Holy Hour Reflection
by Deacon David Deston

The following is a reflection given by David Deston at a Vocation Holy Hour at Saint Michael Parish in Fall River, MA on January 17, 2007.

I am here to talk about vocations. To the young men here I say to you, Listen, really listen and forget that your friends sit to your right and left. To the young ladies, I say not to tune out and think this is all about the priesthood, it’s not, it affects you as well. To the elder brothers and sisters here present, especially the married, I tell you the words I have are for everyone who draws breath, not just the young.

I mention this, not to let anyone off the hook or to downplay the need for men to become priests of God, for the need is indeed great. Nevertheless, everyone in this room has a vocation. God has given all of us special gifts and talents to use for our own benefit and for the benefit of the whole world. The English poet John Donne said that no man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. This means that all of us are dependent on one another. Therefore, if one of us does not live out his or her vocation, it is not an isolated thing, it affects us all. The answer, I would argue, to the need for more priests, is for each of us to live out our vocation.

Fortunately, I’m not out here on my own making this argument. The Church agrees with me. In the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, the Church tells us that we are all called to holiness. This call is universal. Everyone born of woman is supposed to be a saint; it is not limited to the clergy and religious. The Council outlined what this holiness is supposed to look like for bishops, priests, deacons, religious, the married, the single, widows, and the sick and suffering. So just what is this holiness supposed to look like? What are we to do? The short answer is that we have to be like Christ.

Ours is a God who loves us. So great is his love for us that He gave us the entire universe to marvel at, the sun, the moon, and the stars are there just for us. So great is His love that the natural world is filled with beauties beyond description. So great is His love that He gives us life and sustains us in being every second of every day. How can we not love Him back? When we love, we draw closer to the beloved. When we draw closer to the beloved, we begin to become like the beloved; we take on some personality characteristics like sense of humor, or turns of phrase. The same happens with God. As we draw closer to Him, we begin to think like Him, we begin to love like Him. When we begin to love like Him, our whole lives change. Everything from relationships to jelly donuts is better because like God, we begin to see things as they truly are, and when we see things as they truly are, given and sustained by a loving God, we are moved, almost compelled, to share that love. That sharing of love, almost with reckless abandon, is holiness.

Depending on our vocation, the sharing of love is done differently. The vocation to marriage is by far the most common. This does not mean, though, that it is any less special. Indeed, without it, human civilization would have long since collapsed. In this vocation, the partners share in God’s creative power and bring about new life. They receive it joyfully and make it grow. The marriage partners, now parents, educate their sons and daughters teaching them about the world and about the God who loves them. They model love for their children and through the life they live together show the children love and respect. Fathers teach their sons to be men and their daughters that they are beautiful. Mothers teach their daughters how to be women and their sons to cherish and respect the feminine. The parents show their children how to respect and care for those less fortunate and how to be good citizens. They teach them, in short, how to change the world with love.

The vocation of the single, the sick, and the widow is to sustain the world. The sick will do this by offering their suffering back to God. The sick also model for us fortitude to accept the challenges of life as Jesus did. The single and the widow show us how to care for our brothers and sisters. Without familial obligations, they single person and the widow are responsible for a good deal of the heavy lifting. They are called to sacrifice some of their time and talents to serve their less fortunate brothers and sisters. They show us selflessness and a love that reaches beyond the self.

Some women are called to consecrate themselves to God as religious sisters. This way of life is far from a barren one. Their family is the world, and the religious sister is to be a mother to it. Because she has been called to a special relationship with Jesus, she is strengthened to leave behind the passing glory of this world. All of the things that a mother does for her children, the religious sister does for everyone. She models strength in her womanhood. The sister will pray and intercede for those in her charge. She will care for the sick, educate the child, feed the hungry, and love her God. The life of a religious sister is replete with life, for although they are not of her blood, they are still her children.

The priest is no less barren. Through his pastoral ministry, he too will be a father to many. Every child he baptizes, every soul he commends to God, everyone in his parish is his son or daughter. He must model for them the love Christ has for His Church. The priest is to be a man for all seasons. He rejoices at new life, educates children, cries with the grieving, rebukes the wayward and welcomes the penitent home with open arms. His prayer is for all, his life lived for others, the priest should empty himself for his children. In that emptying, though, he finds himself filled with love. Transformed by orders, the priest having emptied himself for his people finds himself in the middle of a flooding river. The river is one of life and love that he does not keep for himself, but passes on to his people, and in passing it on, receives all the more.

The people, then, nourished by the love of God flowing through the hands of the priest, pass it on themselves and encourage one another, love one another. This river of life and love connects everyone, then, so that we all support each other in our vocations and in supporting them, we widen the channel of the river so that it might burst its banks and flood the world.

This is all modeled for us by the last and greatest of the prophets, John the Baptist. Let’s look a bit at John’s life. We know from St. Luke’s gospel that he and Jesus met before either of them were born. In that moment, when their mothers were together, Jesus called out to John and set him aside for a specific purpose. What purpose? John’s purpose was to witness to the truth.

John did this in a rather spectacular way. He lived in the desert, alone. He clothed himself in camel skin and fed on locusts and honey. He would come out of the desert to the town of Bethany beyond the Jordan. There, on the banks of the river, he would preach and he would baptize. John’s baptism was meant as a sign. He, John, baptized with water, but the one who would come after him would baptize with the Holy Spirit, so even in the simple, and seemingly unrelated, action of pouring water on people, he was pointing to the Messiah.

Indeed, when John saw Jesus pass by, he proclaimed His identity and said “Behold the Lamb of God!” It’s a simple message, really, but an important one, for without it, Andrew and John would not have followed him. Without Andrew and John, there would have been no Peter and James. With no Peter, Andrew, James and John, there would have been no Thomas, Philip, Simon, Bartholomew, Matthew, Jude, James or Judas, and without them, no crowds, no miracles, no Church.

We must do as John the Baptist did. In all that we say and do, regardless of age, class, or ability, we must all proclaim the Lamb of God. Fret not, this isn’t something else to add to the lists mentioned above. It is, rather, a condensation of those lists. They are there because, yes, they’re good in their own right, but more importantly, if we live these things out, by our very deeds, by everything that we do we proclaim boldly to the world around us “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

There is one last message to draw out of the reading that I want to address to the confirmandi. You are at a crossroads in your life. In a few months, you are going to stand in front of the Christian community and proclaim your faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit Himself will come upon you in a wave of grace and love of unfathomable proportions. When He comes, He is going to give you seven gifts. The one I want to single out is knowledge. This gift will enable you to see things from a supernatural standpoint. In other words, it enables you to see as God sees. In seeing as God sees, you will be able to better discern the gifts God has given you and the path God has marked out for you.

My friends, continue to pray for this knowledge. Ask God to open your heart and mind. Be alert and keep your eyes open for signs God is pointing you in a certain direction. Do not be afraid or second guess God’s path. He knows what you are facing, what temptations and allurements are out there for you. Trust in Him, that He will reward your fidelity. Believe me when I tell you that in following God and letting Him lead you where He wants you, you will continue to be surprised by grace. Blessings and fulfillment will come to you in unexpected ways and seasons. To all, then, I say hope in Him. Hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord.