For the past several editions of Today’s Catholic, I’ve been meditating on Pope John Paul II’s teachings during his pastoral visit to San Antonio on Sept. 13, 1987. In this final meditation, I turn to John Paul’s meeting at San Fernando Cathedral with seminarians and religious in formation.
These were very personal remarks, and in them the holy father explored the mystery of the calling of God.
Each of us is called by God to holiness, to service of Christ and his Gospel. But those called to the priesthood and the consecrated life hear a further, special call.
John Paul compares it to the call heard by Moses when he met God in the burning bush at Mount Horeb (Exod. 3:1-6): “You have heard the voice of God calling you to that ‘holy ground’ of a special vocation in the church. You have stood in the awesome presence of the Lord and heard him call you by name.”
This calling from God is the finding of Christ — “the pearl of great price.” (Mt 13:46) And from this initial discovery begins a process of dialogue with the Lord — “a dialogue which goes beyond words and expresses itself in love.”
Again, John Paul turns to Scripture to explain this mysterious aspect of the priestly and religious vocation. He recalls the disciples’ discovery of Christ and how Jesus questioned his first followers to clarify their reasons for wanting to follow Christ. (Jn 1:38-39, 48)
Here John Paul shows himself to be an acute director of souls. In his reflections on the Gospel accounts, he finds the deeper meaning of the discernment that goes on in the heart of one who feels God’s calling. Again, we notice how personal the holy father’s observations are:
“What begins as a discovery of Jesus moves to a greater understanding and commitment through a prayerful process of questions and discernment. In this process our motives are purified.
We come face to face with pointed questions such as ‘What are you looking for?’ And we even find ourselves asking questions of Jesus, as Nathaniel did: ‘How do you know me?’ (Jn 1:38) It is only when we have reflected candidly and honestly in the silence of our hearts that we begin to be convinced that the Lord is truly calling us.”
Those who have been called to the priesthood and religious life understand in a deep way what the Holy Father is saying here. They also know the experience he describes — that our love and knowledge of Christ grows deeper in prayer as our sacred commitment and service to him grows. Truly, priests and religious see fulfilled the promise Jesus made to Nathaniel: “You will see much greater things than that.” (Jn 1:50)
What great joy it is to dedicate yourselves totally for the sake of the kingdom! John Paul knows this well. And he wants all of us — clergy, religious, laity — to know that, too.
What comes through so strongly in this talk is how vital the service of priests and religious is to Christ and his church. “Dear brothers and sisters,” he says, “What you do is important, but what you are is even more important — more important for the world, more important for the church, more important for Christ.”
The holy father’s visit 20 years ago continues to be a great blessing for San Antonio. Let us continue to reflect on his words and teachings as we go forward in our journey to build up the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
Let us take to heart these words from John Paul’s Angelus prayer in San Antonio:“Like Mary, we too have been given the gift of God’s grace... Like Mary, we are called to respond, to be open to God’s word, to be generous in saying yes to God. For us this means doing God’s will, living according to his commandments, serving our neighbor, avoiding sin. In other words, with Mary we must respond with love to God’s love.”