Dear brothers and sisters,

We have come to the end of this Second International Encounter of the Association of the Miraculous Medal and we are now thanking God for all the wonderful experiences we have lived through during these last few days. There have been times for study, for reflection, for prayer and for simply spending time together. We have expressed our concerns, our hopes and our fears, and by doing so we have been able to clarify our mission and to discover once again how rich our Association is, and what the mission of each one of us is within the Association.

Today the Church invites us to celebrate the feast of two apostles, the pillars of our faith. Saint Simon and Saint Jude personally heard Jesus say: You did not choose me, it was I who choose you so that you may go and give abundant fruit…

A vocation is that personal call from God to each and every person living in the world. Some people discover what that vocation is, and that is a grace. Other people go through life without realising that there is a vocation for them, and what their mission is.

Today, the Word of God invites us to focus on our own vocation. Just as Jesus called his disciples, he also called us, speaking to us in a personal and unique way. He called us to be with Him and to send us on our mission. Can we remember when and how that calling happened? When was the moment that I discovered God's loving presence and Jesus' call?

It is important to remember the elements of our vocation, as this will help us to renew our vocation every day.

•  Jesus was aware of his vocation: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, he has anointed me and sent me…
•  Mary lived the encounter with God through the presence of the Angel. That is when she discovered her vocation.

I would like to invite you to reflect on the four elements that model our own vocation on the vocation of Jesus and the Blessed Virgin.

I want to encourage you to:

1. Be more aware of God's initiative in our vocation. It is God who calls us and who loved us first: This is love, that God loved us first, says Saint John . It is our task to discover God's love for us, to feel loved by Him, to be chosen by Him. Our living out our vocation starts when we let ourselves be loved by God, when we let ourselves be possessed by Him, and when we feel loved. That experience of God's love is the guarantee and the foundation of our fidelity to our vocation.

2. Our vocation is our free response to God's call. Saint Augustine said: ”the One who created you without your cooperation cannot save you without your cooperation.” Our vocation is our positive response, freely given, with joy and with enthusiasm. It is a “YES” which expresses our willingness to accept the will and plans of God. This “yes” is an option, it is a choice. It assumes an attitude of abandonment, renunciation and of making no demands. Saint Paul says: “I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” (Phil 3:8). The person who feels called expresses his or her willingness saying “Here I am, Lord”.

3. Our call implies a mission. When God calls us, He calls us to be workers in His field, in the field of the Kingdom. The task of those who are called is to discern the mission the Lord entrusts to them. Saint Vincent understood this very clearly when he said that “Our vocation is a continuation of the vocation of Christ”. Can we identify our own vocation in the here and now of the world in which we live? Moreover, our mission is always new. God renews our mission every day and, every day, in prayer and in daily encounters, the disciple-apostle takes on his or her mission.

4. Finally, in our vocation, God is saying to us: Do not be afraid, I am with you. God's grace accompanies us. In our vocation, everything is grace. God always promises His help to those whom He calls. In many places in Scripture we find these words: ” Do not be afraid, I am with you”, “my grace is enough for you”. The strength to fulfil our mission does not come from ourselves; rather, it is a mysterious strength that is at work in us, almost without our being aware of it. It is a strength that pushes us into being witnesses and to proclaim the Word of God. God walks with those He has called and He keeps us trusting in, open to, and given over to His providential hand. It is grace that turns the disciple into an apostle.

As we end this Second International Encounter of the Association of the Miraculous Medal, I invite you, dear brothers and sisters, to renew the grace of the vocation to which we have been called.

Return to the top.