Not worthy? Think Again!

more pictures at instagram.com/kolbemission

One week ago, more or less, we participated at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ advent retreat for women in the consecrated life. We gathered, prayed, reflected and learned about Our Lady of Guadalupe, discussed, ate a very simple meal (brown bag casual), and then completed the evening with adoration. It was nothing spectacular, and yet the very fact that it was just a part of who we are, made it marvelous.

Each congregation or community present lives out their vocation according to a unique charism. Some are teachers, social workers, nurses, and any combination of the three. There were those running colleges, hospitals, and homes for the elderly. There were those in formation, those professed 40 years, and everyone in between. Our backgrounds were incredibly diverse and our collective or personal spiritualities even more so. Just as to the married life, the Lord calls from every walk of life and every neighborhood. In return, he calls us to live and be his presence to people in every walk of life and neighborhood.

That’s it: the basic qualification to following Christ in the consecrated life – follow him everywhere. 

It is not a question of worth – he makes us worthy by grace.

The somewhat common “rationale” behind not entering the consecrated life (or priesthood) that amounts to “I’m not worthy,” may be a cop out. Since when are we worthy by our own design? Since when do we believe that the omnipotent God cannot transform our hearts? It is not a question of qualifications – he qualifies the called.  It is his grace, his very life in us, that makes us worthy - because he is worthy. Love is so much more than a mere matter of sentiment – love lies in the will. Looking around the room, aware of our weaknesses and strengths, our crosses and our victories, I was reminded to pray for vocations. I prayed that young men and women do not sell God short by assuming he would never call them. God is bigger than that. Much bigger. So big, in fact, that our surrendered littleness MAGNIFIES the Lord.