The vocation, like faith itself, is a treasure that we carry in earthen vessels (cf. 2 Cor 4:7); therefore, we must safeguard it, as we safeguard the most precious things, so that no one robs us of this treasure, and so it does not lose its beauty with the passage of time.
This care is first and foremost a task for every one of us, as we are called to follow Christ more closely with faith, hope and charity, nurtured each day in prayer and strengthened by a good theological and spiritual formation, which defends against the fashions and culture of the ephemeral and enables us to walk steadfast in the faith.
On this foundation it is possible to practice the evangelical counsels and to have the very sentiments as Christ (cf. Phil 2:5). The vocation is a gift that we have received from the Lord, who has looked upon us and loved us (cf. Mk 10:21), calling us to follow him in the consecrated life, and is at the same time the responsibility of those who have received this gift.
With the Lord’s grace, each one of us is called to take on responsibly, in the first person, the task of our own human, spiritual and intellectual growth and, at the same time, to keep the flame of the vocation alive.
This means that we in turn must keep our gaze fixed on the Lord, being ever careful to walk according to the logic of the Gospel.
Pope Francis
