<\/div>\n
[Homily for the 26th Sunday for Ordinary Time C]<\/p>\n
On a day like today twelve years ago, I drove home from college with one single purpose in my mind: to tell my family I was considering the priesthood. \u00a0The night before I had talked to my sister on the phone and she was going home for the weekend too. \u00a0The timing was right. \u00a0I told my sister I had something to tell everyone.<\/p>\n
I arrived home and my parents had some friends over for dinner. \u00a0The friends left late. \u00a0Suddenly everyone was going to bed, \u201cI guess I won\u2019t tell them today,\u201d I thought. \u00a0As I was going into my bedroom my sister said, \u201cwasn\u2019t there something you were going to tell us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh yeah\u201d I said. \u00a0I called everyone back to the living room, everyone sat down and I told them. \u00a0It was the last thing they expected to hear. \u00a0There was utter silence followed by a burst of joy.<\/p>\n
Just a few days ago I read a list of things us priests could do to promote vocations. \u00a0One was to tell our story. \u00a0I started thinking about my story and about the upcoming \u201canniversary\u201d of the day my life changed directions. \u00a0Then I saw the readings this weekend express the undertones of my vocation story.<\/p>\n
Everything was perfect in my life. \u00a0Using the language of the first reading from Amos, I was lying on a bed of ivory, stretched comfortably on my couch eating lambs taken from the flock. \u00a0I was drinking wine from bowls and anointing myself with the best oils.<\/p>\n
I had almost a full ride at Furman University, one of the top liberal arts schools in the country. \u00a0Furman had been my top (really my only) choice for college. \u00a0The campus is beautiful, the academics challenging, the professors caring and the student body first class.<\/p>\n
I was class president both freshman and sophomore years. \u00a0I was involved in everything humanly possible at that school; I had many friends, it seemed everyone knew me and I knew everyone. \u00a0I taught English at a local literacy agency, I sang in Furman Singers, I even got to volunteer with the secret service when President Bush came into town. \u00a0Possibilities seemed endless. \u00a0Everything was attainable and at my fingertips. <\/p>\n
I knew in the depths of my heart that I should be happy, grateful for all that I had and had achieved. \u00a0Yet, deep within my heart the question was: Is this it? \u00a0Is this all there is to life?<\/p>\n
There was an emptiness. \u00a0A hollowness I did not know how to fill.<\/p>\n
I did an internship at the Augusta Museum of History for the summer thinking I wanted to be a museum curator, the person who takes care of the collections. \u00a0At the end of the summer I asked myself, \u201cDid you enjoy this?\u201d \u00a0Yes I did. \u00a0\u201cDo you want to do this for the rest of your life?\u201d \u00a0Oh no.<\/p>\n
I wanted to do something with my life. \u00a0Perhaps with a selfish, yet very optimistic streak, I wanted to make a difference in people\u2019s lives. \u00a0I wanted to make a difference in the world, but felt limited. \u00a0I was sad, I was frustrated.<\/p>\n
Then things began to change. \u00a0Out of nowhere, the idea of the priesthood began to come into my mind. \u00a0It would not go away. \u00a0I would think about it when I woke up, I would think about it during the day, I would think about it when I went to Mass on Sunday. \u00a0I ignored it.<\/p>\n
Since it refused to leave and I always liked being true to myself, I decided to look into it. \u00a0I didn\u2019t know any priests personally; I only occasionally went to the Catholic group at Furman. \u00a0I first contacted the Jesuit province of New Orleans, the priest there sent me several books which I devoured. \u00a0I then contacted a priest I had met four years prior my sophomore year at Aquinas. \u00a0Things changed even more.<\/p>\n
I walked away from Furman not knowing what I was doing, but knowing that I had found the precious jewel in the middle of the field. \u00a0All I knew was that I had clearly heard God\u2019s voice and I chose to answer. <\/p>\n
I recall one night the vice president of Furman asking me at a dinner what my plans were for junior year since he had noticed I wasn\u2019t running for class office. \u00a0I told him I was leaving Furman. \u00a0At first he thought I was joking, then he got upset. <\/p>\n
I realized that true joy and fulfillment were found in God; that only God could fill the God-shaped hollowness of my heart. \u00a0Why chase after fleeting success and trophies that could never satisfy the desires of my heart?
The rich man of the Gospel chased after purple garments, fine linen, and fine food. \u00a0These things ultimately let him down.<\/p>\n
Poor Lazarus lived without any earthly delights, but persevered in loving God: he was greatly rewarded.
God calls many to the priesthood, but it all hinges on one thing, the answer of the called which is either \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n
May the Lord help each of us compete well for the faith as Saint Paul says, fulfilling our calling so we can, like Lazarus, lay hold of eternal life.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Homily for the 26th Sunday for Ordinary Time C] On a day like today twelve years ago, I drove home from college with one single purpose in my mind: to tell my family I was considering the priesthood. \u00a0The night before I had talked to my sister on the phone and she was going home […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
Answering the Call<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On a day like today twelve years ago, I drove home from college with one single purpose in my mind: to tell my family I was considering the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2013\/09\/answering-the-call.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Answering the Call\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On a day like today twelve years ago, I drove home from college with one single purpose in my mind: to tell my family I was considering the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2013\/09\/answering-the-call.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Labyrinthine Mind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-09-29T20:58:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Father Pablo Migone\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Father Pablo Migone\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2013\/09\/answering-the-call.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2013\/09\/answering-the-call.html\",\"name\":\"Answering the Call\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-09-29T20:58:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-09-29T20:58:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/35ce8464416a4368561caf8ed8c2ba1b\"},\"description\":\"On a day like today twelve years ago, I drove home from college with one single purpose in my mind: to tell my family I was considering the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2013\/09\/answering-the-call.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2013\/09\/answering-the-call.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2013\/09\/answering-the-call.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Answering the Call\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/\",\"name\":\"Labyrinthine Mind\",\"description\":\"Seeking God in the labyrinth\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/35ce8464416a4368561caf8ed8c2ba1b\",\"name\":\"Father Pablo Migone\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/305296c2dd82f71369f8808eb07ace26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/305296c2dd82f71369f8808eb07ace26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Father Pablo Migone\"},\"description\":\"Born in Lima, Peru and raised in Augusta, Georgia, Father Pablo Migone was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 2009 after studying at the Pontifical North American College and earning a Masters in Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy. 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