Vocation Awareness Day for youths in Miri

Most of us who have ever wondered if the vocation to religious life was for us must have asked the question, “How will I know?” It comes in many forms

Feb 19, 2016

By Margaret Cor
Most of us who have ever wondered if the vocation to religious life was for us must have asked the question, “How will I know?” It comes in many forms: What is God’s will in my life? How do I find happiness and fulfillment in my life? What is the ultimate purpose of my existence? How will I know that God is calling me to live the religious life as a priest, brother, or sister?

An inherent part of life is the responsibility to make difficult, challenging, and sometimes, even painful decisions. To make important decisions often requires time, prayer, and discernment. Perhaps today, more than ever, we face a greater multiplicity and complexity of decisions in ordinary day-to-day living. In the discernment process, we consider the options, balance the advantages with disadvantages, and, carefully, examine the consequences. “How will I know . . . what is good, right, or best? How will I know what God is calling me to?”

It was with this situation in mind that the Carmelite Nuns of Miri, in conjunction with the Year of the Consecrated Life, decided to organize a Vocation Awareness Day for the youth of the St Joseph’s Cathedral on January 30.

Attended by 130 young people ranging from school students to working youth, the day started off with songs of praise led by the YCS, and an opening prayer led by Fr Guido Gockel MHM, the chaplain of the Carmelites in Miri. This was followed by two very enlightening, informative, thought provoking and, at times, humorous, talks on “What is the Religious Life?” and “The Challenges of the Religious Life” by Fr Jeffery Tan OCD from Singapore.

Fr Tan pointed out that, by virtue of our baptism, all of us are called to be holy. Nevertheless, God calls each of us to a specific purpose in life. He finds us worthy, even with our many imperfections. Each of us responds to God with various degrees of generosity and availability, and we, in turn, offer to God our very lives, asking God to transform, mold and shape us according to his plan for each of us.

For those in the religious life, they are called to radiate and give witness to the presence of God. As such, the religious tries, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, to seriously become an authentic and worthy disciple of Christ. This, the religious does by withdrawing from the unnecessary concerns of the world to attain to union with God.

Touching on the three temptations of Jesus, Fr Tan said that a religious is not exempted from these temptations, though they may take on different forms. For example, the temptation to turn stones into bread may mean a craving for physical and bodily needs; while the temptation to jump from a high place may mean an emotional need to be proud and to show-off. Thus, like everyone else, each religious has to battle the inner demons within us, whether or not we are conscious of them, and to take the necessary steps to change for the better so as to better radiate the presence of God.

He further reiterated that the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience are to help the religious to have a right relationship to people, material goods, ourselves and, ultimately, to God. For example, the vow of chastity is not only about sex and abstinence. According to Fr Tan, if one has an attitude where he or she adores a rich man and despises a poor one, the person is no longer chaste. Besides these three evangelical counsels, community and prayer are also essential to the religious.

After lunch, the participants were treated to a sneak preview of the video of the daily life in the Carmelite monastery of Miri, as well as a life testimony of Sr Rufina, a religious sister from the Congregation of the Sisters of St Francis of Sarawak.

The Vocation Awareness Day culminated with a holy hour where the participants were encouraged to have their personal dialogue with the Lord about what they had heard and seen throughout the day.

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