Call to Action

My hand were folded in prayer, resting on the back of the pew.  My knees began to ache from kneeling.  This was my daily ritual after noon Mass.  I was praying for God's will to discover my vocation.  One day I felt an interior voice begin to rise within me a voice that boomed, "Scott, stop praying and start doing!"   The words reverberated throughout my body and especially within my thoughts.  In that moment my prayer quickly changed to, "Lord, give me the strength to do, instead of just to pray."

One can not simply discover their vocation by praying; one must do.  We are called to try.  That is ultimately what God ask of us.  It's in the trying we discover our personal vocation.  And through our experience of loving we can then ask:  Am I called to love and be loved as a religious brother or priest?  Am I called to love and be loved as a diocesan priest or deacon?  Am I called to love and be loved as a father with children? or Am I called to love and be loved as a single man?  One does not know the will of God unless one tries on their options. 

We cannot discern whether we should do something, but only whether we should try to do it.  For instance, you cannot discern to marry Susan unless you begin to date her.  You can't begin to discern religious life unless you experience the Order's prayer, fraternal and ministerial life.  These observations also make it clear that some vocational paths require the consent of more than one person.  Therefore, we have to be prepared to receive the answer no.  In the other's no we come to know God's will in that particular circumstance.  This is not a sign of failure, but a sign of successful discernment! 

The surest path to happiness is to discover what God is inviting you to do and to accept that invitation.  By living out your personal vocation, you will do the most good, and in so doing will find fulfillment both here and hereafter.  God also does not want us to simply settle for the easiest path, but challenges us to choose the greatest good for our lives. 

We are reminded of this in the story of the rich young man who approached Jesus and asked what he should do to gain everlasting life.  He was not choosing between good or evil.  We were told that he kept all the commandments.  Jesus told him what to do if he wished to be perfect and to live the greater good.  The scripture (Mt 19:16-22) makes clear what reason itself tell us:  we are not called simply to avoid evil and do good, but to do the greatest good.  What is your greatest good? 

Our vocation director and friars are here to help you discover your greatest good.  We can arrange opportunities to experience a "Come and See" retreat, join a monthly discernment group, or immerse yourself in one of our outreach ministries to the poor and homeless.  In other words, we invite you to try on the life, test the stirring of your heart, respond to the movements of the Holy Spirit to follow Christ in a more radical and greater way. 

May God bless you and keep you on this journey of faith called life!

Peace and all Good,
Bro. Scott Slattum, OFM

One way to try on the Franciscan way of life is to volunteer at one of our sponsored ministry like the St. Anthony Foundation in San Francisco, CA.  What ministries to the poor are in your area?  Consider volunteering with them.

Personal Reflection:

How have you tried on religious life?  What are some concrete ways you've tried to experience the friar's prayer, fraternal and ministerial life?

Contact Information:

Franciscan Friars
Office of Vocations
1500 34th Ave
Oakland, CA 94601
Phone:  (408) 903-3422
Email:  vocations@sbfranciscan.org
Facebook:  www.facebooks.com/SBFranciscans.Vocations
Website:  www.sbfranciscans.org

Companions on the Journey

A bright light illuminated the sky.  It could be seen for miles around.  Was the forest on fire?  The townspeople began to run towards the woods of Santa Maria degli Angeli with buckets of water to put out the flames.  When they arrived, they saw Francis and Clare, with their two companions, deep in prayer, covered by a brilliant aura, for they were filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Clare and Francis of Assisi were spiritual friends, companions on the sacred journey.  They were present to each other seeing and honoring the sacred mystery of the others soul.  They witness this mystery and reflected it back in word, prayer, and thought.  They helped one another respond to the Holy Spirit hidden in the depths of each others soul.

Spiritual Direction:

Francis, like us, needed the assistance of others to discern the direction of God's calling in his life. During one such instance Francis experienced a tension within himself about the direction of God's calling, a creative tension between his desire for a life of contemplation and a life of preaching.  Francis asked Brother Sylvester and Lady Clare to pray that he might know which way to choose: the "contemplative" or the "active" life.  The answer from both was the more difficult challenge: to continue in active ministry, even with his strong inner desire to live a more contemplative form of life.

Discernment is not meant to be taken alone, as shown through the example of Francis.  We are called to journey with others.  It is in relation to others that we discover how best to live out our common vocation:  To Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27).  It is in relating to others that we discover our unique way of giving and receiving love.  Am I called to be loved and love as a religious brother or priest in the Order of Friars Minor? Am I called to be loved and love as a diocesan priest or deacon?  Am I called to be loved and love as a husband and father?  Or am I called to love and be loved in the single state of life?

Entering into a time of discernment is about reflecting on our experiences of loving and being loved.  A task we are all called to; not just those discerning a vocation to religious life.  It is for this reason men in discernment are encouraged to find a spiritual director, friend or companion; a person who understands the art of listening carried out in the context of a trusting relationship.  This person will listen to your life story with an ear for the movement of the Holy, of the Divine, utilizing the two movements of consolation and desolation (read Consolation and Desolation).  A spiritual director will also help you discern between various voices you might confuse for God's voice and will.  Is it my voice speaking, the voice of the world (family, culture, and society) or even the evil one that I am confusing for God's voice and will.  This is why spiritual direction is so important because we can easily fool ourselves into believing we are following God's will.

Finding a Spiritual Director:

Start by asking your vocation director for a recommendation.  They will know spiritual directors in your area that are familiar with religious life.  You can also contact a local Catholic retreat house.  They often maintain rosters of spiritual directors in their area.

Suggested Resource to use with your Spiritual Director:

Consider purchasing the book "Ten Evenings with God."  This book is written by the Franciscan Sister Ilia Delio, OSF.  She is a professor and chair of Spirituality Studies at the Washington Theological Union and has written a simple book that takes the frustration and panic out of life's decision and shows us to seek God's will means to know God.  This would be a great resource to use with your spiritual director.

In Closing:

May God bless you with a holy friendship as he blessed Francis with Clare. 

Peace and all good,
Bro. Scott Slattum, OFM

Contact Information:

Franciscan Friars
Office of Vocations
1500 34th Ave
Oakland, CA 94601
Phone:  (408) 903-3422
Email:  sslattum@sbofm.org
Facebook:  www.facebooks.com/SBFranciscans
Website:  www.sbfranciscans.org

Freely you have received, freely give.

I stood over the bed of my grandmother.  It was my turn to say good-bye.  Tears began to form as I held her hands; words were so hard to form.  I became overwhelmed as I told her one last time that I loved her.  A week later, I stood amidst my family, her friends and friars who had gathered for her wake.  I wept with them, not out of grief, but out of overwhelming gratitude. 

I experienced a love lavishly poured out upon me through my grandmother.   A love that was freely given and undeserved, a love I could never repay.  It was in that moment I understood how much God loved me.  I stood there in the abundance of thankfulness, giving thanks for God's love expressed through my grandmother. 

The heart of our faith is Eukaristos a Greek word translated into English as Eucharist, which means to be grateful and is now usually translated as "thanksgiving."  To give thanks is at the heart of our Catholic faith.  We gather around the Lord's Table to celebrate the Eucharistic, to give thanks for the gift of His sacrifice:  There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends (John 15:13).

We experience the greatest love in the sacrifice of the Mass.  Therefore, Mass is essential for men and women in discernment for religious life.  Mass is where we encounter Jesus' real presence.  The Church teaches that Jesus' presence is found in the community gathered (Read: Camp Emmaus), in the Word of God (Read: The Word of God), in the priest or bishop who is presiding (Read: I Confess to Almighty God), and in the Eucharistic species (Read: Theological Reflection).  To know God's will is to know God.  God is Love (1 Jn 4:8). Therefore, there can be no greater place to encounter God's love than the Sacrifice of the Mass.

The only way to really know God is through the experience of love.  We will never be able to choose the way of God if we are not in some way familiar with God's presence, God's voice, and God's touch.  Discernment is experiencing how God is calling us to love and be loved.  Am I being called to love and be loved as a religious brother or priest?  Am I being called to love and be loved as a diocesan priest or deacon?  Am I being called to love and be loved by a spouse and children?  Or am I being called to love and be loved as a single man?  Love is the key to discernment because God is love (1 Jn 4:8). 

I know I am blessed.  I was afforded a love that some haven't because of life circumstances.  I rejoices at the love of my grandmother; a love like Jesus that was freely given and underserved.  It would be at my grandmother's funeral that I would come to understand that I was called to share this love with others.   Freely you have received, freely give (Mathew 10:8).

Jesus isn't simply talking about giving of our time, talent, or treasure to help others, but to share the essence of His love.  Freely we have been forgiven of our sin, and freely we should forgive others.  Freely we have been shown mercy, and freely we should show mercy.  Freely we have received redemption through Christ's sacrifice on the cross, and freely we are called to live and say, "I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep" (John 10:11).  Lastly, I can say and do because my grandmother shared God's love.  I can honestly say, "I am a Franciscan friar because I was loved into this life. "

Christ knows it is not always easy to be like our Heavenly Father.  He offers us His Son, so when we eat and drink of the Body and Blood of Christ at Mass, we are nourished to go forth and continue the work of Christ.  The word Mass comes from the Latin meaning "dismissal" or "sending forth."  We are reminded of this at the end of Mass when the priest or deacon dismisses us with these or similar words:  Go forth to love and to serve the Lord.   That is our mission as Catholic Christians.  

Freely you have received, freely give (Mathew 10:8).

Peace and all good,
Bro. Scott Slattum, OFM

St. Francis of Assisi, had a deep devotion to the Eucharist and Saint Bonaventure commented that Francis would be swept up in ecstasy after receiving Communion.  For Francis the adoration of the Eucharist amounted to "seeing Christ".  St. Francis is credited with starting Eucharistic Adoration in Italy, which soon spread to other parts of the world.

Personal Reflection:
To announce and realize the good news of the kingdom of God is the vocation of the Friars Minor, it is our mission.  The Order of Friars Minor exists for its mission (Constitution of the Order of Friars Minor). 

Being Friars Minor does not consist in living for ourselves, but for others.  The Fraternities of the Order of Friars Minor are outward looking Fraternities, not groups closed in on self.  Our cloister is the world and our mission is to make the Kingdom of God known (Constitution of the Order of Friars Minor).

Do you feel called to our mission?

Contact Information:

Franciscan Friars
Office of Vocations
1500 34th Ave
Oakland, CA 93105
Phone:  (408) 903-3422
Email:  vocations@sbofm.org
Facebook:  www.facebooks.com/SBFranciscans.Vocations
Website:  www.sbfranciscans.org

I Confess to Almighty God

I bowed my head as I recalled the times I failed to love.  Together we raised our voices:

I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done
and in what I have failed to do,Through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; 
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

Today, I will begin new.  Today, I will love neighbor and God.  Sin:  A Hebrew word translated into English as sin literally means "missing the mark."  Sin is falling short of God's will for human life.  In the Bible, as strange as it sounds to modern ears, the word sin actually implied hope.  If an action were condemned as sinful then the person could repent, change the situation, and be made new.   In a world that believed in the powers of fate controlled by gods and the powers of earth, sin was a word that inferred the possibility of healing, repentance, and change.  Our God offered us free will, in contrast to the gods of fate. 

To clearly discern our calling to religious life we must strive to be free from sin.  When we fail, miss the mark, break our commitment to love, ignore justice, and fall into sin, it fractures our relationship with God and other people.  We are then not able to clearly discern because to know God's will is to know God. 

God is love (1 Jn 4:8).  The true nature of discernment is experiencing how God is calling us to love and be loved.  Am I being called to love and be loved as a religious brother or priest?  Am I being called to love and be loved as a diocesan priest or deacon?  Am I being called to love and be loved by a spouse and children?  Or am I being called to love and be loved as a single man?  Love is the key to discernment and sin is the lock that prevents it.

The path to healing begins with repentance-the intention to change and be made new.  Repentance is a commitment to sin no more, to change our lives, and to offer restitution (Deut 5:32-33). To be repentant is to accept God's invitation to start over, to change our mind and heart, to be reconciled with God.  Therefore, the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is essential for all men and women in discernment. 

Jesus, through the action of the priest, invites us to release the past, be forgiven, and reject sin (Jn 8:11).  Jesus bestowed on the Apostles and the Church the power to forgive and to liberate souls from the burden of sin through the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (Jn 20:23). This is God's gift to us, an invitation to be free and to ask to be liberated from guilt and broken relationships our sin caused.   Then we are more clearly able to love God and neighbor and in the process experience how we are being called to love and be loved.

The sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is essential

for all men and women in discernment. 

Peace and all good,
Bro. Scott Slattum, OFM


Personal Reflection:
Use the Peace Pray of Saint Francis to examine your conscious.  Simply ask, "When there has been hatred, have I contributed to it or brought peace?" and continue on in this manner throughout the prayer.  Feel free to share your experience of this examination in the comment spaces below.

Contact Information:

Franciscan Friars
Office of Vocations
1500 34th Ave
Oakland, CA 94601
Phone:  (408) 903-3422
Email:  vocations@sbofm.org
Facebook:  www.facebooks.com/SBFranciscans.Vocations
Website:  www.sbfranciscans.org