Who Is Your “Saint Next Door”?
All Saints and All Souls Days are the days that we celebrate the lives of what Pope Francis calls “saints next door”—those holy men and women who quietly live out their vocations and go largely unnoticed by the Church at large. These men and women, through their example, often have a greater influence on your personal life than even the most inspiring motivational speaker or holiest saint. Here are three ways they’ve helped you discern your vocation without you even realizing it.
1. Through Example You have at least one person in your life who has inspired you by their example. Think about it for a minute. You’d probably call him a “man’s man,” a “dad’s dad,” or a “priest’s priest.” Watching him live out his vocation with so much joy is what inspires you to continue pursuing God’s call for your life.
2. Through Encouragement Have you ever had a friend, acquaintance, or even complete stranger come up to you and say, “You’d make a good priest” or “Have you considered becoming a priest”? Consider that this is God using the Communion of Saints to help you discover His calling for your life.
3. Through Prayer You probably pray about your vocation every day. That’s good, and you should certainly keep it up. But you’ve likely got a whole troop of “saints next door”—including souls in purgatory—who are praying fervently that you discover your God-given mission.
1. Through Example You have at least one person in your life who has inspired you by their example. Think about it for a minute. You’d probably call him a “man’s man,” a “dad’s dad,” or a “priest’s priest.” Watching him live out his vocation with so much joy is what inspires you to continue pursuing God’s call for your life.
2. Through Encouragement Have you ever had a friend, acquaintance, or even complete stranger come up to you and say, “You’d make a good priest” or “Have you considered becoming a priest”? Consider that this is God using the Communion of Saints to help you discover His calling for your life.
3. Through Prayer You probably pray about your vocation every day. That’s good, and you should certainly keep it up. But you’ve likely got a whole troop of “saints next door”—including souls in purgatory—who are praying fervently that you discover your God-given mission.
1. Through Example You have at least one person in your life who has inspired you by their example. Think about it for a minute. You’d probably call him a “man’s man,” a “dad’s dad,” or a “priest’s priest.” Watching him live out his vocation with so much joy is what inspires you to continue pursuing God’s call for your life.
2. Through Encouragement Have you ever had a friend, acquaintance, or even complete stranger come up to you and say, “You’d make a good priest” or “Have you considered becoming a priest”? Consider that this is God using the Communion of Saints to help you discover His calling for your life.
3. Through Prayer You probably pray about your vocation every day. That’s good, and you should certainly keep it up. But you’ve likely got a whole troop of “saints next door”—including souls in purgatory—who are praying fervently that you discover your God-given mission.
Although All Saints and All Souls Days are behind us, you can still turn to all the saints—both the living and the departed, the canonized and the “unknown”—for inspiration and prayer as you continue your journey towards your vocation.
Although All Saints and All Souls Days are behind us, you can still turn to all the saints—both the living and the departed, the canonized and the “unknown”—for inspiration and prayer as you continue your journey towards your vocation.
To aid you in your prayer for your vocation, download the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement’s free prayer card for vocations, and start praying with it today!
To aid you in your prayer for your vocation, download the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement’s free prayer card for vocations, and start praying with it today!
The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement are on a mission to bring God’s healing At-One-Ment to a world broken by sin. If you think God may be calling you to be an instrument of healing and peace through a life as a Franciscan Friar, then please visit our website.
The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement are on a mission to bring God’s healing At-One-Ment to a world broken by sin. If you think God may be calling you to be an instrument of healing and peace through a life as a Franciscan Friar, then please visit our website.
©2019 Franciscan Friars of Atonement
©2019 Franciscan Friars of Atonement
©2019 Franciscan Friars of Atonement