Vocations and Vacations

I want both of them. The end.

Kidding (about the "the end" part). I had the distinct privilege last Thursday of having dinner with Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life. He's one of those people someone in my line of work/interest hears a lot about, and someone my mother was extremely jealous that I got to meet. We headed out to the restaurant at little before the work day ended. I had a truly Biblical experience: I had learned from SFL speaker dinners that most often the person of importance sits towards the middle of the table, but the way the table filled in, I could sit in a way that would leave us awkwardly arranged or sit by the end of the table, sitting far from where I assumed Father Pavone would sit. I sat at the end, and to my surprise and joy, one of the other interns declared that he should sit at the "head" of the table. Hence, I ended up sitting right next to him.

The other interns asked question after rapid question, so I said little, but soaked it all up. Two thing stuck out to me. First, Father Frank told us that the Church resembles a golden coin held in a dirty hand. Beautiful. Golden -- created by God, and perfect. In a dirty hand -- safeguarded by humans.

Second, he told us pro-life work is a vocation -- a special calling from God with a particular shape and form. We are characterized by compassion, because this is the business of love, and even the "enemy" is not our enemy. The Enemy holds our ideological foes captive. We are also characterized by courage, because by His cross and resurrection, we have already won. I never thought of it that way before. Ultimately, in all of life, we cannot not triumph, because Christ's triumph has already happen. We are, Father Pavone said, working for and from victory.

The idea of pro-life as a vocation was very liberating. It justified my giving my life to the movement and also freed me to consider other vocations, something that proves hard when you have a cause to which to give your life. But if God has called me to work to end abortion, He can take care of married life, religious life, or single life as part of that. They are part of the same call, and God can and will take care of it all.

Before he left us for his next meeting, Father Pavone gave one of the interns a birthday blessing. We decided that to one-up this one, she has to spend next birthday with the Pope.

Vacations, I suppose, will have to appear in one of the next few entries...