Catholics on Call - A Place to Live The Questions

“I hope that you come to find that which gives life a deep meaning for you. Something worth living for – maybe event worth dying for, something that energize you, enthuses you, enables you to keep moving ahead.”~Sister Ita Ford

These words have guided me to many places throughout my life, as I search for the deep meaning within my own life. These martyred churchwomen’s example of living a life of faith and dedication to the Church has called me to begin questioning what I could dedicate my life to. In doing so I began to ask deeper questions of myself; what am I passionate about? What role does faith play in my life? What energizes and enthuses me?

Two weeks ago I sat in an unfamiliar room at Catholic Theological Union surrounded by strangers in a city I don’t call home. Sitting in that unfamiliar place I began to question why I was there; then during the opening prayer this quote was read and I knew I was right where I needed to be. As a graduating college senior I have a lot of questions about where this next year will lead me, and to put more pressure on, everyone around me is asking the same questions.

Throughout the week I listened to captivating speakers present on faith, vocation and discernment, I met other young Catholics who are passionate about responding to their call within the Church, I participated in beautiful prayer services and liturgies, and I formed relationships with our inspiring mentors who walked with us throughout the week and shared much of their wisdom. One of my favorite parts of the conference was having the opportunity to have one-on-one conversations with the mentors and other participants. On the first night I was able to share my story with one of the mentors. The next day she gave me a quote by Rainer Maria Rilke that states, “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” She told me that the answers to my questions would come when I find a vocation that completely fills me with joy and happiness. A common theme many of the speakers touched on was how to discover our true vocation explaining that in order to do so we are first called to be fully ourselves, only then will our gifts and talents be used to meet the needs of the world.

As I drove away from Catholic Theological Union, my heart was filled with joy and peace. Catholics On Call created an environment where I felt comfortable to share my story and inspired by the other participant’s willingness to open their hearts. We came together as strangers, but left as a community of friends; all trying to live the questions while searching to dedicate our lives to something greater than ourselves.