ROME, MARCH 7, 2011 (Zenit.org).- A vocation is above a personal call from God who knows “each each of us by name,” says Benedict XVI.
The Pope made this reflection Friday afternoon during his visit to the Major Roman Seminary. In keeping with an annual tradition, the Holy Father visited on the feast of the seminary’s patron, Our Lady of Trust.
Presiding at a celebration of lectio divina, the Pontiff offered a commentary on the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians, during which he offered to the seminarians four attitudes that characterize a Christian life: “humility, meekness, magnanimity, and bearing with each other in love.”
Humility, Benedict XVI pointed out, is the word that St. Paul used to described Christ, “who was God and humbled himself, […] and descended to the point of making himself a creature, to the point of making himself man, to the point of obedience on the cross.”
“So, humility is not just any word, just any modesty, but a Christological word,” he added. “Imitating the God who comes down to me, who is so great that he becomes my friend, suffers for me, and dies for me. This is a humility to learn, the humility of God.
“It means that we must always see ourselves in the light of God; thus, at the same time we can know the greatness of being a person loved by God, but also our littleness, our poverty, and this is the right way to conduct ourselves, not as masters, but as servants.”
The Holy Father said that meekness is also a “Christological word,” and “again implies this imitation of Christ.”
“Because in baptism we are conformed to Christ,” he explained, “we must therefore conform to Christ, find this spirit of being meek, without violence, of convincing with love and with goodness.”
Magnanimity, continued the Pope, “means generosity of heart, not to be minimalists who give what is strictly necessary: Let us give everything we posses, and we will also grow in magnanimity.”
“Supporting one another in our own otherness is a daily task,” the Holy Father added, “and especially when we support each other with humility, learning to truly love.”
Baptismal vocation
Benedict XVI also reflected on “the vocation common to all Christians, namely, the baptismal vocation: the call to be of Christ and to live in him, in his body.”
“The Christian life begins with a call and always remains a response, to the very end,” he explained. “And this is so in the spheres of both belief and action: Christians respond to their vocation through both faith and behavior.”
“God, the Lord, has called each of us,” the Pope continued. “He has called each one by name. God is so great that he has time for each one of us, he knows me, he knows each of us by name, personally.”
“It is a personal call for each of us. I think that we must meditate on this mystery often: God, the Lord, called me, calls me, knows me, awaits my response as he awaited Mary’s response, as he awaited the response of the Apostles.
“God calls me: This fact should make us attentive to God’s voice, attentive to his words, to his call for me, to realize this part of salvation history for which he has called me.”
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On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full text: www.zenit.org/article-31945?l=english
