…as I had mercy on you?
- Fr Raphael Ma, CR
- Matthew 18: 21 - 35
A Resurrectionist Vocation Minute for September 17th, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
…as I had mercy on you?
If you’ve ever tried asking God to reveal to you what your vocation is, you’ve probably experienced having to wait for an answer. Maybe you’re still waiting.
There are many things that are counter-cultural about the very idea of a vocation. And one of them is that a vocation is outside of our control. A vocation, a calling, has to come from the outside, otherwise we’re just talking to ourselves. Certainly there must also be a part of us inside that experiences this call, but the call must come from outside ourselves.
Although we think of ourselves as the ones who are being “patient” with God – the reality is, it’s God who has been patient with us. God has been lovingly calling us before we even learned how or desired to listen. And when we realize this loving way God is with us, we experience a conversion, a desire to be “patient” like God is with ourselves, our vocation situation, and the people God has placed in our life.
“Even the difficult task of administering correction can be a service of love if the superior strives to show the patience, understanding, hesitancy to condemn and the forgiveness which Christ showed to Peter after the denial.”