How the Divine Life is Lived out Through our Vocation

As a married woman and mother, the Lord speaks to me through my vocation in so many different ways. For instance, in prayer I may come to an understanding of how to handle a situation or the right words may come to me so that I can use them for the care of the family. Similarly, I may also be able to recognize the heart of God through my spouse and children. My husband can be a window into the Father’s care and provision for all His children and my children point to the joy and wonder that we are to imitate in our relationship with God. 

A vocation is a call by God to a specific state in life, specifically through marriage, priesthood, or religious life. This call is not given just so we have a fitting place in the world, but it is a call to holiness. Through our vocation, the Lord desires to lead us into full union with Him. Our vocation is our path to holiness and so it is good for us to fully understand how to enter more deeply into it, so that we may live it out to the best of our ability.

Within the three different vocations of marriage, priesthood and religious life, one particular facet of God’s nature is lived out, by way of the three distinct persons of the Holy Trinity. For example, God the Father, Divine Creator, is lived out through the vocation of marriage, God the Son, Jesus Christ, is lived out through the vocation of the priesthood, and God the Holy Spirit is lived out through the vocation of religious life. When each of these vocations are properly aligned to their own unique call to holiness, the Holy Trinity is fully present and alive in the world.

From the very first marriage of man and woman with Adam and Eve, God gave the missionary work to be fruitful and multiply. In the marriage vocation, husband and wife come together to become one flesh and through that union they bear the fruit of God’s image in the world. Human beings are created by God through the participatory union of the husband and wife, which results in a new life created in God’s image and likeness. At the moment of conception this new life is created as a unique unrepeatable soul. Each conceived child is a gift of new life to the world. It is important to note that the fruits of this vocation do not always look the same for all married couples. When we are open to all the Lord has for us in this life, we can begin to see that He is constantly bringing about good in and through the marital union, whether or not children are born into the world through the husband and wife. God can do all things and this mission of participating in the creative action of God can be accomplished through the marriage in whatever means we are open to participating in it with the Lord.

Through the vocation of the ministerial priesthood, God the Son is lived out in a real way. As the priest stands in persona Christi, he brings Jesus’ presence to the world in both a physical and spiritual way. The person of Jesus is present in and through the priest when he offers the Mass, forgives sins, preaches in the name of the church, and performs other acts of shepherding, teaching, and guiding. Additionally, through the anointed hands of the priest, the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ becomes fully present in the world by way of the Eucharist. This gift of Jesus Christ himself is consummated by the priest and then shared with the faithful as we too are able to come forward to receive Him in the Holy Eucharist.

Finally, it is through the vocation of the religious life where the hidden power of the Holy Spirit is lived out in the world. Through the prayer and sacrifice of the men and women who consecrate themselves to the Lord in a very radical way, removing themselves from the world completely in order to lift it up in prayer, the Holy Spirit is perpetually called upon to live and move throughout the world. The prayers which flow from the monasteries and cloisters are the powerful, yet hidden movement of the Holy Spirit, reminding us of the important reality of God who is ever present with us. Prayer is a pure gift of charity. When we offer prayers up to the Lord, it is to some degree a sacrifice of our time and effort. The Holy Spirit lives and moves through the action of our prayers for one another and it is through this vocation of religious life that the prayers of the faithful remain as a perpetual offering to the Lord.

By understanding the three different vocations and viewing them in the light of the Holy Trinity, we are able to see the fullness of God’s plan through His calling for each of us to a particular state in life. This understanding is not meant to put a vocation into a particular box to say you can only become holy through this one way, but rather to shine a light on the means by which all the vocations work together to reveal the Holy Trinity completely in this world. Whether we are called to marriage, priesthood or religious life, we can be assured that the Lord is ultimately calling all of us to holiness. By recognizing the particular aspect of God’s nature through our vocation, we will be better able to enter more deeply into the Divine life of God in the world.

In my own life it has been really important for me to remember that my primary call to holiness is through marriage. I can be involved in so many other great ministries in the world, but it is through my marriage that the Lord is drawing me closer to Himself first and foremost. Being that I am involved in other things, work, ministry, and all of the other activities of the family by proxy, I can sometimes get sidetracked from this primary mission. While the craziness of life constantly pursues my time and energy away from my husband, I must be ever more vigilant in my intentional pursuit of my husband and our marriage. This is where the creative work of God is born into the world. What a privilege to be able to cooperate with God in this way as He draws me ever closer into His Heart.