By Bro. Daniele Caglioni, A.A.

A vocation is not a single moment in our lives. It is a word from God for us which unfolds day by day. God calls… that’s what vocation means. Who is there to listen? Vocation, especially today, asks us to listen attentively to God in His Word, His sacraments, and in our brothers and sisters in the Lord. This act of listening is so crucial because of our vocation’s unfolding. God is never done revealing Himself to us, never done calling us to share in His life. Since returning from Novitiate in the Philippines and embarking on theology studies at St. John’s Seminary, I’ve had to remind myself each day to listen to the Lord above all. In a society that bombards constantly us with images, sounds, and rhetoric, it can be hard to keep His voice at the center of our hearts, to preserve the peace of our “upper room” into which God alone can enter.

Vocation, I’ve realized, is as much about a daily listening to the Lord as it is about His calling us in the first place. The Book of Revelation awakens us to this in the verse, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Genuine growth in my vocation demands a daily “opening the door” of my heart to God, so that He can be in communion with me. If I receive this invitation with love and trust, how can I not be joyful? Through His Son Jesus Christ, God calls me every day to respond to His love for me, a love that blossoms forth in joy. My religious life consists in just that: in sharing that joy, that grace, that I’ve received, and inviting others to experience it, too.

Bro. Daniele, A.A., is a student at St. John’s Seminary.