In the church where I first began to confidently articulate God's calling on my life, there stood a beautiful altarpiece, at the centre of which was this image of Christ on the cross. In those months when I was discerning my call to come back as a CEMES intern, and ultimately to ordained ministry, this image of the cross was constantly before me.
My idea of calling and vocation is a cruciform one in part thanks to this; I can put it no better than the words a monk once spoke to me, “Christ gave all of himself for me, now I want to give all of myself for him.” Giving all of ourselves in love is at the heart of whatever calling God makes on our lives, whether it be to ordination, or marriage, or teaching, or nursing, or whatever else God might be asking of us.
The simple prayer that began Christ's own journey to the cross was to say to the Father, “not my will, but Yours be done.” If we let it, this prayer can lead us into our own vocations, our own callings to give everything of ourselves in love for Him who loved us even to death on a cross.
The simple prayer that began Christ's own journey to the cross was to say to the Father, “not my will, but Yours be done.” If we let it, this prayer can lead us into our own vocations, our own callings to give everything of ourselves in love for Him who loved us even to death on a cross.
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