I desire true friendship and love. I desire Christ. These desires are innate in each of us and can be experienced every day. They make us consider what is important in life. However, often we do not take the time to think and reflect on these questions which niggle away at us.
The idea of ‘vocation’ was not on my heart as a young boy but the desire for God and questions about us and Him were. These came to the forefront through family life. When I was 10 years old my little brother Reuben was born. And from the age of 8 months, Reuben has battled with autism and epilepsy. It seems that it was through this cross, of looking after a special needs child, that my family was tested, broken, and strengthened. This made me ponder life at a young age.
Having four older brothers live their faith in a real and adventurous way paved a path for me to enter into a life of faith. Also, coming from a large extended family I have always had many others as an example of faith to look up to. When we are surrounded by others who live a life of generosity and faith, it not only bears witness but instils a curiosity with what it is that gives them joy. Seeing the generosity of my family, which consists of mum and dad and seven sons, it made me consider what is important in life.
Fr Mike Schmitz, a well-known Catholic Priest in America, said that we should all strive to practice generosity since it prepares us to respond to God’s specific vocation for us. In my own life, a person who lived generously was my Father. My dad is generous not just with time, money and work, but particularly in conversation. If you have met him, you will understand. He also often gave to others needs big or small: whether it was to the kid with the mini baking stall, the rugby team overseas tour, the overseas work camp, the young missionary travelling to N.E.T. or even picking up a hitchhiker, Dad was always happy to offer a little help. Perhaps this is what led my brothers and me to explore the world by doing those very things. Dad’s generosity helped me to try and do the same.
One of the events that I attended with the generosity of others was World Youth Day (WYD) in Australia in 2008. This for me was an eye-opener to the wider and universal Church. To encounter South Americans dancing and singing late into the night, and attending a few boring talks that made me ponder – why are people so devoted to this. I say boring because at sixteen it is hard to be ‘entertained’ with hour-long catechetical talks. But they made me ponder. Attending the final Mass with 400,000 young people, it helped me encounter the Church in a new way. I came home from WYD wanting to take the Catholic faith more seriously. As I grew older it led me to explore the Church’s teaching, and I realized that it was a path of wisdom which I wanted to follow. It was difficult however since many of my school friends didn’t. However, I found joy and comradery with the youth and young adult groups, discovering good friends that were interested in the same questions, and wanting to live close to God.
Having received both from God and these friends I wanted to give something back. So I became involved in LifeTeen youth ministry, and later, Pro-life Waikato and WaiCath university clubs. The friends I made during involvement in these groups were and are invaluable, giving me a greater impetus to respond generously to the Lord's call. They have helped me to learn much about the faith, other people and even myself. Often we need other people to believe in us and encourage us in our passions and talents. From experience, I know that good friends encourage and support you even when they may not fully understand. Being a person who often thinks out loud, I have cherished many an occasion talking to a friend about life, God, and relationships. When this is coupled with them also desiring holiness, simple and life-giving ideas are shared.
The greatest life-giving thing I do is pray. It is common for anyone to turn to God when things are tough, but it is also important we walk with God in the ordinary everyday and be thankful with Him in the many good moments. Beginning my relationship with God I asked many things of him and expected results, but they weren’t always as I desired. One thing we can be sure of however is that God is the dependable and faithful one (2 Tim 2:11-13). Saint Paul makes this very clear to his young disciple Timothy. So when we pray, let us be sure that he is hearing us. He is the Good Father, wanting to hear from his child their desires and longings, and fulfilling them (John 10:10). A religious sister once told me that it is always a ‘penny drop’ moment in the lives of the saints, to know that God’s Holy Spirit is alive, present and active within us – this is something to delight in, for then our joy can be for others a beacon of hope.
Another cause of our joy is getting to know Jesus Christ. He reveals how much the Father desires to be with us. He continues to draw us to himself in the gift of the Eucharist. It is Jesus in the Eucharist, both in the Sacrifice of the Mass and in silent adoration, which attracted me to serve Him in a radical way. I found in my own journey that in order to give of myself generously, regular Confession and grace helps to keep my relationship with Christ real. In this way I have found the Sacraments to be an ordinary means of grace, to be my strength day today. So I urge anyone who wants to walk closer with Our Lord, to seek Him through these same means, frequent Confession, Mass and reception of Holy Eucharist.
Along with the Sacraments and prayer, devotion to the Blessed Mother played an important part in my vocation. I can vividly recall one evening giving my heart to Our Blessed Mother. It was by the fireplace on the farm, alone one evening. There I experienced Mother Mary’s assuring guidance and maternal care – for whatever lay ahead for me. In regards to my vocation naturally, it is to my Mother and Father that I am grateful, for they have and continue to enable me, to respond to God’s call.
If you sense that God is calling you to offer your life to Him and serve the Church in the priesthood or religious life, then guided by prayer and the sacraments, do not be afraid… take the first step in complete faith, for God returns one hundredfold, even in this life, to those that leave everything to follow him.
