“I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim 4:7)
Do you ever get vocation envy? You know, where you wish you had someone else’s calling? You wish you could travel the globe as a missionary, or minister to the poorest of the poor, or be a great public speaker, or maybe a great contemplative.
Some people are called to exciting things like that, but most of us are called to more ordinary things. Jobs in cubicles, days spent at home with kids. It’s easy to compare our calling with someone else’s and feel like it’s not important.
But here’s the deal: if you’re doing the thing God has called you to do, He’s going to use that thing to help you, and probably some people around you, get to Heaven. And that’s really important.
Today is the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, who together are often called the Pillars of the Church. God called each of them to radically holy lives, and yet their lives were very different. Saint Peter started out as a humble fisherman, while Saint Paul was a Jewish Pharisee. Saint Peter was a follower of Jesus from the very beginning of His public ministry. Saint Paul was a persecutor of the early Church before his conversion. Saint Peter was appointed by Jesus to be our first Pope, while Saint Paul traveled all over the known world preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles.
Their ministries looked different, but their goals were the same. They ran their separate courses to the best of their ability, and in the end they both were martyred in Rome and received the greatest of prizes, life eternal in Heaven with Jesus.
Our callings may not all look the same, but they have the same goal: to get us to Heaven. So that is why we must compete well, keep the faith, and finish the race.
Anna Coyne is a Minnesota native, wife, mother, and convert to the Catholic faith. When not chasing after her two young children, she is probably making pour-over coffee, knitting, gardening, playing the piano, or sipping on a glass of red wine. Find out more about her here.
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