As a young working adult, I find the invitation from God to follow Jesus His Son to be His disciple as a constant tugging within my heart. At the same time, I feel that it is not a rush, since it does not draw me further away from Him. In fact, it brings me closer to Him and produces fruits of the spirit.
It strikes me that being invited by God to either the priesthood or religious life is a daunting encounter. I suppose this is my initial reaction. Like many young people, I find it difficult to start discerning this call because there are too many outside attractions that pull me away from God's perfect plan for me. I am surrounded by the culture of chasing after money, careers, raising a family and many more. I am inclined to think that any person who responds to this call has to give up so much for the sake of following Jesus.
I am told that when I step out and have faith to start discerning my vocation honestly, faithfully and prayerfully - I am allowing God to guide my steps towards His perfect plan. Things that may initially seem daunting or impossible from the human perspective suddenly seem to be smooth and easy. Abiding in God and following His commandments turns into second nature. Soon enough, things of the world aren't so attractive anymore, and all this will change my preference to spend time in prayer.
To my peers, responding to the call of God is counter-cultural, but so is being a follower of Christ. I believe, the moment we choose to step out in faith is when we realise that true joy and happiness is found only in God. And that's when we can discover the seed which God has planted within us from the beginning, to follow the footsteps of His beloved Son, Jesus. These sound true and assuring, yet the response to join the priestly and consecrated life is so poor. Is God delaying, or are we?
Matthew H.
HRC