what is your life mission?

Spirit Daily had a good article today on how everyone has a unique mission in life. I have always believed this, and have often thought of what my mission in this world is. Below are a few excerpts from the article:

I was wondering who on this forum thinks they know their life mission? Do you feel you are on the right path? I know we can never be 100% sure in this life that we know what God had intended for our lives, but how many think they kind of know?

As for me, I really don't know :roll: I do think I took a very wrong turn somewhere. This is where I envy people who are married, in the religious life, and / or parents. Because part of your mission is right there, you are a spouse to a person or the church, and / or you are a parent raising a child. Part of your life judgement will be on your sacrifice, committment, and fidelity to your spouse and / or you will be judged on the formation of your child's soul, how you raise your children, and what you do for them. Now, I always thought I'd get married and have maybe 3-4 kids but I'm in my early 40's and still single. Now I don't to this day feel I missed the call to be a nun, so I figure it didnt work out with the man I was supposed to marry for one reason or another.

This leads me to another question, that is: Is being single a true vocation? It is not one of the catholic sacrements, and Fr Corapi (when he was Fr Corapi) stated once that very few people are called to be single. I'm not saying I won't get married down the road, as I hope I do, but my marital state confuses me in determining my life mission. I've always felt I would have a family and I did not highly desire a corporate career. But since I'm single and have to support myself, I've had to go the corporate career road.

Of course since I've had challenges on the job market, I've often wondered if I am in the right industry/profession. I didn't target the profession I'm in now...in fact, it just evolved as doors just opened for me so wide I had to walk through them. So for the most part I've presumed I was in the right profession because of the way it's evolved, but I know it is not a natural fit for me as some of the skills required are not my most natural skills/talents. I'm trying to branch in different directions now, but that's not easy.

All these questions lead me to wonder how far off the road I am on my life mission. I've concluded my mission now is to pray for others and work a job to support myself. I'm doing half that now. What do others think on where they are on their life mission?

http://www.spiritdaily.com/lifemissions1.htm

 

You are called to a life of prayer... I'd love to be a nun.
I think if we remember that our life mission is one that God wishes for us and that its more than career, more than marriage, more than children, more of what He needs us to do- it stops being about us and the skills that we think we have or what we are born with. Sometimes, God needs us for our natural skills but needs them in a place that feels awkward and forced so we have to find the skills and develop ourselves for HIs purpose.
My vocation was to be a therapist and help severely emotionally wounded children ( I didn't want to work with adults )- but God took me out of that after 1 1/2 years of my dream job and made me work with the Homeless for over five years. I developed skills and found talents I never knew I had. Suddenly I have all these great skills in dealing with traumatized adults as well as the children I used to work with. I'm back in that same program that was originally my vocation, but now I am managing it- supporting the staff, guiding their therapy and helping them understand they can't treat the child without attending to the parent's needs and since they don't have adult or family therapy skills- I can help in that area.
I never intended to spend 5 years with the homeless population, it's not the most impressive part of my resume, but it was the best development time for me both in my work and in my faith. I impacted hundreds of destitute poeple and presented the face of hope on behalf of God. I was His hands and His mouth. I felt the active role of the Holy Spirit in my life and it was joyful.
I think we need to remember that when we get to heaven- the impact that God will proud of us for wont be the things we thought were important while here on earth. At least not the things that society teaches as important.
Maybe your spouse is still out there somewhere, maybe not. The point you need to work on is 'are you doing what God wants' from day to day with the poeple around you. It might not be the career that God wants for you so much as the impact you may have on your coworkers. A corporate job might allow you to have extra cash on hand to do good works with. You may meet a spouse in that job. You might save someone's life by being that one person who listens to them on the lunchbreak.
I think if you pray and leave it in God's hands and trust Him to make the decision for you, it'll all work out the way He wants it too.
Employment is not always and easy thing to get and maintain these days, so I' chosen after much frustration to focus less on the ideal job and just on what is God asking me to do today. Once I gave up the fight with God about my job, my happiness went way up. (I actually prefer doing the therapy to being a manager- problem is, God has made me a really good manager!)

So pray about it. Let God decide for you. If you make money, use it for good works. God will tell you where he wants you- if you listen. (I don't always want to listen )
Go to church functions for single poeple and let God find you a mate. I think people need closeness and intimacy- but thats because I am an attachment therapist. If you are still single after awhile, don't sweat it but just make sure you have good friends to make life more enjoyable.
So that is my story- Hope you aren't sorry you asked! He he
Pray, pray, pray
Kath

 

I enjoyed reading these posts because I love to read others journey to my own. I know often its not easy to write about something so deeply personal as ones own mission, so I appreciate the honesty and openess that went into writing them.

I think PS so long as we love there is never any mistakes or wrong turnings. Its a bit like breaking a bone, when its healed the bone actually heals back stronger than it did before. I always love the saying in the bible best of all:

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

ALL THINGS. Yes even our sins and mistakes, so in love there are only ever right roads no mistakes, we may take odd turnings but throgu hGOds love these odd little paths become high roads.

Isaiah 42:16
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.



In this the good God reminds me of a mother who holds her much loved baby against her breast and carries it along in safety. God is like this and because He actually carries us like a mother with her child there are no mistakes, no wrong turnings only safely home.

Isaiah 49:15
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!

As to being single being a lesser mission, well I have never found this to be so and Fr. Corapi's comments on this issue were misguided.
Why?

Well because there is no such thing as a greater or lesser vocation or mission path. God loves us too much to permit such a thing as First, Second or Third class compartments on the train to heaven. There are no better or worse paths there are simply loving journeys,as St John of the Cross, said ,At the end of the day we shall be judged on love.

Hence the poor unemployed man who struggles with prayer against alcholism and drug abuse in a slum bed sit in Belfast through prayer is on as important a mission as the Holy Father in Rome.

I read a nice account from a Scots priest who was very holy and wrote exstensively on prayer. It became know he was dying of cancer and he recieved letters of sympathy and prayer support from all over the wolrd. But the one he said he treasured the most came from an old man an atheist. In it he said he was writing from a a doos house in great squallor and poverty, still fighting against drink . He said he did not believe in God, but was praying for the priest (Father Dalyrymple) even though he didn't realy believe in God.

I have no doubts that this old down and out drunk was on as high a mission as any of us..and that is why Fr Dalyrymple treasuered his little ,dirty, pencil scrawled note more than any other and kept it with im till he died a few moths later.

 

Inspring words Kathleen and Padraig. Thank you for your insight. I'm glad you brought up the subject, Potatosack.

I've been single, married, tried the religious life, have had kids and I still don't know if I'm on the right path. I know some of my life's mission is to be unapologetically Catholic. Since I have kids it's a no-brainer that I'm also being called to be a parent. As for the rest of my life's mission, don't know it, never have, and I doubt I ever will. My mission in life is to be always wondering if I'm on the right mission.

 

Here is an article by Peter Kreeft on the subject of discernment... I can relate to the feelings you expressed PotatoSack, and I found this article helpful.

http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/discernment.htm

 

Pefect article for the discussion, bfcatholic, thank you.

It's a longy, but goody. Here's an excerpt:

 

Kathleen's post reminds me that, 'By His wounds we are healed...'

Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.




..that it is by making ourselves vulnerable and opening ourselves to others needs we help to heal others, we do this by engaging in healing ourselves , opening to heal others and thus engaging further deepening healing. I think in this we are so like the angels.

I foten think as I walk round the hospital. 'This place is fullof healing angels.'

I always thought this most especially in the hospice; that it was just FULL of angels...

]

 

Hmm, I don't know if I agree completely with all of this:

Potatosack said: I was wondering who on this forum thinks they know their life mission? Do you feel you are on the right path? I know we can never be 100% sure in this life that we know what God had intended for our lives, but how many think they kind of know?

As for me, I really don't know :roll: I do think I took a very wrong turn somewhere.

This is a great discussion, and I'm afraid I'm going to write a long post now. The part above that I am not sure I agree with is how our true mission comes so naturally or not forced...how it fits like an old shoe. I think we often fight our true missions because they are actually quite hard. We fight them because they go against what others think we should do, or what we "want" to do because of worldly influences. I think we can take wrong turns...in fact I am more sure of that than anything else. I think, no, I know, I did take wrong turns in my life, very wrong turns...its that darn free will He gave us. I think I listened to others instead of my inner calling. However, I also think that our paths have infinite possibilities. I think that God allows us to make our own choices, and then he works with the choices we make. So in that respect, no path is "wrong" in that it cannot lead us to Him, but that we make our own paths more difficult by not listening early on when he tried to steer us the right way. Am I making any sense?

We had a talk in the car on the way home from Notre Dame about regrets. My young daughter was talking about something she didn't do as a resentment, when in fact it was a regret. But somewhere along the line she has been told she should have no regrets. Well, all three of us piped in (my mom the loudest, being the oldest and wisest) to say that it is right to have regrets. We should be able to see in hindsight, the wrong choices we may have made. It is okay to have regrets, but you also must understand that now your path is changed and you cannot go back for a "do-over". That I think is a hard lesson to learn as a child becomes an adult. We decided that this happens in your 30's...you realize that you can't start over. Divorce is a big example of this. Someone realizes a mistake they think they have made, so they divorce and "start over". Thing is, though, it is never starting over, it is always moving on. Your mistakes, your wrong turns, all lead you down a new path, you can never go back and take that path you said no to before. Its okay to regret this, and to try to make reparation for it if reparation is needed. But to be wise is to know that you go on, never back.

So all that said, I look back and I can see clearly now paths I was supposed to take, or very wrong paths that I did take, listening to others instead of to God. I can also see and understand why I didn't take the right path. I know I should have though, so I regret it. But It doesn't mean I can't make better choices now and in the future. I should learn from it why I didn't do the right thing, and not make that mistake with the next choice God puts in front of me. I am grappling with that right now terribly with my career path. Like you Potatosack, so much of my career just opened up to me like it was right and natural, and I think indeed it was because I was making right choices then, but it was the choice I made BEFORE all that which was wrong. I should have chosen a different path, a harder one, I know what it was, but I took an easier path. Doors did open for me, as God led me down the path I chose, but to this day I miss the way I should have gone. But it is too late now. I need to look forward instead, not back. I have two wonderful children, and two step-children. I would not have had them if I would have chosen the other path. I would have had different kids. So that is a good outcome of my choice. But I don't think it means a different path was not possible. I think it means that God made lemonade with my lemons. I love Him so much for doing that in my life, over and over. Right now I am waiting for Him to lead me, but then I think maybe he is waiting for me to make another choice. Which is it? Do I wait, and pray, and try to see which is best...or do I take another leap on my own and just ask him to help me with the ride again?

In my younger days, I do not ever remember wanting to be a nun. However now, in hindsight, I envy the life of the religious. I would love to be a nun, to have my prayer life so deeply engrained in my everyday activities. To have it be my "job" to pray...how wonderful that would be! Sometimes I think maybe that is why I do have trouble holding on to a "vocation" especially where my career is concerned. Because maybe I was supposed to choose a religious life? Well, no, actually I think it was because I said "no" to going away from my hometown and becoming a Veterinarian. I do think that if we make the wrong choice, even if at first it seemed to be the easier or more practical choice, that later we have trouble holding on to it or being as successful at it as we would like to be because it was, after all, the wrong choice. But we have to make the best of it, because there are no do-overs.

The beautiful thing about all this though, is that in the end, God is okay with it all. He will work with us, he will guide us, he will give his Mercy to us, no matter what choice we make. He will forgive us if the choice is a sinful one, He will guide us to a better path, and he will offer us another choice. He does this over and over again. And when we die, He will lay it all out for us to see, and we will see all the choices, good and bad, and where they have led us, and whether we made good on them in the end or not. I think of the whole picture as being illuminated, with some paths dark, some dim, and some bright. The collective brightness of the entire picture is where we are, and if it is not bright enough, we go to purgatory until others, by offering up their prayers, loving memories, happy thoughts, wishes, sympathy, etc. gradually light up more and more of our picture, showing us other areas where we made a difference in the lives of others, or where we helped another person, loved another person, shed light in another person's life - until our picture is finally clear and bright and we feel joy about our lives as a whole, and God smiles with us, and then we enter God's light with love and gratitude and pure joy in our hearts.

 

Thanks everyone, for your well thought out responses. I hope no one thought I was being nosey in bringing up such a personal topic. Maybe another way to ask it is if you have ever felt that you were doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing? I remember a friend said this to me one day after making a big life decision, and I remember thinking...have I ever really felt this way? And I have felt that way, but just not in a very long time, so the Spirit Daily article prompted me to start this thread.

Yes, I believe you are right on this Padraig. It goes along with what MCalling stated in how even if we make a bad decision...another option will present itself shortly down the road. I as well have a lot of regrets on past decisions, but if I trust in God, I guess my wrong turns will turn into high roads. Life is really one big decision tree and I have to trust God with my missteps!!

I can relate well to both those quotes! We'll never truly know in this world, but I have been praying to God to give me a sign on which way He wants me to go!!

I agree you are probably right Padraig, but I really do wish the church would give more guidance on how to live this vocation more fully. In the catechism I'm reading (The US Catholic Catechism for Adults by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops) it expands on what it means to be a catholic spouse, parent, and priest/nun meaning what your duties are that are unique to that vocation. But being single does not even get a mention. (maybe the more traditional catechism expands on it, but I'm not sure.) It also bothers me a bit when in mass on Mother's Day and Father's Day, people with that role stand up and receive a blessing. I know couple's receive a blessing too (I believe on the feast of the holy family?) and I always think...so when do single people get to be blessed? I suppose it's petty, but it's something that bothers me. Luckily God has surrounded me with a good network of family and friends, so I have my fun and companionship, so I should be thankful instead of complaining. Please excuse my whining :roll:

Mario - I look forward to reading that article. I scanned it a bit, and I believe it will be very helpful to me. And thank you everyone for piping in! I'm still digesting all of your comments!!

 

I'd love to take credit, but I think that was bflocatholic. Geographically speaking, Bflo is a neighbor just down the road- a mere 180 miles. Maybe something will rob off on me!

Safe in the flames of the Sacred Heart!

 

OK, Connie, you've done it! :lol: I wasn't going to, but your insights have prodded me to share this. The freedom we have to choose is a marvelous gift. Yet, sometimes the Lord elects to enlighten some of our paths more clearly than others. I always go back to good St. Joseph. There he was, attempting to wrap his mind around the stark reality of his pregnant spouse-to-be. He really couldn't fathom it, but he had resolved to treat Mary as tenderly as the circumstances permitted. It seemed to be the best choice at hand and I'm sure he had wrestled in prayer to reach that conclusion. But God intervened, sent his angel, and the rest is history! The Lord sometimes pulls out all the stops!

Here was a most electric moment for me, 9/24/77. In the evening I was prayed over for the release of the Holy Spirit in my life. It was a powerful moment as I received the gifts of tongues and prophecy. Yet more followed at the celebration of Holy Mass. God's presence was so palatable! At the Consecration, when Fr. John elevated Our Lord for all to worship, Jesus spoke to me audibly for the first and only time! This is important to realize, because for a number of years following, I exercised the gift of prophecy in many prayer meetings. The word God would give me to speak, however, came as an intrusion into my thoughts, sometimes gentle and comforting, other times forceful and powerful, but never audibly. So what did I hear Jesus speak on that Saturday evening long ago?

"Terry, you shall be a priest and feed my People."

Clear as a bell! In fact, during the next four years, I pursued that calling as I discerned the Diocesan priesthood and a number of religious orders. How could it be otherwise? The context in which Jesus spoke was the Consecration at Holy Mass! Perhaps that is why giving up the call to a celibate life, and embracing marriage was such a difficult decision, at first. I won't go into the stepping stones of discernment that resulted in my reversal. The point is, I'm still utterly convinced that what Jesus spoke is still valid. Today, however, it appears so impossible! And so I love my beautiful wife, I love my wonderful children, I strive to live the Faith, and I await a clarification from God! And Geralyn smiles at me!

I think Joey Lomangino and I have a lot in common. And we ain't gettin' any younger!

Safe in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!

 

OH my, what a story Mario! Thank you so much for sharing that! You know that you can become a priest in your latter years, should you, no ill intended of course, outlive your spouse. So far we have had two priests assigned here that are latecomers like that, with families and children in their background. So, you never know.

We think our paths are clear sometimes (in your case audibly clear!), but then something or someone comes along and changes everything, or seems to eliminate its possibility altogether by their actions, or perhaps just by their presence in our lives. With much consideration and in your case, I am sure much prayer, you feel the path you are being called to has changed. And perhaps it has. Like I said, I think that there are many options we can choose, and each choice can have a good result, even if it is not the first choice God would have wanted for us. Whether your choice was part of a longer plan, or instead an act of your free will when faced with two very different life paths, remains to be seen, doesn't it? Either way, God is working it out, and beautiful things have happened because of your choice, like the birth of your children. Same as me, and it is such a paradox to think about it all, isn't it? Makes my brain hurt!

I wish the path I turned away from was as amazing as yours, but there was no speaking from God for me. Perhaps if there was I may have made the other choice. In fact, I was rather far away from God at the time. Interestingly enough though, it was in the same timeframe as your experience (the late 70's). Then there was the matter of my career, that was a different instance that I think I may have not chosen correctly, but I was being influenced by others around me in a negative way, being told I couldn't do it for various reasons. That it was not practical, and my parents didn't want me to leave our town to go to college either. So I stayed here, and did my college for something different, slowly over many years without leaving. And here I still am...

 

PS, The Society of St Paul founded by Blessed James Alberione in the 20th Century has orders for not just priests and nuns but for single Catholics as well. I believe the men's order is the Society of St Gabriel and they have a similar order for women called to live a single life in secular society. This is just one example where Mother Church hasn't forgotten your vocation. I think to say that God calls no one to single life outside of a religious order is misguided. Any fruit really comes by remembering the true vine so your mission or my mission while unique is only as fruitful as our fidelity to Christ.

 

wow, thanks for sharing your story Mario...quite amazing!! I would have really, really struggled to make the decision to get married after hearing audibly from Jesus. I read that the seers in Medj were told by Mother Mary that she would like them to go into the religious life and it must have been very, very difficult for them to decide to get married knowing Mother Mary had wanted them to join the religious life. but there are blessings no matter what path we choose...even when God lights up a direction really, really bright :lol:

I hope to get caught up this weekend on that article from BuffaloCatholic (sorry for calling you Mario!) and Daniel, thanks very much for the info on that society...I hope to read up on them this weekend as well.

 

Mario,

I've really pondered the story you related about your audible direction from the Lord for nearly 2 weeks now. It's amazing, bewildering but amazing.
The very first thought I had was "If you were a priest I would be the first in line for confession ".
We never know how our lives will twist or turn, never.

But I thought of you on Thursday evening.
The teachers for the Catechisis of the Good Shepherd took our little classes( mine being the 3 an 4 yrs old) to a special mass that was intentionally celebrated just for us and the parents of the children.
A beautiful priest offered mass, a Father Spencer, who had the voice of an angel and was a devout and reverent priest.
As I watched him move around the altar, I noticed he had a slight limp on his left side and on closer observation, realized he had CP. So naturally I was intrigued as to how he was going to carry out his priestly duties. This was brilliant!
The altar server brought him a gorgeous gold bowl which had a braided chain attached. It wasn't until this point that I surmised what it's use was. He slipped the braided chain around his neck and proceeded to give communion to the congregation. It was so beautiful to watch, I was moved to tears.

 

Lee,

I'm touched that you've given me and my circumstances so much thought. Fr.Spencer strikes me as a wonderful priest, but I must admit if I used a braided chain, I'd probably end up choking myself!

Safe in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!

 

Actually it was the altar server who got hung up on the braided chain but he quickly extracted himself from it. They made it look like a common occurrence.

 

This is a great thread PS! I feel a long post coming on but don't have time at the moment...

To sum up what may or may not be an answer to your question, I think if I have peace then I am where I am supposed to be, in God's plan for my life

God Bless
Border collie

 

Notice how this thread stopped though...does anyone out there know for sure what their life mission is? I am completely bolled over with what mine has done and now with what it is doing again. I am at a point...again...where I am asking God...again...to clue me in just a little bit, to PLEASE give me a sign that I am doing something, anything right?

 

What a wonderful thread And strange because I have been thinking about this myself and wondering how I could share it.

As Potatosack has already pointed out having children is a mission in itself however, I don't believe in today's culture it's always obvious to us.
I have always been aware that I was being looked after, well looked after. God has taken care of me and to be honest, with very little effort from me.
I was given a happy, comfortable childhood, a good education and ultimately, the choices that go with those privileges. I trained as a nurse, not because I wanted to, because it was a pretty convenient choice to make at the time. Having said that, my training was not without it's difficulties, I was forced to grow up, and in doing so I developed life skills that have been absolutely fundamental to the person I am today.

Nursing today is a career choice, there are excellent opportunities for men and women to have wonderful careers as nurses. I was lucky, I qualified when there were more opportunities than there were nurses and I could bounce around from one good job to the next gaining lots of qualifications and useful experience. I've worked in all kinds of settings and then came the best job of all, a job as a University Lecturer. It was during my time as a lecturer things changed, I'd had my children who I love with all my heart but something seemed to have gone wrong. My children were very happy in full-time nursery care during the day, and I had the best job I could ever dream of, but somewhere deep down I wasn't.

I moved on again, and by now I'm a research nurse in dementia. My children are at school and I work part-time. I'm deeply frustrated, I'm qualified to do more and yet I can't seem to keep up with life. I can't keep up with the children's activities; when they need their PE kits for school, school trips, assemblies, school holidays. I can't keep up at work, I put myself under so much pressure to do more and then not deliver that eventually I'm signed off from work with work-related stress. Three times during the year I was interviewed for other jobs and each of them there was a perfectly unavoidable reason why I didn't get it. At this point I understood I was meant to stay where I was. This was last year.

And so began a journey of discovery. I asked God and the angels to help me. Then I went back to work in the same job. No one expected me to but I did.
This time I allowed myself to accept that it wasn't my job that was my priority, it was my children. (It all seems so obvious now) I work 3 days a week and spend 4 days at home. So it dawned on me; I spent more time at home than I do at work!! Therefore I couldn't do everything my full-time colleagues did at work but I could do more to support my children at school. Ta-dah! It was like a Revelation.
The thing is, I'm much more effective at work now and I can see things so much more clearly. I have a vision for the future that I believe is being revealed to me.
As a wealthy society we have become so independent. Women and men (in our Western society) have wealth and choices that can allow us to lead independent lives and it's that we've been taught to strive for, it is the ideal. It's for the good of ourselves and in turn society benefits. But that's not true, not really, it's not for the good of society. We aren't meant to live independent lives, we've forgotten to look after each other, care for each other and with it, we have forgotten the rewards that come with looking after each other. God has given us skills to support each other but we have forgotten how to use them. I could see how I was, prioritising my job over my children, when actually it was caring for my children and my husband that was the most important role for me. My heart knew this, I was too blind to see it. God gave me the choice.
I can see it in my work. We are a long way of finding a cure for dementia, and we are also a long way of finding a medication that is going to halt it's development. Care homes are poorly equipped to handle it, and as a society we know so little about we are afraid of it. Many sufferers and their carers become isolated, lonely, and unsupported. The nature of the disease means that the sufferer becomes completely dependent of the carer, its gets worse as time goes by until eventually there is a crisis when one of them becomes ill. The person with dementia becomes so dependent on the carer that no one else can look after that person. Dementia is on the increase and what is becoming more and more obvious governments and health agencies don't know what to do about it.

I believe society is going to have to change. We are going to have to review our priorities, look to our future and decide what type of society we want to be in the future.
I believe in the warning, I believe in a great conversion, I believe in our whole way of living will be turned on its head. Simply because..it has to.