Vows, in the consecrated life or marriage are meant to sustain us in the hard times. When we feel loving and are inspired and motivated by our day to day we are chaste, obedient, and generous almost without a thought.

There are times when we are moving forward with faithful zeal and we are stopped in our tracks the world turned upside down, at least our world.

At the end of my day, no matter how tired I am from the work and constant motion of the day’s events, I make a point to say “goodnight” to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel of our missionary house. 

This thought always leaves me in awe when I remember it: God wants to espouse me to Himself forever.  In fact, He wants to espouse you too.  Every woman and man is called by God into a loving relationship with Him. 

God’s call is not always amidst chaos and desperation. It is not always preceded by an interior struggle and long discernment.

The Lord’s call to Mary and her response to this vocational invitation is the perfect model for us to follow. It is magnificent in its simplicity and unfathomable impact.

Courage. Trust. Gratitude. But, we say, what if I am really little? Not capable of much? All the more reason to have courage, be trusting, and be grateful!

Yesterday , we took a look at overcoming fear in the pursuit of responding to God’s call. We used Gideon and his army as an example. The story doesn’t stop there, however, and so now we turn our attention to trust and gratitude. 

A vocation is a call from God that, upon our response, becomes the means of our sanctification and helps to define our role in his Divine Plan.