Created and Called

Nathan Ahearne invites parents to ponder whether we're asking the right question when we ask what a child wants to be when they grow up.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s one of those questions we love to ask young children. I remember my primary school class being asked this question and was intrigued by the answers ranging from fire-fighters, doctors, vets, actors, and marine biologists (none of us really knew what that was, but it sounded great). In Charlie Mackesy’s book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, the question: What do you want to be when you grow up? is asked of a young boy who responds simply, “Kind.” It’s a profound understanding of what we are all called to be.

Questions about "who" we aspire to "be" are often answered in favour of an emphasis on careers, training, or skill. After a long and challenging career, a retiring politician announced to the media that he was looking forward to being a full-time father, husband, and son. Some careers seem incompatible with the call to family life, with the assumption that one must be sacrificed to enable the other. What message does this send to our family?

Perhaps the question we should be asking of ourselves and others is not "what" you want to be, but rather "who"? It’s a decision we make. Our sense of self is central to who we are as Christians, and our daily choices reflect this reality. Presence and care for each other, seeking relationships founded on love, being attentive and welcoming with a sense of openness are hallmarks of what it means to "be" a Catholic teacher, social worker, administrator, caretaker, leader, nurse, youth minister, retiree, clergy, or religious.

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Our personal identity and vocational call can be so easily tied up with the work or ministry that consumes us from nine to five. However, Romans 8:28 reminds us that we are made for more:

We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

At the deepest level of our vocation, we are called to be children of God and to share His love with all we encounter.  

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Our sense of self is central to who we are as Christians, and our daily choices reflect this reality. #CatholicMom

It seems that Oscar Wilde’s advice to “be yourself” because “everyone else is already taken” is often adopted by the very young and the very old, but the years between are filled with a search for identity and purpose. In the Magnificat, we see Mary living her true identity, created and called to "magnify" the Lord with her whole being. Her life ignites transformation in others. In a world dedicated to the pursuit of comfort and happiness, our faith reminds us that we are known and loved by the Creator and are called to do justice, love tenderness, and walk humbly with our God.

Who do you want to be this week? To what is God calling you? 

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