Along the journey of vocational discernment, we are often confronted with our own human limits and defects; when that happens, we often become discouraged, not feeling adequate or able to respond to the Lord’s call. Some may have even wondered, “Why is the Lord calling me to consecrate myself, or to this mission, etc…, if He knows that this is how I am?”
It's simple: because the Lord does not focus on our limits.
In fact, he calls people like this mainly for two reasons:
1. He wants us to overcome our limits.
If God were to reason like us, nobody would ever reach perfection or holiness (cf. Matt 5:48; Lev 19:2) – because if we stop at our own limitations, we will never do anything greater than what we already do every day…We will be “comfortable” where we are and never come out of ourselves.
2. To manifest his power within us.
When people asked St. Francis of Assisi, “Why did the Lord choose you, who are not handsome or educated or even good at speaking?” He responded: “Because He found no viler creature upon the earth. That is why He chose me…to demonstrate that every virtue and every good come from Him – not from a creature” (F.F. 1838).
Thus, the Lord calls the timid – those whom no one would choose – and makes them do great things to show that nothing is impossible for Him (cf. Luke 1:37).
So don’t be discouraged!
“The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone” (Ps 118:22)
--Sr. VMD