Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(Micah 5:1-4a; Matthew 1:1-16.18-23)
Today’s celebration of the birth of the Blessed Virgin
Mary underscores an important principle of faith. Each of us is born for a purpose. We share with Mary the vocation to know,
love, and serve God. But also like Mary,
each of us has a singular call in life.
Hers was to be the mother of the Savior.
Ours is something else.
We should think of our vocation as dynamic. We are to discern God’s call through our
imagination, experience, and abilities as well as prayer. What is more, we will usually find that it is
a complex calling. We are likely to be a
salesman–father or a teacher-mother. In Mary’s
case, she was both mother and disciple of Christ. Again, we have to find our purpose by
probing and seeing, questioning and listening, asking and thinking. This is what Mary did.
It’s important as well that once we decide on our
purpose, we stick to it. If we discern a
vocation to be a nurse, then we are to prepare ourselves by taking the required
courses and getting used to treating people in acute need. Although there may be the possibility of a
change of careers, sometimes the determinations we make are permanent. Those who see themselves as married in the
future should realize that this vocation lasts until death. So as always we need to make the best
discernments possible.
