Take courage!
An undeniable truth of our faith is that nothing happens in this world that is outside of God’s providence: “Who speaks so that it comes to pass, unless the Lord commands it?” (Lamentations 3:37).
St. Thomas Aquinas writes in “Summa Theologica”: “All things, inasmuch as they participate in existence, must likewise be subject to divine providence.”
Many of us have a difficult time trusting in God’s providence and this can negatively affect our discernment of our vocation from God. We might think, “I have a desire to be a priest. But my past has taught me that I’m too unworthy to be a priest,” or, “It would be pretty exciting to be a religious sister, but it just seems impossible for me right now.”
Trusting in God’s providence can be quite difficult. But a helpful story in the Gospels is Peter and Jesus on the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 14:22-36).
The disciples see Jesus walking on water and become terrified: “‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear” (25). But Jesus says, “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid” (27). Peter is incredulous and says,
“Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water” (28).
Jesus says, “Come.” As Peter is walking on the water, he becomes frightened by the wind, begins to sink, and calls out for help: “Lord, save me!” (30). Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him.
‘O you of little faith,’ He said, ‘why did you doubt?’ (31).
This true story offers us many different lessons about God’s providence in our calling, our vocation, to follow Jesus. For example, notice how Peter was frightened when he first saw Jesus on the water, thinking He was a ghost.
We also might have found Jesus quite scary when we recognized His presence in our lives: Maybe we realized that Jesus was calling us to give up a sin that seemed too scary to do; or maybe the thought of priesthood or religious life tugged at our heart, but we put it off for fear of what it might cost us; perhaps it was scary to think about what Jesus was calling us to do.
Jesus says to you and me, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” These are perfect words we need to hear, words that should shatter all fears. Jesus Christ is all-powerful, He is omniscient, He is Sovereign Lord: Nothing happens to us without His permission.
Not only that, but Jesus is madly in love with us. He thirsts for our love, our holiness, and our union of our heart to His Sacred Heart. So, there is no reason not to trust Him at every moment of our life.
Yet, like Peter, we don’t trust Him. We test Jesus; we doubt. As the waves of temptations and problems arise, we take our focus away from Him, lose faith, and are overwhelmed with temptations.
So, like Peter, we call out to Our Lord again, “Save me!” Jesus immediately, calmly, reaches down to us and brings us to Himself. He says to us, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
God’s providence is at work at every moment of our lives, whether we have been a great sinner or a great saint. He never stops helping us, saving us, and thirsting for our hearts. He knows what we need better than we do, because He is God.
Our job is simply to put one foot forward, keep our focus on Him, and trust. And when we fail, which we will, He stoops down to us and immediately takes us back to Himself.
If God is calling you to be a priest or a religious sister, remember this story from the Gospel. “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
Father Maurice Moon serves as chaplain at Nolan Catholic High School in Fort Worth and as Director of Collegian Seminarian Formation with the diocesan Vocations Office. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2018. Find his regular columns for the North Texas Catholic here.