Season of Vocation is based on the Sunday liturgical readings of the 27-30th weeks of Ordinary Time of Year B that occurs in the month of October. It discusses Marriage, Priesthood and beyond. All of the Gospels come from the 10th Chapter of Mark. This Living Seasons of Change program includes the 27th to 30th Sundays of Ordinary Time. The hosts are Msgr. David LeSieur and Patti Brunner. It was originally broadcast on Padua Radio and produced by Padua Media.
To Listen audio: Season of Vocations For more information or to read the script please continue reading.
Program Outline of Living Seasons of Change Season of Vocation:
God has a plan for each of His children. Like all children, we do not always follow the heart of our Father (fathers). Many times, our rebellion leads us away from wisdom, away from years of preparation. Too soon, we fail. Too soon we choose the path of least resistance and in the process destroy the very Vocation that would bring peace, joy and fulfillment. The vocation of marriage is ordained by God to join together forever mates that complete one another. The strengths of one shore up the weakness of the other. Combined purpose form an “adequate witness” of God’s love and his path way for future generations. The priesthood sets apart a single, celibate person who joins with intimacy the Lord God and Savior, Jesus Christ. In working together in a life-long bond, the blessings expound and are shared throughout the community and thus touch current and future generations. Those called by the Lord to the priesthood find solace and comfort in this vocation. Denying this calling sets a longing in the heart that is not easily satisfied.
Other states, callings, vocations do not involve whether one is single or married, priest or religious; that is the vocation of serving God and fellow man through living lives devoted to the Lord. As your search for scriptures revealed, there are many ways to be “used” in the Christian Way. Administration, intercession, exhortation, mighty deeds and the other gifts of grace for healing and the such; teaching and evangelizing, and providing prayer to connect man with God. Each of these brings joy into the lives of those who accept their calling. There are those who say “I’m too busy”, “I’m raising my family”, “I have no money, talent, time”. To these I call each to examine their lives. Is not the gift of administration active in their work and home? Is not prayer? Is not support of the missions of the Church? Is not the teaching of children?
Vocations to be loving servants of spouses and families, is a part, too, of the Lord’s plan. It is here, in these areas, that you learn how to be a servant of God so that when you are needed by the Church ‘major” you are equipped by grace and trained by experience to step forward. Service to the Lord should permeate your individual calling. If called to pray—find out who needs prayer. If called to be generous, find out who is in need and allow the Lord to use you to provide for that need. When called into the “religious” life, a celibate giving of all you have unto the Lord, reach with both hands unto the Lord who longs to embrace your life and fill you with the grace of a consecrated life.
When all is said and done, all shall enter into judgement. All those who take their places ordained by the Father in eternity will look back with joy and fulfillment that they lived their lives to the fullness of the vocation calling and grace set forth for them from the creation of the world.
Radio Broadcast Script:
Patti Welcome to Living Seasons of Change and the Season of the Vocations. Our scriptures this season discuss marriage, priesthood and beyond. All of our gospels come from the 10th Chapter of Mark. I’m Patti Brunner and my co-host is Msgr. David LeSieur, a Catholic priest of the diocese of Little Rock. Welcome, Monsignor!
Msgr. David LeSieur Thank you, Patti. The 27th through 30th weeks of ordinary time come at a time of harvest. It is a good time to step back and contemplate “what is the Lord calling me to do?”
Patti Brunner: God has a plan for each of His children. Like all children, we do not always follow the heart of our Father . Many times, our rebellion leads us away from wisdom, away from years of preparation. Too soon, we fail. Too soon we choose the path of least resistance and in the process destroy the very Vocation that would bring peace, joy and fulfillment. Our readings start with the vocation of marriage as Genesis tells us how marriage was created. Then Mark’s gospel shares Jesus’ views about divorce. Jesus ends up actually quoting the Genesis scripture, “what God has put together no man shall separate” and the “two become one”[i]. God brings couples into completeness through marriage.
Msgr.: Genesis uses the term “suitable partner”. God created the animals for Adam but none of those was found to be suitable for him so He put him in a deep sleep and took his rib and created the woman out of the rib.
Patti: Whereas, it is a great responsibility to have a marriage partner to receive and give unconditional love. It is a lot easier to receive it than it is to give it. At times one or the other is weak. God gave us a favor by giving us this sacrament so we have a life-long partner who will fill in the gap for us. I think marriage struggles when both people have weakness at the same time. That’s when God stands in the gap. The vocation of marriage is ordained by God to join together forever mates that complete one another. The strengths of one shores up the weakness of the other. Combined purpose form an “adequate witness” of God’s love and his path way for future generations.
Msgr.: When they asked Jesus if it is lawful to divorce one’s wife they reminded him that Moses permitted it. But Jesus said it was because of the hardness of your hearts that Moses permitted it. In the beginning it was not so. God created the man and the woman to be together. It is true that some marriages should never have been attempted to begin with. Not all couples are suitable for each other so we grant annulments. There has to be some knowledge of one another from being together before they get married, which they gain through communication.
Patti: Right! Allow time for gaining knowledge rather than falling in love at first site and getting married quickly. Courtship is a time to discover strengths and weaknesses.
Msgr.: Some cultures have arranged marriages where the young people don’t see each other until the day they get married. That goes completely contrary to our Western way of thinking. God doesn’t talk about courtship with Adam and Eve. He just made one for the other.
Patti: In those cultures you call upon the wisdom of the parents, whom God certainly touches to help them in choosing that suitable partner.
Msgr.: In American culture if the parents say anything about the other person’s intended, it could cause a rift. “Are you sure you want to do this?” The parents may have some wisdom that their child would not see. We do believe that God does bring people together in whatever fashion. We also know that divorce is not God’s thinking. It happens. But it is a human thing. “What God has joined together let no one put asunder.” When the Catholic Church allows an annulment, it is saying, “We’re not sure God joined this one together.”
Patti: Exactly!
Msgr.: Annulments are human judgment based on testimony, thought and prayer. An assumption of a Marriage Tribunal is always in favor of a marriage until proven otherwise. It is like a court of law. You are innocent until proven otherwise. It shows how seriously the Catholic Church takes marriage.
Patti: How difficult it would be if you are not truly joined together by God. One of the duties of the Church is to help people to prepare for marriage, to prepare for years of being together. Before the wedding we have the pre-Cana requirements and sponsor couples. That helps in discerning that this is the right person.
Msgr.: I think the marriage preparation is more effective when the couple comes early on, even before they set a date. Once they set a date that is all they are thinking about. Some of them will be going through marriage preparation because that is what they are supposed to do. They are getting it done; getting it out of the way so they can get married in the Church. I think those that look at it the right way say, “We want to talk about this. We want to go through this preparation.”
Patti Brunner Modern marriage preparation in the Catholic Church includes an instrument called “Focus.” It is kind of a questionnaire. A couple takes it separately and their answers are compared. Then the priest or sponsor couple discusses the results with them. It could be very revealing to a couple.
Msgr. David LeSieur It is not a test to see if they are compatible; it is just an instrument to uncover areas they haven’t talked much about or to show areas where they are very strong. It is a very helpful instrument. Any couples listening to us who are considering marriage would do well to take preparation early on before they get caught up in the wedding preparations. Marriage preparations are more important than wedding preparations.
Patti: Couples who are in rebellion against their parents’ wishes, rebellion against the Church, who refuse to think that anyone else has any say so in what they are doing, I think they throw away a real opportunity for wisdom.
Msgr.: If they go ahead and marry on their terms, hopefully, they will take some time after they have been together for awhile and say, “We would like to have this union blessed, have it sacramentalized. In our Catholic way of looking at marriage, God is always the third partner in marriage. In scripture, St. Paul describes the church as the bride of Christ[ii] and He even uses marriage as a metaphor for Christ’s relationship with the Church. It is a marriage relationship; that famous passage in Ephesians 5 [iii] where he says a woman submits to her husband and the husband loves his wife as Christ loves the church. It says, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ,” as a mutual submission. It is not just the woman giving in to the man. This is highly misunderstood today. The man’s love for his wife is a sacrificial-type love, the way Christ loved His Church. It is always sacrificial.
Patti: One of the other programs that is available through the church for couples is the Marriage Encounter program and retreat. It is a way to acknowledge that God is a partner in your marriage and to look back at some of those same aides that the pre-Cana uses.
Msgr.: I think the motto for Marriage Encounter is “make good marriages better.” It is just good to have a rekindling of the good that brought them together in the first place and practicing communication skills. Maybe you have spent so much time rearing your children and giving them what they need that you overlook your relationship with your spouse.
Patti: There is also a ministry in the Church for troubled marriages called Retrouvaille[iv] . I have a family member whose marriage was saved through it. You can check the website Retrouvaille dot org for a program near you. I’ll post the reference for that on my website, Patriarch Ministries dot come. On the 28th Sunday, the first reading from Wisdom talks about prayer and pleading with the Lord and how through that we gain wisdom and prudence. It also says riches are nothing compared to the Lord. Some people are called to a vocation of intercession, the vocation to pray for others. Certainly, people in the cloister take that as their lifelong vocation.
Msgr. David LeSieur But it doesn’t really matter if you are married, if you’re single, priest or a religious, you can have that vocation of serving God and your fellow man by living lives devoted to the Lord and turning to Him in prayer.
Patti Brunner Service to the Lord should permeate your individual calling. If called to pray—find out who needs prayer. If called to be generous, find out who is in need and allow the Lord to use you to provide for that need. When called into the “religious” life, a celibate giving of all you have unto the Lord, reach with both hands unto the Lord who longs to embrace your life and fill you with the grace of a consecrated life. Monsignor, you mentioned Ephesians’ instruction for spouses. We can look at Ephesians, Corinthians and Romans to find lists of ways we can serve the Lord; vocations of teaching and evangelizing, being a prophet, being a minister. The Letter to the Romans lists exhortation and generosity and acts of mercy. Some things listed, like exercising hospitality and weeping with those who weep, fit into our ongoing vocation as a Christian. They may also be a specific area the Lord is calling us to.
Msgr.: The reading from Mark on the 28th Sunday is about the rich man who came to Jesus. He asked the right question, “What must I do to gain eternal life?” Jesus replied, “You know the commandments. You should do this and you shall not do that.” He responded “I have done that since I was a child.” Then Jesus added, “One more. Sell what you have, give to the poor, then come follow Me.” With that, the rich man’s face fell and he went away sad. This young man couldn’t give up all he had, sell it and give it to the poor so he walked away sad. The first reading from Wisdom reminds us that riches are nothing in comparison with prudence and wisdom.
Patti Brunner He didn’t realize that “All things are possible for God.” The rich young man couldn’t quite let go of what he had. It was like it was weighing him down. I guess he was owned by what he owned and wasn’t free enough to realize that “I don’t need all this.”
Msgr. David LeSieur I think what that does; it calls us to ask to what extent are we weighed down? There was a poem I read the other day in the back of my Breviary: “The World”[v] by Henry Vaughn. He had a vision one night of the world. He could see various things. He saw a miser sitting on a pile of rust. “The fearful miser on a heap of rust, Sat pining all his life there, did scarce trust His own hands with the dust”. He is so weighed down with worrying with the stuff, afraid to spend it, but it’s nothing but a pile of rust; he is not free anymore. The young man in the Gospel was not free to follow the Lord. The other guys, the fishermen, dropped their nets and left their boats and told their father and just followed Jesus. They weren’t tied down with all their possessions. They were willing to leave it behind. And, Matthew, the tax collector, left his post behind and followed the Lord.
Patti: A lot of religious orders are called to a vow of poverty, to do just that, to lay down “things”. We, as lay people, can enter into that as we tithe our livelihood. If we sell stock or we sell property, to give a portion of that to the Lord for His purposes. It is then consecrated; we dedicate it. It becomes as a seed that actually does come to harvest as in the end of that reading there. If you give up family for God’s sake and the gospel, you will receive 100 times more now in this present age and eternal life in the age to come.[vi] When you have the mindset that what you have is the Lord’s and use it for His purposes, whether giving through tithes or directly in ministry, the Lord gives you the benefit in many ways, both in this life and eternal life.
Msgr.: It is funny. I have noticed that when I made a donation or give to charity, very soon after that sometimes I will get the same amount back in some fashion. For example, I performed a baptism and somebody gave me a stipend in the same amount of money I gave away. It is like the Lord replaces it. He sometimes goes beyond what you give. It does grow to harvest. It is all based upon whether we are willing enough to trust the Lord to let go of something that we hold of value; enough to trust and say, “Use this.” God will not let us go without.
Patti: It is the same thing with our time and our talent. If we say, “We are too busy. I am raising my family. I have no money. I cannot share my time and my talent.” We will just stay in that cycle of having no time or no talent. If we start giving; if we start sharing what we have, whether it’s our time, talent or treasure, then the Lord replenishes that and it is like you have plenty of time.
Msgr.: When you say, “I don’t have any time for that” its because you are saving your time for something you want to do. It might be something good. We tend to make time and spend money on the things we want. Now, if we say, “Well, I was going to use this for a new bedroom suite, but I’ll give some of it to charity”; you won’t go without. It just takes that little bit of trust to say, “I’m not going to worry about the bedroom suite. This is more important right now. Even if I don’t want to do it, it is more important.” You decide with your will, which is the basis of love, to say, “I’m going to do this.” When you do it with the Lord’s grace it becomes easier. God loves a cheerful giver.
Patti: That is right. When you allow that service to the Lord to permeate your vocation in life it just raises it to a better level, to a more abundant living.
Msgr.: It is not that hard. It is not begrudged. When we begrudge what we give or the time we donate to something unwillingly, it is so much more difficult. I don’t know if it bears fruit; it bears more fruit if we do it willingly.
Patti Another thing is when people say they don’t really have any abilities to give. That is when you should look at the vocation that you are living and see God operating there. Look at your job and the gifts that are manifesting in your work; you can apply those to God’s kingdom’s work too. If you are a good people person, like a salesman, you can apply those people skills in the hospitality ministry. If you are a good manager or organizer, you could offer your talent to organize parish events or organize adult education classes and then find those whose talent is teaching. If you are good at cooking in the home, you can apply that to hospitality in many ways in the Church. No one person has all the talents needed, that’s why we need a variety of gifted people to come forward to become one with the Church in service.
Msgr.: Use God-given talents for the sake of the kingdom. Not just for your work whereby you gain money and support your family; talents should be brought to bear for the kingdom, too. A business person who has talents, administrative and leadership skills, if in doing his job morally and ethically, following kingdom principles; that’s bringing to bear on the kingdom in the workplace. He might not be saying, “I’m going to preach the kingdom today.” If he just goes about his life and his work in an ethical good way, following the principles of his faith, I think there is a harvest there that comes about that he might not even see. He might be considered a good example by his fellow workers or maybe even his competitors if they know that he is a good honest business person.
Patti: And recognizing it as a gift from God and giving God the glory for it brings us into a new level of relationship with God. To not think, “I’m good at this because me” but to honestly recognize that it is God’s graces working through your vocation.
Msgr.: And thank God for that at the end of the day. And at the beginning of the next day to say, “Lord, just help me to use my skills well for your glory and for the good of others. Once I saw a picture of a businessman in his three-piece business suit sitting at his desk talking with Jesus who was in the chair across from him. It was like the businessman was really listening to what the Lord had to say, listening for His guidance. You could tell the man was a tycoon. You could see the industry behind him. It was like he was getting the Lord’s advice for his business. The painting has always spoken to me that any person who is serious about being a follower of the Lord can and should bring that to bear in whatever he does.
Patti Brunner There are those who say “I’m too busy”, “I’m raising my family”, “I have no money, talent, time”. To these we call each to examine their lives. Is not the gift of administration active in their work and home? Is not prayer? Is not support of the missions of the Church? Is not the teaching of children? Vocations to be loving servants of spouses and families, is a part, too, of God’s plan. It is here, in these areas, that you learn how to be a servant of God so that when you are needed by the Church ‘major” you are equipped by grace and trained by experience to step forward.
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Patti Brunner Welcome back! You’re listening to Living Seasons of Change. I’m Patti Brunner and I am talking with Msgr. David LeSieur about the Season of Vocations, the 27th to 30th weeks of Ordinary Time. On the 28th week Jesus says, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.” “It is harder for a rich man to get to heaven than to pass a camel through an eye of a needle.” At the time this was spoken people thought that only the rich are blessed. So, they react, “If the rich can’t get to heaven, then who can get to heaven because the rich are the ones being blessed by God.”
Msgr.: It says the disciples were amazed at His words. Who can be saved if the rich can’t, who are blessed by God, what about us poor folks?” Jesus said, “For human beings it is impossible but not for God. All things are possible for God.” The point of view of Jesus is just totally different from ours.
Patti: “No one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or lands for My sake, for the sake of the gospel will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age… houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.” That’s a mighty big promise.
Msgr.: He also promises persecution, and then He promises eternal life in the age to come. What you give up for the sake of the gospel or for Jesus’ sake makes you have more room for what He wants to give you. If you give up your stuff, your possessions, in order to be His follower then you have room in your life for what He wants you to have. But there will be persecutions, too. That might be what the rich man thought about. “I don’t want any of that.” I think what people might balk at is giving up everything. We don’t have to give up everything. Just share what you have – ten percent of it.
Patti: The scripture says it’s not that you are to be made poor while they are to be made rich, it is that you give what you have and shore them up, then when they have plenty, they will be able to share with you what you need.[vii]
Msgr.: No one has too much and no one has too little. What does it say about storing up your treasures in heaven? “Go sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Come and follow Me.” The rich man couldn’t give away his possessions because he had so much; Peter [viii] said, “We have given up everything and followed you” in contrast to this other guy here.
Patti: It’s putting everything at the disposal of the Lord, dedicating what you have to His purposes. That if He would require it of you, you would give it perhaps after you have a second thought. Get a confirmation on that, Lord. Let me pray about this just a little bit longer and make that sure you want me to give up everything.
Msgr.: The second thought wouldn’t keep you from giving it away.
Patti: And we have saints who did give up everything – lots of saints.
Msgr.: St. Francis of Assisi did. It gave him peace and joy. He was very happy.
Patti: He gave up his family then God gave him that big community of brothers. God gives us different eyes to see what we have, too. He opens our eyes to what the true riches are.
Msgr.: The true riches of the kingdom. The stuff that we consider wealth or riches to God is nothing. And He wants us to see that. “Now let me show you what real riches are.”
Patti: This takes us back to the beginning, the 28th week reading from Wisdom, about what true riches are.
Msgr.: There is a story of St. Lawrence[ix], who was a deacon in Rome back in the years of the persecution and the Roman prefect says, “I want you to bring me the wealth of the church.” He said, “Okay, I’ll have it for you here tomorrow.” So, when he came back he had all these poor, these blind, these lame people and said, “This is the wealth of the church.” The story goes that that enraged the prefect and they put him on the gridiron over hot coals. St. Lawrence calmly told his torturers, “Turn me over now, I’m done enough on this side”.
Patti: There are several holy women saints that were very, very rich and they helped the poor.
Msgr.: St. Clare, was one, so was Queen Margaret of Scotland.
Patti: Some were married and when their husbands died, they gave up all their wealth and became a nun or a sister, like Elizabeth of Hungary. That shows us we have a responsibility to our vocation. She had a responsibility as long as she was in the marriage to take care of her family
Msgr.: And even kings, like Louis IX, King St. Louis of France who slept in a hair shirt. He was very kind to his subjects. People of great wealth at that time were not that attached to it or they used it for good; like St. Henry the duke of Bavaria,
Patti: We can go back to St. Nicholas. He was so generous in helping others. That tradition has passed down as Santa Claus. So, of course, he was a bishop, a priest without a vow of poverty because he was so rich.
Msgr.: He was born in Turkey, modern day Turkey.
Patti: Our second readings this season are taken from the New Testament book, Hebrews. Throughout the book of Hebrews we hear about our High Priest Jesus. On the 29th Sunday we hear how He can sympathize with us in our weakness because He has been tested in every way, yet without sin.
Msgr. David LeSieur On the 30th Sunday, the second reading from Hebrews, continues to talk about the priesthood. Every high priest is taken from among men to offer sacrifices for sin.
Patti Brunner Mark’s gospel continues with James and John who are wanting places of honor at Jesus’ right and left in glory.
Msgr. David LeSieur Jesus says it is not mine to give. Whoever wishes to be first, the leader, must be the servant.
Patti Brunner He explains that the Son of man came to serve and to give His life as ransom. He came to serve us through salvation but we are all called to serve in some way. A good leader serves others.
Msgr.: It is one of those Gospel paradoxes such as “you have to die to have life.” A seed must die in order to grow and the Son of Man has come to give His own life; to serve and not to be served. Who thinks that way other than a Christian? That is not the way of the world. The way of the world is to seek self first, to seek to be served, to seek to have more and to overcome one’s enemies or competitors. Jesus said that is not the way. Here James and John are looking for glory. They want to sit at the right and left of Jesus in glory. That is not what Jesus is about.
Patti: Jesus said, “It is not mine to give. You are going to be judged.” We are going to be judged. Jesus is not just going to hand you your glory. You are going to be judged according to what you do. We are given the chance to look back and see if we have lived our life to the fullest according to our vocation calling and the grace set forth. Then we all take the place that is ordained for us by the Father for eternity
Msgr.: Even for Him to say it was not His to give, that is another statement of His humility. Jesus says “it is reserved by My Father for those to whom He wishes to give”. It is like Jesus is saying, “I came to be a servant. I don’t have anything to give except Myself.” Look at the beautiful Suffering Servant passage from Isaiah. ‘Through suffering my servant shall justify many who are guilty.” [x] There are several of those passages that talk about the Suffering Servant. “Kings shall stand silent before Him.” “By His stripes we were healed.”[xi] His look was beyond recognition.
Patti: It was so prophetic. When we look at scripture, we look at the meaning for their time and the current meaning because the scriptures have such a depth to them. We see the prophetic nature of Isaiah’s words. Isaiah is definitely a prophet to explain the coming of the Messiah but we also know his words would have had a purpose in that day and time, also.
Msgr.: Yes, Isaiah wrote meaning somebody other than Jesus because he did not know who Jesus was 700 years before His birth. It had meaning at that time but it has a fuller meaning to us now, in retrospect.
Patti: Or maybe it took 700 years for us to comprehend it.
Msgr.: Yes. It certainly has taken time for us to see—that it obviously is Jesus. As we understand His suffering Jesus fulfills that prophecy. In Mark 10, Jesus says “I have come to be a servant.”
Patti: On the 30th Sunday we begin with another prophet Jeremiah. He is telling the people that God has delivered the remnant and He is going to gather them up from the ends of the earth. Jeremiah is speaking during the time of the Exile when the people were sent out from Babylon captivity. The vocation for gathering up from the ends of the earth, was given as Jesus commissioned His apostles to spread the gospel to the end of the world. We, too, can have a vocation of evangelism to be a part of that gathering. The vocation of administration is a part of it, too; to put things in order; to bring people back with good leadership. Other states, callings, vocations do not involve whether one is single or married, priest or religious; that is the vocation of serving God and fellow man through living lives devoted to the Lord. As we search for scriptures, there are many ways to be “used” in the Christian Way. Administration, intercession, exhortation, mighty deeds and the other gifts of grace for healing and the such; teaching and evangelizing, and providing prayer to connect man with God. Each of these brings joy into the lives of those who accept their calling.
Msgr.: This Jeremiah passage: “I will gather them from the ends of the earth with the blind and the lame in their midst” relates directly to Mark’s Gospel.
Patti Brunner Yes, that is what the Mark passage is about. “The lame will leap like a stag. The blind will see. The deserts will bloom.”
Msgr. David LeSieur Bartimaeus is the blind guy in Chapter 10. You know I have always enjoyed that passage. In Mark 8 there is another blind man who was healed gradually. He is the one who could see the people walking around like trees. Within those two chapters you can also see a display of the disciples’ blindness, like James and John wanting to have places of glory next to Jesus in the Kingdom and other instances where Peter was called satan by Jesus. There is a theme of blindness in those chapters. Here Bartimaeus says he follows Jesus up the road. Up the road at that point meant up the road to death. Bartimaeus, with his eyes wide open, follows Jesus to Jerusalem. I think that is our vocation, to follow Jesus, hopefully, with our eyes open, understanding what is going on. I guess the rich man, elsewhere in Chapter 10, his eyes were not open. He wanted to go to heaven; we all do. He didn’t see that his wealth kept him from doing it.
Patti Brunner The priesthood is a vocation to lead the blind. There is a scripture that if “a blind man leads the blind they both will fall into a ditch.” In the vocation of priesthood, there is that special grace given to lead people towards Christ: To follow Christ themselves and to lead people to Christ. To be one who sees, to be a Bartimaeus. His eyes have been opened to the fullness of Christ and to lead others who haven’t quite opened their eyes yet, that are still blind. He hollers out “Son of David, have pity on me.” Everyone is trying to shut him up.
Msgr.: When Jesus calls him over, it says he threw aside his cloak. It is like he unencumbered himself from his possessions in a way the rich man couldn’t do. He says, “Master, I want to see.” And Jesus says, “Go your way, your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Him on the way. Jesus says, “Go your way” but he really went Jesus’ way. He followed Him up the road.
Patti: The other blind man in Chapter eight had a gradual healing. That’s how most of us see Christ—gradually.
Msgr. David LeSieur We don’t see all at once. It takes a long time for us to finally see but Jesus wants us to see. If we are talking in terms of vocation, it might take us awhile to understand what our vocation is. That is why we need prayer and spiritual guidance if we are young; if we are still looking for that call to marriage, religious life or the single life.
Patti Brunner The priesthood sets apart a single, celibate person who joins with intimacy the Lord God and Savior, Jesus Christ. In working together in a life-long bond, the blessings expound and are shared throughout the community and thus touch current and future generations. Those called by the Lord to the priesthood find solace and comfort in this vocation. Denying this calling sets a longing in the heart that is not easily satisfied. I heard Fr. John Corapi[xii] tell his vocation story in his radio program. He gave a list of all the things he had done in his life including a soldier, playboy, financial advisor, a druggie, a vagrant, and a real estate agent. He owned a Ferrari and a yacht, but nothing brought him true joy until he entered the priesthood and he realized that was his true calling for life.
Msgr.: Took him awhile find it.
Patti: Took him awhile. Sometimes we may be in a vocation now that is a training ground for a different one later on. It may just be a calling for a season followed by a fine tuning that prepares us to do what God created us to do. When all is said and done, all shall enter into judgement. All those who take their places ordained by the Father in eternity will look back with joy and fulfillment that they lived their lives to the fullness of the vocation calling and grace set forth for them from the creation of the world.
Patti: In the beginning we talked about how the marriage of the husband and wife brings completeness. In the priesthood, it is the completeness of God and you joined together. There is an intimacy there that is a lifelong bond. From that bond comes the blessing of sharing.
Msgr.: I don’t think that any person was ever created by God to feel incomplete. Now, many do but I don’t think that is necessarily God’s will. “I choose you to live alone and be incomplete.” I don’t think that’s it. I think a person who is single or married or in religious life can find as much happiness as you can have in this life and feel at peace and complete within yourself. I think it’s possible to find the right fit for vocation in your life—whatever that might be. We might think that only people who are happily married have that complete feeling. But that’s not the case. I feel it. I am very satisfied with it.
Patti: When I was young, we assumed that anyone who felt connected to the Lord had a vocation to the religious life. With the coming of the fullness of Vatican II, we are realizing that you can be called to have a vocation of the married life or the single life yet, have a vocation in service to God; to act as an evangelizer, to act as someone very active in the church life.
Msgr.: We are all servants of the kingdom. We can serve better if we are at peace. It is probably normal in this life to search that out. Some college students change majors several times because they don’t know where to go. They try something out and that doesn’t fit. I think it happens, too, in our vocations.
Patti: Another thing to consider is that we are a society that is growing more mature in age and there is a challenge to apply those things that God has taught us through raising our families, when we didn’t have much time to be active in the church. Now we are mature Christians and have the wisdom of hearing homilies and reading and learning scripture, to take that and to apply it to the next generation; to step forth as teachers and sponsors in the youth program, leading adult education or working in the food pantry. I know a lot of the people who are involved here at St. Vincent de Paul Society are Christians that get senior discounts. There is an opportunity. Just because you retire, it doesn’t mean you don’t still have a vocation to be active in the church. Monsignor, would you give us your blessing?
Msgr. David LeSieur [blessing]
Patti Brunner Amen! Thank you Monsignor. To get a copy of the references in today’s show or to read the Liturgical readings please check the website patriarchMinistries.com and to listen to this show or previous broadcasts click paduamedia.com and Living Seasons of Change.
References: Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright ©1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and are used by permission. All rights reserved.
[i] Genesis 2: 24 “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.” Mark 10: 8-9 “and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” NAB
[ii] Ephesians 5: 31 “”For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is a profound one, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church”
[iii] Ephesians 5: 24 “As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands.”
[iv] Retrouvaille.org for more information for Catholic ministry to troubled marriages
[v] The World by Henry Vaughn .“The fearful miser on a heap of rust, Sat pining all his life there, did scarce trust, His own hands with the dust” http://www.holytrinitynewrochelle.org/HenryVaughn.html [snapshot of page on July 9, 2009]
[vi] [Mark 10:27-30 ] “All things are possible for God.” If you give up family for God’s sake and the gospel you will receive 100 times more now in this present age and eternal life in the age to come.
[vii] 2 Corinthians 8: “13 I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, 14 but that as a matter of equality your abundance at the present time should supply their want, so that their abundance may supply your want, that there may be equality. 15 As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack.””
[viii] Matthew 19: 27 “Then Peter said in reply, “Lo, we have left everything and followed you.”
[ix] Welcome to the Catholic Church, Harmony Media, Lives of the Saints. St. Lawrence. “The popular legend that portrays Saint Lawrence lying on a gridiron and giving instructions for his own roasting may be no more than a myth; Lawrence himself, however, is a reality, and legends only point to the widespread devotion to him among early Christians. He was one of seven deacons in Rome during the pontificate of Sixtus II, and was martyred on August 10, 258, four days after Sixtus himself had been put to death by the emperor Valerian. As a deacon, Lawrence had charge of caring for the property of the Church and distributing alms to the poor. According to the legend, when he was ordered by the Roman prefect to hand over the treasures of the Church, he asked for time to gather together this wealth, and then went about the city distributing the Church’s money to the poor and the sick and selling its property for the same purpose. When he came before the prefect again and was told to produce his riches, he pointed to the crowd of beggars, cripples, and other unfortunates who had followed him there and who had received the benefit of the Church’s material goods. It was this piece of audacity, the legend says, that enraged the prefect and led him to order Lawrence’s unique execution. Stretched out on a gridiron over a bed of fiery coals, the saint calmly told his torturers, “Turn me over now, I’m done enough on this side.””
[x] 29th Sunday Ordinary Isaiah 53:10-11 through “suffering, my servant shall justify many and their guilt he shall bear”
[xi] Isaiah 53:5 “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.”
[xii] http://www.relevantradio.com/Page.aspx?pid=485 as it appeared on Sep 26, 2009 “Father John Corapi is what has commonly been called a late vocation. In other words, he came to the priesthood other than a young man. He was 44 years old when he was ordained. His experiences prior to ordination have been termed simply astounding, but that is probably somewhat of an overstatement. They might be called extreme, however. From small town boy to the Vietnam era US Army, from millionaire businessman in Las Vegas and Hollywood to drug addicted and homeless, to religious life and ordination to the priesthood by Pope John Paul II, to a life as a preacher of the Gospel who has reached millions with the simple message that God’s Name is Mercy!”
Readings for Season of Vocation
New American Bible (NAB) readings are referenced from the Lectionary for Mass, for use in the dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition ©1997, 1970 by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. See link for full reading
27th Sunday Ordinary
Genesis 2:18-24 “Suitable partner” “the two of them become one flesh” “The man gave names to all” Hebrews 2:9-11 “Lower than angels” (fully human) to “taste death for everyone” “make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering” Mark 10:2-16 “is it lawful to divorce?” “Moses permitted” “they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together no human being must separate” divorce and remarriage is adultery.//accept the kingdom like a child
28th Sunday Ordinary
Wisdom 7:7-11 prayer & pleading: prudence & wisdom: “riches nothing in comparison” Hebrews 4:12-13 “Word of God is living… sharper than any two-edged sword” Mark 10:17-30 Keep the commandments; go sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come follow me.” Camel through the eye of a needle, “Then who can be saved?” “for human beings it is impossible, but…All things are possible for God” give up family for God’s sake and gospel “receive a hundred times more now in this present age… and eternal life in the age to come”
29th Sunday Ordinary
Isaiah 53:10-11 through “suffering, my servant shall justify many and their guilt he shall bear” Hebrews 4:14-16 high priest Jesus sympathizes with our weaknesses, “similarly been tested in every way yet without sin” “so let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy” Mark 10:35-45 “James & John, sons of Zebedee” asked Jesus to sit at his right & left in his glory. “it is not mine to give” “whoever wishes to be first’ leader must be the servant. Son of Man came “to serve and give his life as a ransom for many”
30th Sunday Ordinary
Jeremiah 31:7-9 God delivered the remnant; “will gather them from the ends of the earth” “I will lead them to brooks of water” Hebrews 5:1-6 “every high priest is taken from among men…to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin” Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” Mark 10:46-52 Blind Bartimaeus: “Son of David, have pity on me!” “I want to see” “your faith has saved you.”
