Vocation: a precious gift from God

I am preparing for our monthly renewal day--every month Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother set aside a day for prayer, spiritual reading, reflection and discussion. This coming year, my local house community has chosen the first Sunday of each month for this experience.  As I prepare to lead this Sunday's day of reflection, I am reading an article in the HORIZON magazine, a resource for Vocation Directors.  I am at awe as I read about one religious community that numbered 10 sisters, the youngest being in her late sixties,  had made a decision to no longer accept candidates, who sent an 80-year-old sister to the Orientation Program for New Vocation Directors sponsored by the National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC). Puzzled that she would be attending this orientation program since her community had made the decision to cease accepting new candidates, the Director of NRVC asked her the obvious question: why are you here, then?  Her response was:  "Because we have chosen not to accept, does not exempt us from the responsibility of promoting what is most precious to us, which is the gift of our vocation. Even though my community will some day no longer be here, my community will live on in other communities through the men and women I hope to send to them. This isn't about my congregation. It's about the church. It's about religious life."  What a privilege as Vocation Director for the U.S./Caribbean Province of the Sisters of the Sorrowful to promote what I so strongly believe in: that all vocations are a call from God, a gift from the Almighty, and, above all, a gift that uniquely fits the person to whom God gives it!  I want young men and women to find that treasure. I did!