Page 15 - LOTN Spring Issue 52 2023

EDUCATION AND FORMATION

to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed
to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And
the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said,
“Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she
was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort
of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not
be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. 31 And
behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and
you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be
called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give
to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over
the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no
end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am
a virgin?”
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come
upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow “Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you!”
you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son extraordinary minister of Holy Communion - at least I would
of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age hope that you weren’t forced! Well, if this desire was in your
has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her heart…to serve, to bring the Eucharist to others…then know
who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with that God desired it first, and your desire was already a response
God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; to His desire. God was at the origin of your calling, and He
let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed never abandons those whom He calls. He walks alongside us as
from her. we fulfil our mission.
Here we go back to the beginning, to the moment of the call. Furthermore, this desire was confirmed by the Church when
Mary was called for a very particular mission in the Church. you took the necessary steps to become an extraordinary minister
Like I said, what is true of Mary is true of each member of the and were approved by the diocese. This is very important. A true
Church. That means that you, too, are called for a particular call is always confirmed by the Church. The mission of Jesus
mission. Often when we hear the word “calling,” we can think continues on earth through His Body, the Church. The Church
of “vocation.” Indeed, the word “vocation” comes from the word isn’t meant to be some sort of overpowering taskmaster. Rather,
‘to call’: vocare. In my work with university students and young it ought to give us the consolation that we’re not alone when
adults in Aberdeen, I sometimes hear we discern a call. Sometimes it can be
the question, “How do I know if I’m hard to know whether something is
called to marriage or consecrated life? just in my head or whether it is real.
What is my vocation?” Yet the call Through the Church, God confirms
of the Lord doesn’t come exclusively Sometimes it can be hard to know His word spoken to us in prayer. Not
when we need to make the choice of whether something is just in my only does God walk beside us when
our state of life, although this may head or whether it is real. Through we fulfil our mission, but the Church
certainly be one of the stronger senses the Church, God confirms His word is also there to accompany us. In
of calling. spoken to us in prayer. Not only short, we are never alone.
The call of the Lord to each one does God walk beside us when we One last thing I’ll mention is that
of us was already present when He fulfil our mission, but the Church a call is deeply personal. Of course,
formed us in the womb, as we read in is also there to accompany us. In there will be some similarities among
the prophet Jeremiah (1:5): “Before I short, we are never alone. people who are called to the same
formed you in the womb I knew you, thing. I’m sure that if you discussed
and before you were born I consecrated amongst yourselves what led to your
you; I appointed you a prophet to the becoming an extraordinary minister,
nations.” This call continued on the you’d find some common elements.
day of our baptism when we were consecrated to Christ and Yet God never just calls ‘in general.’ He calls each one of us by
called out of the world to be part of Christ’s Body, the Church. name and speaks to each one of our hearts in a way that we can
When we were confirmed, the call of the Lord continued as we understand. We are each deeply known and deeply loved by
received the Holy Spirit in a particular way, to be sent out into God with a unique and personal love, and it is from this love
the world as prophets to the nations as indeed we are sent at the that flows our personal call.
end of every Mass. Ite missa est ‘Go in peace.’ We are sent. I would invite you to take a moment and think back to
The call of Christ also extends to whatever He may invite us what led you to become an extraordinary minister of Holy
to do to build up the Body of Christ This is where particular Communion. What were your thoughts? What was in your
ministries come in, including the one that you exercise in your heart? What were your desires? Like Mary, did this come as a
parish. Perhaps you didn’t have the angel Gabriel come to you surprise? Did you have any fears? What led you to this ministry?
to ask you to be an extraordinary minister, like he came to the I’m certain that throughout her life Our Lady often thought
Virgin Mary, but that doesn’t mean that you are any less called. back to that moment when the angel Gabriel came to her. I’m
When we exercise a ministry, it’s important to have this sense certain that as she lived her life with Jesus she discovered more
of calling. We don’t just exercise a ministry out of nowhere on and more the depth of God’s call to her. I’m sure that she often
our own. We are sent by God through the Church. I imagine thought about the promises that the angel told her about what
that initially there was some sort of desire to become an her child would be. I’m sure that these promises sustained her
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