By Fr Richard Escoto OCD

St Teresa of Ávila
‘This is the one portrait of Teresa that is probably the most true to her appearance. It is a copy of an original painting of her in 1576 at the age of 61.’

The author is currently the National Vocation Director of the Order of Discalced Carmelite Friars in the Philippines.

Vocations to the consecrated life are like the internet source. They continue to upload, unload and reload. And they are not running out of reach of a signal, with strong connections always from the source. They are ‘streaming live’.

Such a reality is awe-striking. It leads me to question more.

With our young generation so hooked up to the materialistic and pabebe [behaving like a young child to draw attention to oneself] culture and with the world we live in that is moving more and more into secular ideologies and living less and less by moral and value principles, fear lurks as regard the vocation ministry today. ‘Will there be souls today brave enough to live for God? Will there still be souls who can make God their first priority in life?’ Not only fears lurk; but even doubts of having good vocation today prowl.

But I am wrong. Vocations are alive in this time and age.

‘Santino’, played by Zaijan Jaranilla

Firstly, there is a grade school student. I could feel his passion. It was his first time to travel outside his province. He braved the rains and traffic of the metropolis just to talk to me. He was a very young and tender thirteen-year-old. Accompanied by his bedazzled father, this schoolboy asked me if he could join Carmel and be a priest. ‘Oh, my God! A thirteen-year-old? May Santino pa ba ngayon? (Do we have a Santino here?)’ Listening to his sincerity, I could humbly and silently say, ‘Lord, you are awesome!’ Yes, he could not enter at this time because of being so young. Yet in God’s time, by nurturing his vocation, he could enter the priesthood. Indeed, may Santino pa pala! (We do indeed have a Santino here!) [Editor’s note: ‘Santino’ was a character in a Filipino soap-opera, May Bukas Pa, ‘There is a Tomorrow’.]

The Little Man in Brown

Secondly, there is a school janitor. His inadequacies are glaring. He hadn’t finished high school. He is financially and intellectually challenged. But he wants to be a priest and he is asking how he can fulfill his dream. Yes, passion or a strong desire matter; but they are not the only ‘ingredients’. There are many factors to consider in a vocation story. Should I tell him that he could still pursue his dream by continuing his searching? Or should I say to him, ‘Ask God, baka hindi pagpapari ang bokasyon mo? (maybe priesthood is not your vocation?) The priesthood is one of many vocations in life.’ The janitor then went sad.

And lastly, there is a famous doctor. This is a story that can surely melt even callous hearts. On 15 August this year a doctor from a well honored hospital professed her solemn vows as a nun. What is mysterious is that she embraced the cloistered consecrated life! Her journey was from the active life of a medical doctor to that of a cloistered, hidden and silent nun. And this nun had not been just an ordinary doctor, but the first Filipina colorectal surgeon in the country. Despite what she had achieved in life, the ‘call within’ was what mattered most. As one friend who had attended the moving solemn vows ceremony testified, ‘She had woven for herself a successful medical career and two fellowships abroad in addition to her intensive training. She had both brains and money, could have established a career anywhere in the global community, with the world at her feet. But yesterday at her solemn vows - a more beautiful story has just begun. She prostrated herself before the altar of God and vowed to spend her whole life as a Carmelite.’

Rightmost is Father Richard with student friars

I cannot put into words what I have seen. All I can do is to be still and silent with the Mystery of vocation. Even in this time of pabebe, ‘selfies’, groupies and touch-screens, Vocations to the priesthood and religious life are streaming live! Because in reality and in humility, Vocations are God’s work. We are just instruments. Let us just prepare the seeds and nurture them. The true disposition of St Paul, the Apostle is at work here: ‘ I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth’ (1 Cor 3:6).

Nada te turbe Let nothing disturb thee By St Teresa of Ávila Nada te turbe, nada te espante, Let nothing disturb you, nothing frighten you, todo se pasa, Dios no se muda, Everything passes but God never changes/ la paciencia todo lo alcanz patient endurance attains to all things. quien a Dios tiene nada le falta: sólo Dios basta. Who God possesses wants for nothing. Alone, God suffices. The above words were round in the Breviary of St Teresa of Ávila (28 March 1515 – 4/15 October 1582). The setting in the video above was composed by Sr Claire Sokol OCD of the Carmel in Reno, Nevada, USA. The video was made to mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of St Teresa, also known as St Teresa of Jesus. A historical footnote is that St Teresa died during the night when the Gregorian Calendar, named after Pope Gregory XIII who introduced it, was implemented. October 4 was followed by October 15. The latter is the date of the saint’s feast day.