God, at His very essence, is Love. Made in His image and likeness, we too, are called to imitate that love. "[Man] is 'the only creature on earth that God has willed for [his] own sake,' and he alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God's own life. It was for this end that he was created..."
(CCC 356). Each person is called to this vocation of Love and all other vocations stem from this first vocation.
The model of this vocation is Jesus Himself. From the Incarnation to the Resurrection, Jesus never ceased to love. He walked the streets of Bethany and Judea. He saw the stains of sin on souls, but those stains never held Him back. He healed the eyes of the blind. He helped the lame walk and sinners to return to the Father. It wasn't fear that brought them back to union with God. It was Love. "[Love] is a unity"
(I Believe in Love (IBIL), 156). It is love which draws souls into union with God and into union with one another. We are together in the Body of Christ and our source is Love.
Our greatest devotions are often times our greatest struggles. If you look at any devotion in the Church, whether it be to the Sacred Heart, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Divine Mercy or the Cross, it's source is Love. Often times we struggle to love. We struggle to love ourselves and those around us. But when we take a step back, pray for the grace to see souls the way that the Lord sees them, then, we truly begin to love. However, we must remember that the "desire to love is already to love." We would not have a desire to love if we did not already love in the first place. And the Lord, as great as He is, "cannot fail to fulfill, beyond even our greatest hopes, a desire that He himself has inspired"
(IBIL, 117 & 118).
"Truly to love someone is sincerely to will good for him, whatever feelings we may have at the moment"
(IBIL, 153).
To truly foster first a vocation of love and secondly a vocation to the married life or religious life, we must set aside ourselves and our own will. For it is not ourselves who know best what will aid our brothers and sisters in Christ, but the Lord. We are simply vessels and must see ourselves as such. To do so, we must humble ourselves, remembering that we are dust and to dust we shall return. "Humility is an abyss which attracts torrents of grace, which attracts Jesus Himself into a soul"
(IBIL, 126). When we humble ourselves, we simplify our lives. "Simplicity creates an agreeable atmosphere for everyone, put people at their ease, brings hearts back together. This is because it presupposes a true forgetfulness of self"
(IBIL, 130). The more we are empty of ourselves, the more we can be full of Love.
The Lord grants us the desires of our hearts. He will not call us to a vocation which we do not desire. Truth be told, we desire to love and to be loved. Actually, we long for it. Our hearts seek it everyday and how that longing is fulfilled reveals where the Lord is calling us.
Whether we are in our permanent vocation or still seeking one, we must foster vocations. First and foremost a vocation to love. If you look to Our Lady or any of the great saints, you will see that their lives permeated love and it was from that love that their vocations sprang forth. When we foster a vocation of love, we foster a love relationship with Him who created us. It is our obligation to foster a vocation of love. If we fail to do so, we inadequately live out the faith we profess. We do a great disservice to our brothers and sisters when Love is not the forefront of our lives. Let us radiate Love to and be edified by one another so as to build up the Kingdom of God.
From fostering vocations of Love we foster vocations to the Church. Each vocation in its fullness fosters love and promotes all other vocations, whether it be to the priesthood, religious life, married life, or single life. May we constantly speak of vocations and discernment, for these things are universal and are asked of us every day.
We are together in the Body of Christ and our source is Love.
When awake in the morning, our source is Love. When we discern our vocation, our source is Love. As we foster vocations, our source is Love. As we go throughout our day, our source is Love. As we unite generations, our source is Love. As we blend traditions, our source is Love. And as we journey to our eternal glory, our source is Love.
Written by Alycia, Special Events Coordinator for the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm
