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Vocations Explained.
by Anonymous.
CHAPTER I.
DEFINITION.----EVERY PERSON HAS SOME SPECIAL VOCATION.
Q. What is a vocation?
A. A call from G.o.d to some state of life.
Q. Which are the princ.i.p.al states of life?
A. Matrimony, virginity, the religious state, and the priesthood.
Q. Has every person a vocation?
A. Yes; G.o.d gives a special vocation to each person.
Q. How is this doctrine proved?
A. St. Paul says: "Every one hath his proper gift from G.o.d; one after this manner, and another after that. . . . _As_ the Lord hath distributed to _every one_, as _G.o.d hath called every one_, so let him walk." [*]
[*] The references are given in the larger catechism ent.i.tled "Questions on Vocations."
Q. Is it not beneath G.o.d's notice to give a particular vocation to each person?
A. Not at all; for even the birds of the air are objects of the providence of G.o.d: "Yea, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear not, therefore; you are of _more value_ than _many sparrows._"
Q. What do Father Faber and St. Alphonsus say on this subject?
A. Father Faber says: "Every man has a distinct vocation." St.
Alphonsus says: "We must embrace that state to which _G.o.d calls us_."
Q. What does St. Augustine teach concerning special vocations?
A. St. Augustine says: "He who does little, but in a state to which _G.o.d calls him,_ does more than he who labors much, but in a state which he has thoughtlessly chosen: a cripple limping in the right way is better than a racer out of it."
CHAPTER II.
NECESSITY OF FOLLOWING A VOCATION.
Q. Are we obliged to follow the vocation which G.o.d gives us?
A. Yes; if we should wilfully neglect to follow our vocation we would be in danger of losing our souls.
Q. Why so?
A. Because G.o.d attaches to our vocation special graces to help us to resist temptations and to discharge our duties properly. Hence, if we neglect G.o.d's call, we lose also His special graces; we then easily fall into temptation, and thus we are more liable to lose our souls.
Q. Can you quote reliable authority for this doctrine?
A. St. Alphonsus Liguori says: "In the choice of a state of life, if _we wish to secure our eternal salvation, we must embrace_ that state to which G.o.d calls us, in which _only_ G.o.d prepares for us the efficacious means necessary to salvation."
St. Cyprian says: "The grace of the Holy Ghost is given according to _the order of G.o.d,_ and not according to _our own will."_
Q. What does St. Vincent de Paul say on this point?
A. St. Vincent de Paul says: "It is very difficult, not to say impossible, to save one's self in a state of life in which G.o.d does not wish one to be."
Q. Has any one of the Popes given his views on this subject?
A. Yes; Pope St. Gregory the Great teaches that our salvation is closely connected with our vocation.
The Emperor Maurice having published an edict forbidding soldiers to enter the religious state, Pope St. Gregory the Great wrote to him these remarkable words: "This law, forbidding soldiers to enter the religious state, is unjust, because it _shuts heaven to many;_ for there are _very many who cannot_ enter heaven unless they abandon all things."
Q. Can this doctrine be explained by a comparison?
A. Yes; a master feels a just indignation against those servants that do as they please and neglect the particular duty a.s.signed them. The work done by such servants may be very good in itself, yet it is not pleasing to the master, nor will it be rewarded by him, because it is not in accordance with his designs.
The same principle holds with regard to G.o.d: "Not every one that Saith to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that doth the will of My Father Who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven."
Q. What is to be said of those that know nothing about vocations?
A. If they are ignorant of the matter without any fault on their part, G.o.d will not hold them responsible for such ignorance. By providential circ.u.mstances many are, without adverting to it, in the state of life in which G.o.d wants them to be.
