We are celebrating National Vocation Awareness Week, November 4-10, which was established by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Our events this week will be in support of parish efforts to foster a culture of vocations for the consecrated life, priesthood, and the deaconate.

In his message for the 2018 World Day of Vocations, Pope Francis emphasized that it is at the loving initiative of God, and personal encounter with each of us, that a person is called. God knows our anxious longing for love and calls us to joy. In the diversity and the uniqueness of each and every vocation, personal and ecclesial, there is a need to listen, discern and live this word that calls to us. 

Each day this week we will post one “myth” about religious life and have a “live” response from one of our Sisters, which will be posted on our social media. We’re calling the series “Myth-busters.” 

Tune in by following us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube!

Listen by Johnny Silvercloud | CC BY-SA 2.0

By Sister Lorraine Réaume, OP

A Sister shared with me that she found it disturbing to watch and keep up with all the terrible things happening in the news. She decided to set a limit to the amount she took in, and she is feeling much better. She does not want to deny what is happening, and she wants to be informed, but she wants balance.

She didn’t say it this way, but perhaps what she was yearning for was some quiet time to hear another voice, the voice of God. Each of us needs to find our own balance. Our news consumption can become compulsive, the constant barrage of loud voices drowning out other voices we need to listen to, within and without. Even without news, we can be very distracted by the constant input of social media and our various devices.

We owe it to ourselves and to our world, both the world immediately around us and the larger global reality, to listen to the range of voices, and to seek moments of contemplation. Only then can we hear the quiet, gentle voice of God nudging us to true life, to faithfulness, to hope. God will guide us how to respond, how to receive, and how to hear good news if we take the time to listen.