Fairly soon here I won’t be a student any more, although I may choose to remain one at a later date. Also Advent is a season of preparation, therefore they nicely coincide together along with my brief bouts of insanity and quick wits.
Picture a time when you have no idea what you want to do, what God wants you to do, or something else to make it a list of three. Then you have pictured the nice flowing breeze of being human for some of us (me in particular). My largest misunderstanding about this is that in order to think seriously about a topic one must go off on tangents so much so, that no one else may follow as rapidly, this may be to solve embarrassment or world hunger; I forget which it is. Policing my mind for something useful on the subject of discovering one’s vocation will get me nowhere, for if I knew the answer it wouldn’t be an interesting subject. I do at least have some pieces of advice for someone determined to go forth (or fifth if you prefer).
First, pray to God. Sincerely pray to God, like, always. I don’t care if you’re an atheist or a mellowwinglin’te or even if you’re sane, but God does. Talk to Him, surrender to Him, and finally make sure it is Him and not the other one.
Second, figure out how you want to serve others, and how you can serve others. If you’re in a coma or purgatory then just praying on behalf of others can be your goal. Once you figure out how you want to serve others it really makes the paths of accessible realities a much shorter and comprehendible list.
Third, figure out if you want to be married or if you are willing to become a ‘Eunuch for the sake of the Kingdom’ and make sure you pray about this one too. This may further limit your searches for a person or a community that will help you achieve your goals.
Fourth, learn what your good at, and learn what you will need for the paths you see before you. If you start preparing for one path and all of a sudden the roads are all blocked, pray to determine whether it is you, God, or the devil doing the blocking and make the wise decision.
Fifth and last, is just jump. That scene in the Indiana Jones movie about the holy grail, something like “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, where he has to cross a ravine with an invisible bridge may come to mind. Just remember there may not be a bridge, but if you are working in the light of righteousness, there will be angels. BTW for those who do not understand metaphors, DO NOT JUMP OFF OF BRIDGES. Do not commit suicide, for scripture says ‘do not test the Lord your God’. I simply mean that if you are righteous you have God to rest upon, so that taking risks may be the right course of action, but this does not excuse you from being sensible about taking risks or what risks to take.
There are a lot words with serious content here, don’t expect this to become a habit for me. I am not a perfect son of God, my views may not perfectly express the views of the Catholic Church. If you misuse or use this advice I am not liable for consequences. If you feel the need to thank, thank God; If you feel the need to blame, blame yourself. If the author of this article has made a mistake please comment in a polite tone so that I may not walk in error or lead others to error.
May God bless,
Joshua Fahey
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