In partial fulfillment of the requirements in Christian Living for

the A.Y. 2017-18

The Christian Vocations and My personal reflections about them

Submitted by: Submitted on:

Clarence Carlo L. Araja March 5, 2018

10 St. Dominic Submitted to:

Ms. Ophelia Lualhati
Married Life:
Married life is the life experienced by two people who have made a solemn promise to be
one and to live together and to love each other for the rest of their lives. Marriage is one of the
most important and life-changing vocation of all, anyone that is considering this vocation should
be ready and prepared for all the responsibilities he/she will face as this vocation is something
that should be taken seriously. The couple must love, care and respect each other at all cost and
they must work together to help each other grow into a better person and Christian and form a
loving, caring and happy family. They would also be the first teachers of their children when it
comes to Christian faith; it is their duty to guide their children into human and Christian
maturity. No family is perfect; they will always face problems no matter what happens because
these problems are God’s way of making a families’ bond stronger than ever. Marriage is
important because this is where a family and an everlasting commitment begin; all families that
love and are faithful to God begin in a marriage. Through marriage, we can achieve holiness
towards the new heavens and new earth by simply being better persons because of marriage. As
mentioned earlier, marriage is one of the most life-changing vocations of all; it can alter
someone’s life depending on how they handle their marriage, whether it is for the good or bad. If
a couple handles their marriage well and accept all their responsibilities with heart then they will
form a family full of nothing but tenderness and a family that will be strong and delighted
enough to overcome the trials in life while maintaining a strong faith and relationship with God,
something that can be the key to achieving holiness towards the new heavens and new earth.

For my personal insights and reflection about marriage; I definitely think that it is a very
important and sacred vocation and it is something should be treasured will all your heart.
Marriage is when two becomes one; this is where someone gets a lifetime partner and someone
that a person can rely on for the rest of their lives. I’m not going to be able to share any personal
experiences because I’m only a student and I’m far from being married but I can tell and observe
a marriage of someone else which is of course, my parents. From what I’ve seen from them; I
can safely say their marriage was a success. Even though they have their constant arguments and
disputes they have remained a happy and loving couple. They have also maintained a good
relationship with us though we have our disagreements from time to time; they have done their
responsibility as parents by communicating with us and disciplining us the right and appropriate
way. They have not failed to provide me and my brother all our needs; both of us grew healthy
and both of us had a happy and content life. They’ve also succeeded in guiding us to Christian
maturity; I and my father still go to mass. I wish I could say the same for my brother and my
mother as they rarely attend mass anymore because they’re both busy with their job but that
doesn’t take away the fact that they’re still kind and religious people. This is a good example of a
good and successful married life; we might not be the richest or wealthiest family out there but
we’ve managed to live a happy life along with keeping a good faith and relationship with God.
This is not the case for all families sadly; a lot of marriage ends in divorce.
Blessed Singleness:
Blessed Singleness is the life of a person that has decided to live all by themselves
without having any partner or special relationship with anyone to live with. They are the ones
that have chosen to live with their family, friends or even with others who have chosen to live a
single life. People who have chosen this vocation have the time to serve others, their community
and their church. Singleness can also be considered as a gift from God because there’s a reason
on why he decided to give people this type of vocation and one reason is for us to be able to fully
devote our time for God, our family and our community. People can do all these even if they’re
chosen vocation is marriage but having the opportunity of being single gives people a better
chance of doing these tasks more effectively and without having to worry about a family. The
importance Blessed Singleness can give is that people will be able to give more time for others
who are in need; they’ll be able to help the people who actually and desperately need help like
the poor people. People would also have more time to communicate and give attention to their
families, friends and loved ones; something that most married people can’t usually do. They also
have a lot of time for themselves; they have so much time to be able to look after their selves
physically, mentally, socially and emotionally which is important because they need to be
healthy in all aspects to be able to do their duties as single people. Singleness can help people
achieve holiness towards achieving the new heavens and earths by making these people push
themselves to the limit and helping discover their true identity as a Christian. People living a life
of blessed singleness would have more time for themselves and God; They’ll be able to fully
understand what it really means to be a Christian and what his/her purpose really is which is to
be able to live a life of spreading kindness all around him/her.

For my personal insights and reflections; I’ve realized that blessed singleness is
something that may have benefits but at the same time could be a risky choice of vocation.
Blessed Singleness isn’t something that is completely wrong but we should all remember that
God didn’t intend for us to be single; that’s the reason why God created Eve when he realized
that Adam was lonely and that man needs someone to be with them. Blessed singleness does
have its downsides and one of it is the most obvious one of all which is living all alone. Even
though they have their families, friends and love ones those people aren’t always going to be
there for them because those people are likely to be married and have their own families; they’re
not like a husband or wife that’s always going to be there for you. There’s also the problem of
sexual temptation; a lot of people are going to have a hard time resisting sexual temptation
especially if they have spent most of their time being single. This lifelong fight and struggle
against sexual temptation could make a single person’s life extremely challenging and difficult;
though it is not completely wrong by any means to leave the life of blessed singleness and marry
someone, doing this could haunt a single person’s consciousness because he/she is basically
marrying someone just to meet his/her sexual needs. Despite all the negatives Blessed Singleness
can give; none of those could change the fact that it is a vocation and it is an option people are
free to choose. I think if anyone’s going to consider blessed singleness; they need to be sure they
are willing to do this and they need to remember that this vocation focuses more on spending
time on the people that’s around you and of course God.
Priestly Ministry:
Priestly Ministry is a sacred vocation specifically for man; this is where a man gives up
and sacrifices his life in order to commit and serve for the church. This is the right given to us by
God to act as his voice down here in earth. Someone who is going to choose this vocation is
going to live a much simpler and religious life compared to his life before he becomes a priest.
Priests are the ones, who proclaim the good news, share the catholic faith, and provide the
sacraments and be the instrument of God when it comes to building up and boosting their faith.
Most priests usually minister in a parish but some priests have been known to serve in hospitals,
prisons, armed forces, universities, etc. Priesthood is very important because this vocation is why
we have people, the priests to spread the word of God in order for us, his children to be inspired
and to live a proper and righteous Christian life which is God’s intention for us. Priesthood can
help someone find the obstacles on the path to eternal life; anyone entering priesthood has the
chance to live a life of holiness and sacredness, it is a responsibility that can cost a man a lot but
the reward is bigger than he’ll ever imagine. Priesthood can be a way of holiness towards the
new heavens and the new earth by guiding us, the children of God in to the life he intents us to
live which is the life inspired by the teachings of the word of God.

For my personal insights and reflection; I think Priesthood is a very sacred and holy
vocation. Just like mentioned earlier; priesthood is something that should be taken very seriously
because anyone entering priesthood should realize his duty is to spread and proclaim the word of
God and to serve as the guidance for his people. Anyone entering priesthood should also be
aware of the life they are going to leave behind; I’m saying this not because I’m contradicting
but because it is the truth; a man would be turning back a normal life to live a lifetime
commitment of serving God and his people. People entering priesthood could face some
challenges and difficulties and all of these could depend on how much someone is devoted into
priesthood. The most common problem a priest might face is sexual problems; just like a single
person, some priests could face this problem but unlike single people, priests know they have a
lifelong commitment and they know the consequences they can face when they break their
solemn promise so they’ll have a better chance of overcoming this problem. Some priests could
also experience some criticism and blame from people because priests have so much
responsibility in the church; anything wrong that happens in the church people could blame it on
the priests. A lot of people also have their different views and perspectives when it comes to the
teachings of God so sometimes they could disagree in what the priests say and criticize them for
teaching and saying those words. Priests could also suffer some family problems because of
course they are very busy and they don’t have much time to spend with their families. Despite all
these problems, I can confidently say that priests that are devoted and committed to their duties
and are faithful to God can get through all these problems, they are the instruments of God; as
long as priests are doing their duties, God will never leave them alone and he will never stop
giving strength to the people destined and chosen by him.
Religious Life
(Active Institutes):
Religious life is the vocation where in someone is called to devote his/her life serving the
church and fulfilling the missions of their religious community. Priests, Brothers, Sisters, Nuns
commit into accomplishing all their destined roles and obligations for the better good of
Christianity. They embrace the call to responding to poverty, abstinence and obedience and
nurture the said call by living a life full of righteousness, faith, prayer and a lifelong service. This
vocation is important because just like in priestly ministry, people entering this vocation are
destined and chosen by God to be his voice and messenger here in earth. This vocation can open
up doors to those who are troubled to live a normal life. This vocation could also enlighten the
people who have no certain path in life to choose from. This vocation can be a key to achieving
holiness towards the new heaven and new earth by making the people who are destined in this
vocation to become the light of the people. People who chose this vocation can be the guide for
those who are in need of help. They have the power to make this world a much better place by
simply doing all their roles and responsibilities with heart and sincerity and this is how Religious
Life (Active Institutes) can help us to achieve holiness towards the new heaven and new earth
which is to come.

For my insights and reflection, I’ve realized on how helpful an active institute of
religious life is to the world. They have so much power to change and make this world a much
better place to live. It is in one of their duties to be able to have time to serve and help people
who are in need of help that’s why they have the capability to be the ones that can revive the
spiritual souls of the poor. It is also their duty to live a life of prayer which means they also have
the capability to spread their devotion of praying to the people that are slowly losing their faith
with God. Just like any other vocation, he/she must be willing to do this with passion and
genuineness; he/she must be able to fulfill his/her duties without being distracted by any forms of
problems or temptations he/she can face along the way. I know for a fact that anyone in this
vocation can overcome any problems along the path because there’s a reason why he/she chose
this vocation; he/she knows to himself/herself that he/she was destined to take part in this
vocation and that God was the one that sent this calling to them because he had special plans for
them. This vocation is something that should be really valued; anyone that is taking part in this
vocation should be thankful to God that he gave them such an essential task to humanity.
Religious Life
(Contemplative Institutes):
Contemplative Institutes in Religious life are when people are devoted to praying and
living a life of peace, silence and simplicity. People who take part in this vocation separate
themselves from the world and spend most of their time praying and communicating with God.
Their purpose is to live a life trying to withdraw their selves from the rest of the world and to be
able to form a deep connection with God. They do this not for themselves but for the people that
are spiritually wounded. No matter who they are, where they came from and what they did no
one is left unseen by these people. This vocation is very important because it gives us people that
are devoted into living a life praying for the good of others. There are countless people all over
the world that are in need of prayer and thankfully they are here to save those lost souls. This
vocation could help achieve holiness towards the new heaven and new earth which is to come by
helping the poor divine souls experiencing torment. People taking part in this vocation could
help so many people the simplest way possible.

For my insights and reflections; I’ve realized that there are a lot of challenges someone
taking part in this vocation could face. Living alone and discarding yourself from the rest of the
world is something that could be exasperating for people. Not being aware of what is going on in
the world is something that could frustrate these people. That also means they don’t get to spend
time with their families and loved ones as they are too busy serving. I could see some people lose
their patience because doing a task like this could be difficult to do in a very consistent basis.
Even with the presence of these problems, just like mentioned earlier it will depend on how
someone is devoted to their vocation whether or not they will be successful their destined goals.
To me personally; I am very fascinated with this vocation. For someone courageous and caring
enough to forfeit their normal lives and enter a life full of praying for others, I am truly amazed
on how a human being can be so selfless just for the sake of others, the world and for God. This
is why I’m thankful to God because he created beings that almost seem so perfect even though
they’re really not. If this is how a human; someone that isn’t perfect can love then how much
more can someone like Christ; who is perfect can love? Only one can imagine that love but what
really matters is that we feel his love and that will never change for all eternity.
Summary:
All of these vocations are the keys to achieving holiness to the coming of the new
heavens and the new earth. All of these vocations can help a person in so many different ways
depending on how he/she handles the chosen vocation. It could make someone become a much
more mature person and it could make someone feel loved and complete; something that
marriage can do to a person that fulfills the vocation of married life. It could also make someone
a much stronger individual and it could give him/her more time for his families, friends, loved
ones, people who need help and of course God. This is the power of Blessed Singleness. It could
also make someone the instrument of God and be the one destined to preach God’s words and
teachings and be the one to lead the members of the church to a holy and righteous life which is
God’s plan for us. This of course is the effect of the vocation known as Priestly Ministry. It could
also give someone the duty of serving a full life praying and serving God and the poor people
which would be influential to this world and that are the product of Religious Life (Active
Institutes). It could also give us people loving and generous enough to devote their lives praying
for us and the tormented which could enlighten and strengthen a person spiritually; a blessing
Contemplative Institutes can give us. All it takes is hard work, commitment and faith with God
and a person can successfully fulfill his/her chosen vocation. All of these vocations are holy and
sacred; these vocations were given to us by God in order for us to become a better and more
complete person that he wishes us to be, for us to live a joyful life free of negativity and for us to
bring back the world that God created in his own image.