A Surprising Path to Glory

A Surprising Path to Glory

A vocation is more than an occupation.
Unfortunately, that misunderstanding has become commonplace.

Occupations are transient and changing and at the service of an exchange of goods.
A vocation is a permanent covenant, at the service of an exchange of persons.
An occupation can be defined as what you do for a living, whereas a vocation is defined by who you are living for.

The vocation of a husband and father is a divine call, a path to glory.
Indeed, the Latin root word for vocation is vox, which means voice.
It is in embracing and living his vocation that a man becomes capable of discerning the voice, the Word of God, that summons him to holiness.

St. Joseph was “minded to put [Mary] away privately.”

Some translations say that he considered divorcing Mary.
This is an unworthy translation.
The Greek word for “put her away” is apoluó, which means to “set free, release”; and while it can be used in the context of divorce, in this situation the word is qualified by the Greek word lathra, which means “secretly.”
To divorce Mary would indicate that Joseph would have subjected Mary to a legal procedure that would have exposed her to the judgments of men and the Law.
Yet, to put her away privately indicates a positive, helpful action of hiding her away secretly, so as not to expose her to shame.

The virginal pregnancy instilled fear in the heart of Joseph, compelling him to separate himself from Mary, and thus inadvertently distance himself from his vocation of marriage and fatherhood.

Joseph on one hand could have been afraid of the unknown origin of Mary’s pregnancy and desired to void himself of any connection to, or responsibility for, the awkward and alarming situation.
On the other hand, St. Joseph was overcome with a bewilderment, a holy fear, believing himself unworthy of the call to be the virgin husband and father of a child of supernatural origin.
In either case, Joseph was tempted to separate himself from his vocational path.

You, my brother, will be intimidated by the devil, who by assailing you with various trials and tests will pressure you to withdraw from your vocation emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
The evil one’s goal is to convince you that you are not worthy of the vocation of fatherhood, or that it is not worthy of you.
No one is truly worthy of this heroic calling; yet, this calling is worthy of every man.

God, however, does not call the qualified as much as He qualifies the called.

Trust God.
He will grant you insight into how you can overcome the devil’s insidious doubts, your personal fear of failure, and “walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called” (Eph 4:1).