A vocation is a gift from the Lord. The family provides a good environment e.g. prayer, family rosary, daily reading of the scripture, love, care and concern for each other, understanding among the members and a cordial relationship with the neighbours, parishioners and the parish priest.
Reading of good books e.g. Lives of saints feed the mind with good thoughts and is a help to build up the family. When I was small I was very close to my brother because he was narrating many interesting stories which had good values in them. He was a voracious reader. He had a number of books with him. Some of the books were on the lives of saints, Old Testament and New Testament etc. I too got interested like him to read a number of books.
On Sundays we would have discussions on the sermon or on the Gospel of the day and my father would share his reflections on them which made us to learn the parables. I was impressed by the parable of the “ten virgins”. One day my brother told me that he had a dream. He said that in his dream both of us had gone to South America as missionaries. I liked his dream very much. This was the seed he had sown in my heart - to become a religious. At that time I was in Standard IX. After that I was determined to become a religious. That seed of vocation grew in me even though I was studying in a non–catholic college.
A good family can be compared to a good soil. When a seed is sown in a good soil and all other requirements like good manure, sufficient water, sunshine, a good gardener with a gentle touch and tender care of every plant are provided, the yield is plentiful. A keen supervision of plants is required to get the expected yield. So too in the family, parents should have a close bond with their children. They should observe their activities carefully and give them proper guidance for character formation.
When I was small we prayed the daily rosary. We were encouraged to put up our hands and pray. One decade of rosary was prayed for missionaries and religious every day. After each decade a hymn would be sung to ‘Our Lady of Mount Carmel’. Though the church was 5kms away we would walk to the church. Christmas and Easter vigil ceremonies were at midnight but we would take part in them with joy and great zeal. We were very attentive to listen to the sermon because after going home we had to narrate everything to our father who was sick and not able to attend Mass. He would be very eager to listen to us and would share his reflections too. This helped us to reflect deeply on some of the quotations and passages from the Bible. There was great respect towards priests and religious and thoughtfulness towards the parish priest. This was shown by sending food items to him. As a good tree has many requirements to grow like time to time trimming, manuring and watering, the family atmosphere should be conducive e.g. regular confessions, attending retreats, praying rosary and unity among the family members. Love and respect for each other, care for one another, bearing one another’s limitations working hand in hand for the welfare of the family, above all praying constantly – all these can be a bed for ‘vocations’. Today I thank God for my family.
Sister M. Asha A.C.
Jyothi Nivas Convent, Mangalore
