How can I be happy, humble, and trusting? What John, the priesthood, and our vocation have in common.

I stood nervously at the bottom of the steps, going over all the possibilities in my mind. Maybe I would get one of those great men that brought Christ to thousands like St. Patrick or St. Francis Xavier. Or it could be one of the saints that had a really specific virtue like St. John of the Cross and his prayer or Blessed John Paul II and his devotion to Mary.

What am I talking about?

Sorry. In the seminary on Christmas, we pick a patron saint at random for the New Year with a special virtue that he exemplified. We’re supposed to live out that virtue in a special way and the saint helps us.

“Ah, Fr. Mark, a good one. I didn’t plan this, but it’s just what you need.” My superior looked excited. We normally pick a random number, and it corresponds to one of a number of little cards with specific saints laid out on a table. Things didn't look good. Everyone normally gets excited when a very talkative seminarian gets a saint with the virtue of silence or a brother who doesn’t like to study ends up with St. Thomas Aquinas and love for study. What would mine be? Then again, better not to even think about it – I’m still missing a lot of virtues.

“St. John the Baptist…” Great, I thought, he was the best saint ever. Jesus said, “In truth I tell you, of all the children born to women, there has never been anyone greater than John the Baptist.” If God said it, it must be true. But, then came the virtue.

“And his… humility.” Oh no, that wasn’t part of the deal. Everyone kind of looked at me and smiled. I admit I’m not always the humblest person, and in fact God has been trying to teach me true humility for the past 31 years (yes, I’m 31 years old). If you want to read more check out my story here: A Strange Prediction.

So what does this have to do with the priesthood, with the vocation (we are in National Vocation Awareness Week in the US), or anything else? Well, I’ve been reflecting a lot on my own priestly ordination less than a month ago. And it is very humbling to follow Christ! He does things in us and through us that go way beyond our strength.

I bring God down on the altar daily in bread and wine. I forgive peoples sins with a couple words, “…and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Who do I think I am?

But that’s just it - it is always the same story. In fact, the same story (or should be) as John, the Baptist. We just need some extra help and reminders sometimes.

In the Gospel last week, we saw what humility really is and how John, the Baptist lived it.

“You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease.”

“I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

John fully understood his role alongside Christ. He was not God, but God did call him to be his messenger, the voice to go before him. I am not God, and neither are you. But he called John, he called me, and he most definitely calls you!

How do we respond? How can we follow Christ like John?

Three concrete things come to mind for me. The first is humility itself, which basically just consists in recognizing that God is the source and Creator of all good. I’m a mere creature. Then comes trust, which is recognizing what is out of our control (almost everything) and calmly leaving it in God’s hands while doing all we can to help him. Finally, we have to live all this with joy, the supernatural enthusiasm we receive when we realize that no matter what happens God never abandons us. He loves us and wants us to share that love with others.

God called me to live this humility, trust, and joy in the priesthood. It’s beyond anything I could have imagined. Where’s he calling you?

Comment on the blog or on FaceBook, www.facebook.com/CampionProject to share your thoughts or ask questions. During the next couple of days, I will be sharing some reflections on my own vocation that I wrote in preparation for my ordination.