After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road. (Luke 10:1-4)

Every single one of us has been called, every single one of us have heard the voice of God in our lives, whether it was a whisper or a bellow, we knew that He was calling us forth for some particular task. We may question whether it indeed was Him, we may question what we actually heard, but the fact of the matter is we have all heard something and it was powerful enough, strong enough to bring us to this point in our faith and to lead us to search out what He truly wants in our lives, to truly discern our vocation.

And, while this may be true, the idea of a vocation is very foreign, because we have fallen into the mindset that our work is our identity, that who we are is shaped by what we do.

Yet, that is not what a vocation is, rather, it is a specific and intentional call by God Himself to bring the fullness of His kingdom to earth, be it as a single person, as a married couple or, possibly in your case, as a priest or religious. That is what it means to work in the vineyard, that is what it means to be laborers of the harvest.

For, while all of us are sent to fulfill this specific task that God has in store for us, not all of us are willing and ready to follow, because, in some sense, it is too simple of a call, no thunder and lightning, no divine bellow from the clouds, only the simplicity of the disciples, no money bag, no sack, no sandals, both literally and figuratively, instead, we need only go forward with only one thing, that is, trust in God.

And, believe it or not, that is our greatest challenge, to walk in faith, to let each step of our lives be an act of complete surrender, to walk, in a sense, like the Apostles, from house to house, town to town, never knowing what to expect, never knowing what it is God is calling us to each time.

For, by our Baptism we were all washed, cleansed from Original Sin. When the side of Christ was pierced on the Cross, from Him flowed blood and water, and that water still covers us to this day, its presence still bathes us in its purifying power. But something else also happened, something just as profound and just as important, for when we were washed we also became sons and daughters of God Himself, members of the family of the Blessed Trinity, overflowing with an abundance of grace, similar to that of the Blessed Virgin Mary herself.

In a word, we were made holy, which is why we have such a strong desire, even today, to recapture that holiness, that closeness to God, to live as though baptized again.

It is no wonder then that our true vocation in life is the call to holiness. We all try to achieve it in different ways, in those ways that God has desired for us, but the universal call is the same, we are all called to be holy.

And, while any vocation is important, since it is, indeed, the voice of God directing our hearts, the Church, as whole, has always asked us to focus, specifically, upon the two vocations of priesthood and religious life, because whether or not we agree with their specific identity, the truth is, without each, the Church would cease to exist.

The priest lives a unique life, one of constant contradiction, as both servant and leader, as both shepherd and lamb, as both instrument and weapon. Without the priest, the Mass as we know it would no longer exist, and without the priest the Eucharist would be no more.

It is why many saints and holy people note that when an oppressive group, of any kind, comes in, the first thing they do is murder the priest, because, as Christ says, if you strike the shepherd the sheep will scatter, and though their vocation is as another Christ, emulating the great high priest in Christ Himself, part of that mystical body is weakened because the sacraments are violently taken away. And, in places where this happens even today, where only one priest exists, for countless thousands, the loss is felt throughout, and a spiritual void is left.

And, while the priest is, indeed, necessary, those who live the radical call to the religious life are just as necessary, because they form the spiritual foundation upon which the Church is sustained. This is why they live in community, taking the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, because their fundamental call is to live, as St. Francis beautifully put it: “in the world but not of it.” They live to work but their work is unique, it is a spiritual work, they are professional pray-ers, if you will, because that is what they do the most of, and they do it together.

That is why the Church sees these two vocations as so fundamental and so important in all of our lives, and while you may or may not be called to that particular life there always exists a need for more, not because the Church is greedy, as it were, but because She recognizes that when God calls, His voice bellows to not just one heart but many, and it is the response of the one who hears to respond.

For, as Mary teaches us, when called, our response, to any call, is to be one of humility and simplicity and to say, with her the same words that she spoke to the angel, the same words of one whose vocation changed the entire world: “Be it done unto me according to your Word.”