Saint Paul exhorts us to “walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called.”
No matter our status we have been given a vocation. Some will become priests, others will join religious orders, others will embrace holy matrimony, and all no matter if single, married, a priest should come to embrace holiness in their everyday life.
From Gaudete et Exultate (On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World), “We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves. Are you called to the consecrated life? Be holy by living out your commitment with joy. Are you married? Be holy by loving and caring for your husband or wife, as Christ does for the Church. Do you work for a living? Be holy by laboring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. Are you a parent or grandparent? Be holy by patiently teaching the little ones how to follow Jesus. Are you in a position of authority? Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain.”
As Saint Josemaria Escriva stated, “Whenever sanctity is genuine, it overflows from its vessel to fill other hearts, other souls, with it superabundance. We, the children of God, sanctify ourselves by sanctifying others. Is Christian life growing around you? Consider this every day.”
All of this goes hand in hand with what we were instructed in our Gospel. There we were told to not only love God, but also our neighbor. Holiness cannot be achieved if we have nothing to do with God or nothing to do with our neighbor. The love that Christ shows to us from the cross is abundant and without end. The more we enter into this love the more that we have to share with others.
No matter what our vocation may or may not be we are all called upon to love God and neighbor. Each vocation has different emphasis, but all of them remain united in coming to pursue holiness in our everyday life. If we forget to “walk worthy of the vocation in which (we have been) called” we lose sight of it’s God given purpose and begin to use it for our own personal gain.
The cross must remain part of our life for through it we see the sacrifice that must take place if we are to love. Marriage is not about me. Being a priest is not about me. Living out my daily life is not about me. Instead through the cross we see what must be surrendered if we are to embrace our God given vocation and live it out faithfully in the midst of a world that can be hostile to such a call.
Let us be not afraid and choose to follow after the Lord who invites us to join with Him and carrying out the vocation to which we have been called. Through His loving care may we come to love Him more deeply in order that we may be sent forth to love our neighbor thus embracing holiness in our everyday life.
