January 19, 2007

 

Introduction

This past Jan. 14, I celebrated Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis for the intention of the young men and women of the archdiocese. I prayed that they may know their vocation in life and respond to God’s call with an undivided heart. The Mass was offered, in a particular way, for the young men whom God is calling to the priesthood, and for the young men and women whom God is calling to the consecrated life. 

St. Gianna, wife, mother and physician, is an inspiration for our young people in responding to their vocation. What is more, she will intercede for them, so that they will unite themselves to our Lord, above all, in His Eucharistic Sacrifice, doing whatever He asks of them (John 2:5). 

Vocation and prayer

Our vocation in life, whether it be to marriage, the dedicated single state, the consecrated life or the priesthood, is a call from Christ to give ourselves, with Him, in faithful and selfless love of God and neighbor. We know our vocation, therefore, through prayer, asking God the Father what His special plan is for us and seeking the grace from Him to do His will in all things. 

St. Gianna is an outstanding example of someone who came to know her vocation through prayer, especially through participation in Mass each day, daily visits to the Blessed Sacrament and the daily recitation of the Rosary. Her parents formed her in the habits of daily Mass, prayer and devotion. She also was helped very much by the priests and religious Sisters whom she came to know in the parishes to which her family belonged over the years, and in the schools in which she received her education. 

Vocation and suffering

Uniting ourselves to Christ, above all, in His Eucharistic Sacrifice, we understand that our vocation is, in essence, the pouring out of our life in selfless love. In other words, our vocation requires the acceptance of many sufferings, if we are to be truly faithful and generous in following Christ. St. Gianna practiced a life of generous self-giving, especially through her involvement in Catholic Action, a lay spiritual movement which helps its members to follow Christ by the threefold way of prayer, action and sacrifice. 

At the end of her life, St. Gianna offered her life in death, to save the life of the infant in her womb. When she was urged to save her life by a surgical procedure which would have destroyed her unborn child, she responded that nothing could justify taking the life of the child. At the same time, she embraced the suffering of her approaching death with serenity, seeing her suffering as a true share in Christ’s Passion and Death. 

Vocation and trust in Divine Providence

At the Baptism of our Lord, the voice of God the Father was heard, declaring: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). In other words, our Lord Jesus Christ was perfectly united in will with the Father, accepting fully His vocation and mission of Savior. Our Lord trusted in the Father’s promise of salvation through His suffering and death. During the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord Jesus prayed to the Father: ‘(N)ot my will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42), and, as He died upon the cross, He prayed to the Father: "Father, into Your hands I commit my Spirit" (Luke 23:46). 

In coming to know our vocation in life and in helping others to know their vocation, it is essential to develop a humble trust in God’s providence. All that we are and have is God’s gift to us in love. Humbly recognizing that truth, we then trust that God will provide all that we need to do His will and will bring us through our suffering to an ever greater love of Him and one another. 

St. Gianna was taught trust in Divine Providence by her parents. She practiced it to an heroic degree as wife, mother and physician.  Trust in God’s never-failing love permitted her to enjoy deeply the beauties of nature, to respect the dignity of every brother and sister, to embrace the hardships of daily life in the family with generous joy, to practice medicine by caring for the patient as a child of God, and to give up her life for her last child, trusting that her other three children would receive the love which she so desired to give them. 

When she was dying, St. Gianna was heard praying repeatedly the words: "Jesus, I love you!"  Indeed, St. Gianna loved Jesus, doing God’s will with trust in His promise of salvation. 

Daily prayer for vocations

The special Mass which I celebrated on Jan. 14 fulfilled in the most outstanding manner possible the duty to pray daily for those who are called to the priesthood and consecrated life, the duty which all of us as members of the Body of Christ are called to fulfill. The young people whom Christ is calling to the priesthood and consecrated life depend upon our prayers that they may hear God’s call and respond perseveringly. 

Let us all pray each day that our young men and women will come to know their vocation through prayer and will embrace the sufferings which responding to their vocation inevitably entails. Let us pray that they, like St. Gianna, will trust in God’s providence, doing His will with confidence that He will provide for them in all things.