Judged to have good character
When I was in college, a fellow student asked me something that made me a bit uncomfortable.
“Would you like to visit an elderly couple who lives outside of town?” she asked. “They could really use a friendly visit from someone.”
The student who was asking was older, and had her own family. Like me, she was in the psychology program. I pictured the elderly pair, musing in their rocking chairs on the front porch. And yet I felt no need or interest in helping them. My thought was, how would that benefit me? I turned down the offer.
This was a selfish response, of course.
But I had to admit, I felt honored that this woman considered that I was a person of enough character who might be interested in this altruistic venture.
Is God calling?
Thinking back, I can see that someone who was better formed in the Christian life than I at the time would have at least considered it. They would pass the request through their “Holy Spirit filter,” and wonder if they should take action.
Young Catholics who are practicing their faith in any significant way are asking themselves, Is God calling me in some way? Should I go deeper in my spiritual life?
“Hey, guys. Have you ever thought about religious life?”
“I thought God was calling me!”
It’s often said that we should reach out to a young person to ask if they have a vocation. That’s what we do with our vocation ads, which are put out on Facebook and Instagram. We are asking them, is God calling you? With the ads and newsletters, we can ask this question of one hundred people at a time. Or 20,000.
After they click on the ad and take the quiz, we qualify them, depending on their responses to the questions. Then we send newsletters to those who are qualified asking them to attend the discernment retreat.
By asking the question, we are telling them that we think they are of high character. We’ve seen young people take our quiz and then say, “I saw this ad and I thought God was calling me!”
This is the reasoning behind our Come & See Vocation Promotion Program. Even though a request is sent out via social media, the person receiving it knows that someone has sent it to them. “Is God calling me?” they begin to wonder. And vocation directors who work with our system follow up with the qualified candidates.
Thus, Christ continues to knock on the doors of many hearts.
If you liked this article, check out:
- U.S. Bishops’ article on 2018 Synod on the Youth
- Read our article, “Pope to religious: young persons want to see Jesus Christ in you”
