in life. It is important for us to take this role seriously and to do what we can to affirm our young people as they seek to understand more clearly what God really wants of them. I would especially see this as being true for parents who have a special relationship of love and trust with their children.

On a final note, I would add that there are a few in our midst whom God is calling to a life of service of God’s people as priests. I ask in a particular way that parents promote the priesthood in their families and encourage their sons to seriously consider the possibility of this beautiful vocation. I understand that parents can be somewhat reticent about encouraging the priesthood at home because they know that the priest’s life is not an easy one, especially in this day and age. At the same time, it is a life of profound joy and incredible fulfillment.

Expressing gratitude to God for all the many and diverse ways that he calls us to follow him, I pray that we in this diocese will make the call to the priesthood a real priority in this local Church where we are in such desperate need of priests. I ask parents to be particularly supportive of their sons who may be considering this vocation.

May the Lord of the harvest continue to bless our diocese with dedicated Catholics who truly seek to follow God’s will in their lives. I commend all who follow Christ as single persons, married couples, religious or ordained. May Christ continue to bless us all in our various walks of life as we pray for the courage and the trust to echo the words of Samuel every day of our lives, "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening."