Chaplain's Message by Father Sal Guzman 

Come and See

Come and See

by Rev. John A. Harden, S.J.

Chapter 9 - Confession and Vocations

The sacrament of confession is closely related to priestly and religious vocations. Its is not too much to say, in most cases, that the sacrament of penance is a condition for recognizing, following, and remaining faithful to a vocation. How so? 

  

Recognizing:  It is safe to say that those called by Christ are all sinners. They differ only in the degree of their sinfulness. In God's ordinary providence those who have received a call to follow Christ in the priesthood or the consecrated life have no choice. Even to recognize they have a vocation, they must either acquire or maintain the habit of frequent confession. Nothing so blinds the mind in recognizing a vocation as sin. Nothing so forces the mind to hear Christ's call as reduction in sin. So true is this that we can paraphrase the sixth Beatitude to read, "Blessed are the sinless of heart, for they shall see the will if God (cf. Mt 5:8). Frequent confession, as recommended by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, enables young persons to see what state of life God wants them to embrace. This is especially true if they are called to serve God in a lifetime commitment as priests or religious.

 

Following: No less than sin blinds the intellect, so it weakens the will to accept the vocation to which the Savior calls certain people to "follow Me" (cf. Mt 4:19). Again, reception of the sacrament of penance strengthens the will to respond to Christ's invitation. Every sin we committ lessens our willpower to say "yes" to God. In the Church's history, we read how often a single fervent sacramental confession has converted a great sinner and inspired the convert to become a great saint. So, too, frequent confession elevates the natural power of human freedom to give oneself to Christ without reserve.

 

Persevering: We are living in what some have called the most unstable period in two millenia of Christianity. One reason for this is that so many once-believing Christians have lost their sense of sin. Whatever Happened to Sin is not only the title of a well-known book. It is a commentary on the moral condition of western society. Frequent confession is, therefore, not only a proven means of recognizing and following a vocation. It is also a most effective way of insuring perseverance in the priesthood or a life of the evangelical counsels. You might say this stands to reason. It is also confirmed by the Church's experience. As we become more detached from sin, we become more generous in our response to Christ's love. I know of nothing more certain to stabilize the priesthood and consecrated life in our day, than the restoration of the practice of frequent confession. The teaching of Pope Pius XII could not be more clear. His words deserve to be memorized: The sacrament of penance is the masterpiece of God's goodness. By it our weakness is fortified (cf. Menti Nostrae , no. 52). It is true that venial sins may be expiated in many ways which are to be highly commended. But to ensure more rapid progress day by day in the path of virtue, We desire that the pious practice of frequent confession, which was introduced into the Church by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, should be earnestly advocated. By it genuine self-knowledge is increased, Christian humility grows, bad habits are corrected, spiritual neglect and tepidity are resisted, the conscience is purified, the will strengthened, a salutary self-control is attained, and an increase of grace is secured by the very fact that the sacrament is received (cf. Mystici Corporis Christi, no. 88). Frequent confession is eminently valuable for every state of life. It is imperative for discovering, maintaining, and sustaining the vocation of those who are called by the Redeemer to follow Him "the whole way." 

 

Fr. John Harndon, S.J. wrote extensively on vocations including Come and See - Theological Reflections on the Promotion of Vocations, a short treatise that gets to the heart of vocations. Divided into 12 short chapters, a chapter will be included in this and future issues of The Metro. For your own copy, order through the publisher. To read on our website, click on the title above.

 

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Saint of the Month - Saint Patrick - March 17th

 
Legends about Patrick abound; but truth is best served by our seeing two solid qualities in him: He was humble and he was courageous. The determination to accept suffering and success with equal indifference guided the life of God's instrument for winning most of Ireland for Christ.

Details of his life are uncertain. Current research places his dates of birth and death a little later than earlier accounts. Patrick may have been born in Dunbarton, Scotland, Cumberland, England, or in northern Wales. He called himself both a Roman and a Briton. At 16, he and a large number of his father's slaves and vassals were captured by Irish raiders and sold as slaves in Ireland. Forced to work as a shepherd, he suffered greatly from hunger and cold.

After six years, Patrick escaped, probably to France, and later returned to Britain at the age of 22. His captivity had meant spiritual conversion. He may have studied at Lerins, off the French coast; he spent years at Auxerre, France, and was consecrated bishop at the age of 43. His great desire was to proclaim the Good News to the Irish.

In a dream vision it seemed "all the children of Ireland from their mothers' wombs were stretching out their hands" to him. He understood the vision to be a call to do mission work in pagan Ireland.

Despite opposition from those who felt his education had been defective, he was sent to carry out the task. He went to the west and north, where the faith had never been preached, obtained the protection of local kings and made numerous converts.

Because of the island's pagan background, Patrick was emphatic in encouraging widows to remain chaste and young women to consecrate their virginity to Christ. He ordained many priests, divided the country into dioceses, held Church councils, founded several monasteries and continually urged his people to greater holiness in Christ.

He suffered much opposition from pagan druids, and was criticized in both England and Ireland for the way he conducted his mission.

In a relatively short time the island had experienced deeply the Christian spirit, and was prepared to send out missionaries whose efforts were greatly responsible for Christianizing Europe.

Patrick was a man of action, with little inclination toward learning. He had a rocklike belief in his vocation, in the cause he had espoused.

One of the few certainly authentic writings is his Confessio, above all an act of homage to God for having called Patrick, unworthy sinner, to the apostolate.

There is hope rather than irony in the fact that his burial place is said to be in strife-torn Ulster, in County Down.

Source: www.americancatholic.org. To receive "Saint of the Day" as an email from St. Anthony Messenger Press click here.

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