Queen of Vocations

"As a single woman, I had no question that it was man's responsibility to do the wooing. This meant holding back my natural aggressiveness and trusting God to work in the heart of a man if marriage was in his plan for me. A man, on the other hand, has a different position.  He too must learn to hold back his "hunter" instinct, praying, watching and trusting God to show him what to do and when. When he is shown, he is to act, accepting the demands of his headship and the sacrifice that goes with it." Elisabeth Elliott

Oh, to meet such a man!  A prayerful man who hears from the Holy Spirit about me!  That is why I must pray.  I must go to battle on this man's behalf.  He may be weak or wounded by the culture. His vision may be tainted.  He may not "see" me. Or, he may see me and be afraid to approach me...I believe I have a secret weapon: Our Lady.  I'm invoking her as Queen of Vocations.  I've read so many stories where she guided people by the hand to one another.  Pietro Molla, husband of St. Gianna Molla, begged the Madonna to send him a saintly woman to be the mother of his future children.  Wow. Was his prayer not answered to the max?!?!  Two things strike me about his request: even though he was in his 40s when he started courting Gianna, he believed that he was called to a marriage vocation.  Also, he never stopped praying for that vocation.  Pietro was a shy, introvert and he probably would not have pursued Gianna if he gave into his tendencies. I believe it was his prayers that infused the situation with grace and lead to their overwhelmingly fruitful union.

So I also place my vocation--my future spouse--in the capable hands of Our Lady! I trust in her intercession.

Thoughts on Vocation

Photo Credit: Salt & Light TV

"What is a vocation?  It is a gift from God--it comes from God Himself!  Our concern then should be to know the will of God.  We should enter onto the path that God wills for us, not 'forcing the door' but when God wills and as God wills." St. Gianna Beretta Molla

I love this saint.  Can't get enough of St. Gianna.  She appeals to my feminine heart for so many reasons: she was a professional, wife and mother.  She believed in service and was very involved with Catholic Action for women and girls.  She loved fashion, culture and the arts.  According to her son, Pierluigi, she also liked to drive fast 😀.  She went to daily mass, loved God and lived her faith!  People who know her said she wasn't preachy--she simply lived what she believed.  In generosity, she made the choice to delay the definitive treatment for a benign tumor of her uterus to give life to her 4th child. She was a hero.  What drew me to her is that in my own vocational discernment, I read that she actually thought about being a missionary with her brother.  She prayed to Our Lady at Lourdes in faith and formally met her beloved Pietro on the feast of the Immaculate Conception. If that's not a grace from Our Lady, I don't know what is!

As I wait in faith for God to reveal His will for me, I beg Gianna's intercession as well as Our Lady of Lourdes. Give me the faith to be open to God's will, whatever it is.  Amen.

Let Your Will be Done

Oceans Will Part by Hillsong

If my heart has grown cold
There Your love will unfold
As You open my eyes to the work of Your hand
When I'm blind to my way
There Your Spirit will pray
As You open my eyes to the work of Your hand
As You open my eyes to the work of Your hand


Oceans will part nations come
At the whisper of Your call
Hope will rise glory shown
In my life Your will be done


Present suffering may pass
Lord Your mercy will last
As You open my eyes to the work of Your hand
And my heart will find praise
I'll delight in Your way
As You open my eyes to the work of Your hand
As You open my eyes to the work of Your hand