VOCATIONS
“If you wish to be perfect…then come, follow me.”
Jesus Christ spoke these words in response to a question. A young man came to Him and first asked about eternal life, “what good must I do to have eternal life”? Jesus replied, “keep the commandments.” But the man sensed that there was more, and again asked what was still lacking in him. This is when Jesus replied, “If you wish to be perfect…”
Notice that Jesus did not "call" the rich young man.
He did not say “Come follow me,” but rather, “If you wish to be perfect… then come, follow me.” Christ tells him what to do to become perfect, but He leaves the man free to choose.
This advice of Christ is still valid today for anyone who wishes to be perfect. Today, most Catholics think about a religious “vocation” as though it requires some special “call” from the Lord. This is a big mistake, and it causes many souls to waste time with countless hours of introspective thoughts about their personal “call” in life. But this is a waste of time.
If God wants a man to do something special, He is perfectly capable of telling the guy. He did that with St. Joseph. But most of us are not St. Joesph.
This advice of Christ is still valid today for anyone who wishes to be perfect. Today, most Catholics think about a religious “vocation” as though it requires some special “call” from the Lord. This is a big mistake, and it causes many souls to waste time with countless hours of introspective thoughts about their personal “call” in life. But this is a waste of time.
If God wants a man to do something special, He is perfectly capable of telling the guy. He did that with St. Joseph. But most of us are not St. Joesph.
The devil has tricked many souls into thinking that a religious vocation is something special. But a religious vocation is not special. It is normal for anyone who desires perfection. God has already revealed the means to perfection: go, sell, come, follow. This is simple. We should not look for special signs when God has
already taught us what to do.
God’s grace is sufficient for us. In fact, it is way more than “sufficient.” Let us follow Him with love and courage, knowing our weakness and trusting in His strength. The world will be gone before we know it, and only our love of Christ will remain.
Let us use our earthly life to increase this love. We will have treasure in heaven and receive a hundredfold on earth.
God’s grace is sufficient for us. In fact, it is way more than “sufficient.” Let us follow Him with love and courage, knowing our weakness and trusting in His strength. The world will be gone before we know it, and only our love of Christ will remain.
Let us use our earthly life to increase this love. We will have treasure in heaven and receive a hundredfold on earth.
Monastic Life: A Brief History
In the early Church, to be a Christian was very exciting. It could mean getting skinned alive, or burned alive, or something like that. But the fire of love was so great that getting burned alive was sort of like winning the lottery.
Then, around 313 A.D., the Romans stopped slaughtering Christians. While this had benefits, it came with a downside: it opened the possibility of the fat-and-lazy Christian. The initial fire of love which was originally required to be a Christian was now optional.
While there had always been Christians who voluntarily chose poverty, chastity, and obedience to follow Christ more closely, once the slaughter stopped, these vows became the primary means for fanning the flames of divine love.
Then, around 313 A.D., the Romans stopped slaughtering Christians. While this had benefits, it came with a downside: it opened the possibility of the fat-and-lazy Christian. The initial fire of love which was originally required to be a Christian was now optional.
While there had always been Christians who voluntarily chose poverty, chastity, and obedience to follow Christ more closely, once the slaughter stopped, these vows became the primary means for fanning the flames of divine love.
Thousands of souls left the towns, sought seclusion in the desert, and began to live as hermits in the desert.
These early hermits led risky lives. Without precursors to follow, they had to blaze a new path figuring out what kinds of practices to undertake. Many mistakes were made. (One monk, for instance, threw himself into a well, thinking that God wanted that sort of thing. He died.)
God sent monastic fathers that were notable for advancing the practices of monastic life. A few Saints stood out: St. Anthony of the Desert, St. Pachomius, St. Basil, and St. John Cassian. From about 350 to 450 A.D., these saints progressively advanced the practices of monastic life.
These early hermits led risky lives. Without precursors to follow, they had to blaze a new path figuring out what kinds of practices to undertake. Many mistakes were made. (One monk, for instance, threw himself into a well, thinking that God wanted that sort of thing. He died.)
God sent monastic fathers that were notable for advancing the practices of monastic life. A few Saints stood out: St. Anthony of the Desert, St. Pachomius, St. Basil, and St. John Cassian. From about 350 to 450 A.D., these saints progressively advanced the practices of monastic life.
St. Benedict
Father of Western Monasticism
St. Benedict was born shortly after these great monastic fathers (he died around 547), and thus he had the benefit of collecting their wisdom and ordering it into a rule for monks. Pope St. Gregory the Great, who lived shortly after St. Benedict (died 604) wrote about him: “He wrote a rule for his monks, both excellent for discretion and eloquent for style.”
This comment about “discretion” shows how wise St. Benedict was. While monks primarily fail by growing too strict or too lax in their external practices, discretion is the virtue which rules and governs all the other virtues so that they are directed to divine love and to nothing else. A monk can fast, pray, and keep silence, and still miss the mark of divine love. Pride is sneaky and can sneak into any external practice. Discretion is like a watch man that keeps pride out so that a man begins to live for the love of God alone. The rule of St. Benedict, “excellent for discretion,” is a perfect summation of the previous monastic fathers.
This comment about “discretion” shows how wise St. Benedict was. While monks primarily fail by growing too strict or too lax in their external practices, discretion is the virtue which rules and governs all the other virtues so that they are directed to divine love and to nothing else. A monk can fast, pray, and keep silence, and still miss the mark of divine love. Pride is sneaky and can sneak into any external practice. Discretion is like a watch man that keeps pride out so that a man begins to live for the love of God alone. The rule of St. Benedict, “excellent for discretion,” is a perfect summation of the previous monastic fathers.
