Jody C. Benson reflects “On Calling” as a Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity guest blogger.
“I circle around God, around the primordial tower.
I’ve been circling for thousands of years
and I still don’t know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?”
From “I live my life in widening circles”
—Rainer Maria Rilke
What is a calling, you might ask? A vocation? A job? Our holy tasks?
There are lots of books out there on a theology of vocation and calling, and I find a lot of them to be somewhat frustrating. I think what they all acknowledge, however, is that the language around vocation and callings needs to be richer. Yes! What is the relationship, after all, between my vocation (wife and mother) and my creative work that I am called to do.
I found Edward Hahnenberg’s “Awakening Vocation: A Theology of Christian Call” to be helpful here. He says that the idea of call is “a constructive alternative to our contemporary cultural default, namely, choice.” What we need is the language to express our callings as pilgrims searching for and navigating our way toward God. Here he finds the language of vocation to help in understanding callings Read more.
Jody C. Benson is a freelance writer and editor and an instructor in Thy Olive Tree’s Fiat Self-Publishing Academy. She is the author of Behold: A Reflection Journal Where Wonder, Creation, and Stewardship Meet. Learn more at jodycbenson.com and jodycbenson.substack.com.
Article Comments:
Sister Anne Marie Lom 03/05/2023 @ 7:27 pm
“What we need is the language to express our callings as pilgrims searching for and navigating our way toward God.”
This line resonated with me. I, too, think we need language to express calling and encouragement to follow calls that come from “inside” and don’t have evidence right away.
Thank you, Jody, for this and the “read more” section!
Fr. Placid Stroik, OFM 03/09/2023 @ 11:29 pm
my call ..all calls are to ‘own” and “announce:” MY faith in the Lord Jesus in word deed”
Fr. Placid Stroik, OFM 03/13/2023 @ 11:29 pm
Emmanuel Mounier reflected in Personalism on our call: a person is a presence who has hope and acts on that hope.