Why Not Me? Five Signs of Vocation
Rev. Fr. Ludovic Marie Barrielle (1897–1983)
Five signs let the candidate for perfection know that he can follow this vocation securely and with a clear conscience.
1. Understanding that in such a vocation, I will serve the Lord better, I will sanctify myself better, I will work better for my salvation and the salvation of souls, I will glorify God better here below and above.
Speaking of those who remain virgins for the Kingdom of Heaven, Our Lord tells us that it cannot be understood without a special grace: Not everyone understands this word, but only those to whom it has been given. (Mt 19)
It's not a question of knowing that, in theory, the religious vocation is higher than the common path, but whether I, with my concrete qualities, will serve the Lord better in this way.
If I understand this, I already have a first divine indication.
2. Having the required dispositions.
In the 15th annotation, Saint Ignatius tells us that, outside the Exercises, it is ‘licit and meritorious’ to ‘urge’ not everyone but all those with the required dispositions’ to choose virginity, religious life and every form of evangelical perfection.
This is a very valuable indicator. If someone doesn't have the required dispositions, we can normally conclude (barring a miracle) that God isn't calling them. But beware! God may be calling him to another vocation. But normally not to the one for which he doesn't have the required dispositions.
Examples of required dispositions: minimum intelligence (if the vocation involves study), minimum health (if it involves going on mission), and for any vocation: common sense.
3. There must be no contraindications.
In medicine, a contraindication is something you shouldn't do because it could damage your health.
Similarly, there are contraindications to a vocation: some by natural law, others imposed by Canon Law, e.g. a young man who is the breadwinner of a poor family, or a man with debts or lawsuits on his back, cannot enter the novitiate without having resolved these issues.
So here is an important qualifier that can shed light on the existence or absence of a vocation.
4. If we give ourselves to God, we must accept the renunciations that the practice of the counsels requires.
It is better not to make a vow, than to make a vow and not keep it. (Eccl 5:4)
Someone who would not, for example, observe chastity, poverty or obedience should not enter religious life.
A man who sins against chastity should not proceed without correcting a bad habit. ‘A long chastity is a second virginity.’ (Saint Bernard)
5. You need to find a bishop or congregation who will accept you.
This is the official sign of God's call.
Not finding a bishop or congregation to accept you is a sign that God is not calling you.
But be careful not to judge too quickly or too summarily. Someone may be unsuitable for one congregation but very successful in another.
Likewise, someone who judges at a glance that a child does not have the vocation may be mistaken.
It is permissible to insist and to look elsewhere, especially if the five above-mentioned signs are observed in a subject.
Example: It's said that a young seminarian was expelled from a minor seminary for some sort of absent-mindedness. The parish priest, knowing the boy, sent him to an apostolic school, where the young man made great progress, entered the major seminary and graduated in theology.
A priest, he soon became a prelate in high office, and one fine day a cardinal.
As is customary, the diocese of origin, honoured to have one of its children clothed in the cardinal's purple, held a grand celebration for him at the cathedral.
This was followed by a banquet at the junior seminary. At the end of the meal, the new cardinal asked the superior, ‘Could you bring me the entry book?’ and he read out the entry from long ago: ‘Pizzardo, dismissed for lack of vocation’. The cardinal then took out his pen and added humorously, e oggi, cardinale della Santa Chiesa — ‘and today, cardinal of the Holy Church’.
This was His Eminence Cardinal Pizzardo, at that time head of all the world's Catholic seminaries and universities.
Canon Law reduces these signs of vocation to four:
• Right intention
• The bishop's call
• Required qualities
• Absence of irregularity or impediment
Someone who meets these four conditions can give himself without fear of being mistaken, even if he doesn't want to. Obviously, this would not be the case if he or she had an invincible repugnance or was forced to accept by pressure from a father or a godfather or godmother. In this case, the person concerned would not meet the required conditions.
‘Whoever aspires to the priesthood, having the right aptitudes and the right intention, may present himself to the bishop.’ (Noldin)
Take a young man who's bright and intelligent. He'd be happy to get married, with several young ladies circling around him. All he would have to do is wave. But struck by the lack of workers of the Gospel and the large number of souls perishing for lack of apostles, he sees the consequences of renouncing the permitted joys of marriage for the salvation of the world, if he were to devote his whole life to the good Lord.
He saw the consequences of this gift in a St. Francis Xavier, a St. John Bosco, a St. Vincent de Paul, a St. John Mary Vianney.
He says to himself, ‘Why not me?’
The five signs or conditions mentioned above, he has.
He understands how effective his sacrifice would be for the service of God and of Holy Church, how many families would be transformed, and how much better he would sanctify himself.
He has the necessary dispositions to give himself to God, and is determined, with His grace, to fulfil his obligations.
He has no contraindications.
He will easily find a bishop or congregation who will accept him.
This young man can say, ‘God is calling me, I give my life to him, I dedicate myself to his service.’ He can consider as spoken to him these words of the divine Master:
If you will, go, sell all your possessions, give them to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven, and come and follow me! (Mt 19:21)
Saint Ignatius says:
‘No motive should determine me to choose or reject these means, except the service and praise of God Our Lord and the eternal salvation of my soul.’
Saint Thomas tells us that we need more reasons not to become religious than to become religious. And he repeats several times, ‘Above all, do not seek advice from those who will prevent you,’ and he quotes these words of St. Jerome: ‘Make haste, I beg you, and if you hesitate, cut the moorings rather than waste your time untying them.’ (II II Q189 a. 10)
Once the question of vocation has been resolved before God, it is time to stop asking around or hesitating. This is a classic way for the devil to confuse and discourage many.
Let the young man not keep God waiting.
As for him, as soon as the question is clear, let him give himself generously to Christ, and move on to realising this, as soon as he can. You can't keep the Lord waiting.
St. Ignatius tells us:
‘To a young man like you, what would you advise him to do for the great glory of God and the great perfection of his soul? What would you have chosen, today, on your deathbed?
‘Your various arguments, on one side or the other, what are they worth in God's court?
‘And don't hesitate, act accordingly. If you will, understand the grace, understand the honour done to you.’
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