Sunday, February 28, 2010
Vocation Discernment
No, I am NOT going to be a priest, contrary to popular belief populated by a certain Poey Lau. Haha.
That aside, I'm sure most of you would know that 4 of us (Swee, Mel, Po and I) attended the recent vocation recollection at the Major Seminary over Friday and Saturday. For me I was pretty scared because when we were the first few to arrive. Was worried that we were the only ones there but I got a pleasant suprise when Br Jo told us that there were about 30 participants :D To quote Poey - "wa heng sia the pressure is off us!" Haha.
Anyway, I took a few things back home. First, is that in everything we do, we need to have a heart of love for others, and love must the the main motivation. We were asked what would be the one factor that would make us join the priesthood, and my answer was along the lines of "If God calls, I know that I can't run and whatever else I do will leave me unfulfilled and unsatisfied. Only if I respond can I feel a sense of purpose and meaning in life". On retrospect, this was an extremely selfish way of thinking as you can see from the many "Is" in the statement. Basically I was just thinking of myself, and how I would be better off joining the priesthood than doing something else (If God really calls, of course). I think what struck me after that was when more than 1 seminarian (including our very own Jude!) shared that their love for Christ, and love for others was what prompted them to join the seminary, and remains their strongest motivation to continue in this the long journey towards priesthood.
This can be applied to everything we do in ministry and in community, that the underlying reason for all our actions is LOVE. Pretty apt considering the session we had today! Thus we should always pray for a purification of intentions as it is human nature to do something for personal gains, and pray for the grace to die to our own selfish nature daily. I believe that this is what we describe as radical living and making a true sacrifice of ourselves, regardless of whatever vocation we are called to!
The second thing that struck me was how much I actually LISTEN while praying. As you all know prayer is supposed to be a two way communication with God but how many of us stop bombarding Him with our requests and petitions and actually listen in the silence of our hearts? This thought was triggered after I returned to the dormitory after spending some time in prayer in the adoration room, and Jude (yes its always him :/) asked me "so what did Jesus tell you today?". I then realised that I couldn't answer his question because I wasn't listening in the first place! Thus I conveniently pretended that I didn't hear what he said and just started another conversation. Haha. So I urge you all to "try to find a quiet place, to hear his voice and seek his face" in your daily prayer, especially during this time of Lent, and I believe that God will speak to the inner depths of your heart and soul. After all, we will find Him if we seek Him with all our heart! (Jer 29:13).
Alright, I think that is some of the many insights I've had during the vocation recollection, will post more of my thoughts if they pop up again. In any case, I urge all the LOG guys (esp Liver and Sim! Mark Tang you're safe.. for now. Haha.) to start on this discernment process as it will take a long time, and it is essential if we want to truly surrender our lives to God and for us to serve Him fully in His divine plan.
Have a great week ahead, and remember to pray for Melmel since he's away for holiday in Rome. God Bless!
Soo
Vocation Discernment
No, I am NOT going to be a priest, contrary to popular belief populated by a certain Poey Lau. Haha.
That aside, I'm sure most of you would know that 4 of us (Swee, Mel, Po and I) attended the recent vocation recollection at the Major Seminary over Friday and Saturday. For me I was pretty scared because when we were the first few to arrive. Was worried that we were the only ones there but I got a pleasant suprise when Br Jo told us that there were about 30 participants :D To quote Poey - "wa heng sia the pressure is off us!" Haha.
Anyway, I took a few things back home. First, is that in everything we do, we need to have a heart of love for others, and love must the the main motivation. We were asked what would be the one factor that would make us join the priesthood, and my answer was along the lines of "If God calls, I know that I can't run and whatever else I do will leave me unfulfilled and unsatisfied. Only if I respond can I feel a sense of purpose and meaning in life". On retrospect, this was an extremely selfish way of thinking as you can see from the many "Is" in the statement. Basically I was just thinking of myself, and how I would be better off joining the priesthood than doing something else (If God really calls, of course). I think what struck me after that was when more than 1 seminarian (including our very own Jude!) shared that their love for Christ, and love for others was what prompted them to join the seminary, and remains their strongest motivation to continue in this the long journey towards priesthood.
This can be applied to everything we do in ministry and in community, that the underlying reason for all our actions is LOVE. Pretty apt considering the session we had today! Thus we should always pray for a purification of intentions as it is human nature to do something for personal gains, and pray for the grace to die to our own selfish nature daily. I believe that this is what we describe as radical living and making a true sacrifice of ourselves, regardless of whatever vocation we are called to!
The second thing that struck me was how much I actually LISTEN while praying. As you all know prayer is supposed to be a two way communication with God but how many of us stop bombarding Him with our requests and petitions and actually listen in the silence of our hearts? This thought was triggered after I returned to the dormitory after spending some time in prayer in the adoration room, and Jude (yes its always him :/) asked me "so what did Jesus tell you today?". I then realised that I couldn't answer his question because I wasn't listening in the first place! Thus I conveniently pretended that I didn't hear what he said and just started another conversation. Haha. So I urge you all to "try to find a quiet place, to hear his voice and seek his face" in your daily prayer, especially during this time of Lent, and I believe that God will speak to the inner depths of your heart and soul. After all, we will find Him if we seek Him with all our heart! (Jer 29:13).
Alright, I think that is some of the many insights I've had during the vocation recollection, will post more of my thoughts if they pop up again. In any case, I urge all the LOG guys (esp Liver and Sim! Mark Tang you're safe.. for now. Haha.) to start on this discernment process as it will take a long time, and it is essential if we want to truly surrender our lives to God and for us to serve Him fully in His divine plan.
Have a great week ahead, and remember to pray for Melmel since he's away for holiday in Rome. God Bless!
Soo
2 Comments:
Hello Soo & Log :)
Okay, Praise god for your experience. And erm whoa, I think the part when you said we have to listen to what god says when we pray and that it is a 2 way communication, I think that what you said is really true. I realize I always tell god blah blah blah and end my prayer but today in ado I don't know why but I just sat there after I prayed and I just felt god’s love in a small way but I really did. And so I just wanted to say that what Soo is saying is actually the truth which many of us don't really consider. And so I would like to urge everyone to try this out when you pray the next time :P .
Take Care Log & Thanks Soo =)
By 
Greg,
February 28, 2010 10:29 PM
eh why u bo jio justin kong and dominic to become priest huh. no wisdom class love hahaha.
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