Christian Vocation
IntroductionA Christian Vocation is a call from God to each baptized person to live life as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ. Vocational choice starts when we are very young. Parents, teachers, and other interested adults ask the child, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" A child thinks about and pretends to be many things. That is what children do. It's fun. As the young person gets older he or she begins to focus more seriously on the possibilities that experience, education, and personal preferences bring.
Discovering one's call is a very natural but deliberate process. Choosing a vocation in life is really about listening to God's voice and making a number of choices. Christian Vocational Choice is the process of discerning those choices of life style and ministry that come from baptism. Career Choice is the process of making those educational and activity choices that will lead to gainful employment and service to society. Christian Life Style Choices When we talk about a life style from a Christian point of view we are talking about three ways a Christian can live his or her life. They are the single life, the married life and the vowed life. There is no other way a baptized Catholic Christian can live his or her life. God calls most people to marriage; some God calls to the single life style, and others are called to vowed life. As a single person, as a married couple, as a vowed religious or as a priest the Christian is called to live the Gospel life as a witness to the love of God for all people. The Christian life style choice is the response by an individual to his or her Baptism. Jesus gave us the sacrament of Baptism to celebrate our life as a disciple of Jesus Christ and share in his mission offer worship to God, to proclaim the Gospel, and to live as a child of God. We proclaim in the Rite of Baptism that the baptized person is a Priest, Prophet and Royal Person. In Baptism we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. (1Peter 3:17-21) The symbol of water is to remind us that with Jesus we die to sin and come out of the water as Jesus came out of the tomb at the Resurrection. By Baptism the Christian shares in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. (Romans 6:1-11ff) The Christian life styles share three fundamental Gospel values: poverty, obedience and chastity. By poverty we understand that Jesus calls us to live simply like the lilies of the field (Matthew 6:19-21). We are called to share what we have so that no one has to go without (Acts 2:41-47). The single person is responsible for his or her own upkeep and shares with those in need from his or her own resources. The married couple is dependent on each other and care for each other and their family, while sharing from their resources with those who are less fortunate. The vowed Religious gives up ownership and contributes his or her energy and work for the good of the community. The religious is dependent on the community for his or her needs, while the community uses its resources to care for the poor. By obedience we understand that all obey the laws of God, the Church and society. The married couple lives in obedience to each other while the vowed Religious lives in obedience to the rule of the religious community and those placed in authority in the community. By chastity we understand that all are called to live a pure and chaste life according to their life style. The single person who is preparing for marriage or sees marriage as an option will want to meet other possible partners. A single Christian person will relate to other with respect and appropriate gestures of affection. The Christian single understands that intimate sexual activity and expression is reserved to marriage. The single person holds the gift of sexuality as a noble sharing in the loving action of God in creating new life. The vowed Religious also lives a chased life expressed through the sacrifice of celibacy for the sake of the kingdom, as does the ordained priest. By the vow of celibacy the vowed religious and the ordained priest the possibility of marriage and the physical expression of their sexuality. Priestly lifeORDAINED MINISTRY
There are many ministries in the Church. The ordained ministry refers to the ministry of bishops, priests and deacons who have been especially commissioned through the sacrament of Holy Orders to serve in the sacramental and leadership ministries of the church. The foundational ministry in the Church is that of the priesthood of Jesus Christ, who is one High Priest (Hebrews 5:1-10). Jesus was chosen by his Father to be our savior and redeem us by his life, death, and resurrection. He won for us forgiveness of sins by his suffering through obedience (Philippians 2:1-11). All of the baptized share in the priesthood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:1-9). By our baptism we are called to act as prophets and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. By our Baptism we accept a special relationship to God the Father as daughters and sons with Jesus as our brother. By our Baptism we form a royal family called the children of God, a royal priesthood with Jesus as our high priest (Hebrews 5:4-10). The Christian communities founded by the first century Apostles and disciples of Jesus developed into “churches” (rendered ekklesia in the New Testament). In Acts of the Apostles and the Letters we find the beginnings of the institutional church and its early organization and ministry. A good example of the Church organizing itself can be found in Acts of the Apostles (cf.: Acts 1:15-26 Matthias appointed an Apostle to replace Judas, Acts 2:42-47, Acts 4:32-37 description of the Jerusalem community its prayer life and structure, Acts 6:1-7 the commissioning of the first deacons, Acts 11:1-18 the Church is open to all, Acts 15:1-35) the first Council of the Church.) The ordination of a priest (Bishop, Deacon) is celebrated with a gesture, the laying on of hands. This simple gesture was used in the early Church as a sign of commissioning Acts 6:1-7, Acts 13:1-6 , 1 Timothy 4:14-16 . The person by the laying on of hands was being sent out to do a mission. When we refer to “ordained priesthood” we understand that it is made up of three ranks or “Holy Orders”: Bishop, Priest and Deacon. The priesthood is responsible for the sacramental ministry in the Church, the ministry of teaching and preaching and the ministry of leadership and authority. Each of the orders has particular responsibility for leading the community in the celebration of the sacraments. While the Bishop can celebrate all of the sacraments, he has particular responsibility for the sacrament of Holy Orders, Confirmation and the Eucharist. The Bishop is the only one who can ordain another Bishop, a priest or a deacon. He is responsible for the celebration of the Eucharist and shares that responsibility with the priest. The Priest is responsible for the celebration of the Eucharist, the sacrament of Reconciliation, witnessing the sacrament of marriage. He can also baptize. The Deacon is responsible for the celebration of the sacrament of Baptism and he an also witness marriage. The Bishop is the primary teacher and authority in the Church.He delegates some of this responsibility to the priest and deacon, but his role can be compared to that of the Apostles of the Apostles of Jesus. Hiereus is a Greek word, which means priest. The Catholic Church is hierarchy that it is a priestly rule. That does not mean that Bishops, priests or deacons are better that anyone else. In the Church authority, leadership, teaching and preaching are all ministries of service as Paul teaches in the letter to the Ephesians: And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ… (Ephesians 4:11-12) Leadership in the early Christian communities was the ministry of the Apostles and early disciples of Jesus. As the Gospel message spread beyond Jerusalem leadership developed. The apostles and disciples established small communities wherever they traveled. Soon these communities needed organization and leadership. This became the ministry of the Elders (presbyteros in Greek). Paul began to appoint certain individuals episkopos (a Greek word meaning overseer) to manage the community. Paul appointed Timothy as episkopos or Bishop of the community living in the area of the town of Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:1-4) and Titus s Bishop on the island of Crete (Titus 1:1-9). The first century communities disciples of Jesus understood the priesthood to be necessary for the Church. The Church of the Apostles especially the Apostle Paul understood that leadership and teaching authority was vested in the episkopos, (a Greek word for overseer or supervisor)and the presbyteros (the Greek word for elder). The Apostles appointed assistants they called diakonos, literally waiters at table Acts 11:1-18. Over the first centuries of the Christian Era these ministries developed into the ministries we understand today as Bishop (episkopos), Priest (presbyteros) and Deacon (diakonos). The early Christian communities through the teaching of Paul and the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke, and John understood that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is celebrated in the breaking of the bread which would develop into the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The earliest description of this ritual is found in Paul’s first letter to the community of Corinth. For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." (1Corinthians 11:23-25) See also Mark14:22-24, Luke 22:15-20, Matthew 26:26-29, and John 6) LITURGICAL MINISTRY Liturgical ministry refers to service rendered by a minister in a liturgical service such as at the Mass. There are three ordained liturgical ministers: Bishop, Priest and Deacon. There are also lay liturgical ministers. They are: Reader or Lector, and Eucharistic Minister. These each have a function in the various celebrations of the sacraments. After some preparation and instruction each is officially installed in these ministries. These ministries are clearly illustrated in the celebration of the Eucharist, the Mass. The Lector is responsible for the proclamation during the liturgy of the Word of all of the scripture readings except the Gospel. This includes readings from the Jewish Scriptures, the Acts of the Apostles, the Letters and the Book of Revelations. In the fullest expression of this ministry the Lector could also be responsible for leading Bible study, prayer sessions and the like. The Eucharistic minister distributes the Eucharist to the people at the Communion time. The Eucharistic minister is also responsible for bringing the Eucharist to the sick. There are other important liturgical ministries such as alter server, music minister, prayer leader, usher and persons responsible for the environment of the liturgical space. RELIGIOUS LIFE Religious live in communities of men and communities of women and take the vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience. Each religious community (referred to as a Religious Order, Congregation or Society) is organized under a rule or set of constitutions and governed by elected or appointed members much as a country is. The Constitutions outline how the religious will live their lives and ministry. An individual or group of people founded each religious community to meet specific needs in the Church. The Vows The goal of the vowed life is to share in community one's life, energy and ministry. >> Poverty: The religious renounces the right of ownership and is dependent on the Religious Community of all material needs. >> Chastity: The religious promises to live a chaste life and a celibate life, that is never marrying but living as a brother or sister in a family. >> Obedience: The religious promises to serve wherever the community sends him or her. SINGLE LIFE Everyone is single at some point in his or her life. Certainly we all start out that way. We are not talking here about a legal status. The government wants to know if we are single, married or dependent so that it can regulate laws regarding taxation, ownership, social security and the like. Here we are talking about how the Church sees a single person. So here it goes: in the Church a single person is a baptized adult who is living out the call to holiness and ministry either as a person discerning his or her call in life or as a person who has decided to live as a single person for life. Michael and Jean are both single. They have not yet decided what they want to do with their lives. They are open to various career choices and marriage. They have both also thought of religious life as a possibility. They are both good Christians and enjoy their lives. They belong to a circle of friends who spend time together. They are especially active as volunteers in the church youth ministry program and are members of the parish young adult group. They date for fun but do not consider themselves a couple. They are in the process of discerning God’s call. They take advantage of the various discernment programs and activities that the parish offers. Kimberly and Leon are single but they are seriously considering marriage. They are both in school right now and have decided to finish college before they get married. They met in school and are both involved in the college’s Catholic Newman Center programs. They do not live together and are in a chased relationship. They do not date other people but enjoy going out with friends. They are getting ready to go on a retreat for couples called Engaged Encounter. Tom is a high school counselor. His has decided not to marry. His life is very full in the school, in his parish and in private practice. He does not feel he could give enough attention to a family and sees himself as fully involved as a professional. He has a circle of friends with whom he frequently gets together. He sees his profession of counselor as a ministry in the Church. He serves as a counselor in the bereavement ministry in the parish and offers his services once a week to the parish youth group. A Vocation to the Single Life Single life is a specific calling from God. Freed from responsibilities of family, single people can devote themselves in love and service beyond family – to the poor and the needy not otherwise served. Some persons make a deliberate choice of the single life. Others are single by circumstance. A Vocation to Dedicated Church Service Some Christians are called to serve the Church in a special and dedicated way – as deacons, priests, members of religious communities, secular institutes, associations of the faithful or apostolic institutes. Single Life as a Vocation Single life is just as much a vocation with a divine call as any of the other vocation choices such as marriage, priesthood or religious life. Some people may think of the single life as the "last resort" - the vocation where anyone ends up who doesn't feel called to be a priest or religious or who can't find a suitable spouse for marriage. But God calls certain people to the single life. The Church needs people who can dedicate themselves to their work and the spread of the Gospel out in the world. Single people can do great work for the Church. They have the freedom to proclaim the Gospel in a variety of work. Some singles pick certain professions which require a great amount of time and dedication, such as medicine or teaching. They can choose to give their time to help people around them who are in need. A single person can wholeheartedly dedicate him or herself to carrying the work of the Church in a special way. Some single people choose to work for the church in a paid lay ministry role. As with the married state, the single life is a vocation which is carried out in the midst of the world. The vocation of single Catholics is to represent Christ wherever they are and whatever they do, whether they are businesspeople, typists, teachers, writers, politicians, doctors, computer programmers, media experts, lawyers, musicians, government workers, truck drivers, or lay missionaries. By the silent witness of a holy life, these single people are lights shining out in the world, pointing out the way to God. MARRIED LIFE (discussed in the book "I do ...") |
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