Perhaps the biggest challenge of a young person’s life is determining God’s plan for themselves. As a college professor, I tell my students that God speaks to us through our talents and passions. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐭? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞? Even if we can answer these questions, figuring out how to employ our skills and passions in the real world is daunting. Finding guidance in this is one of many ways 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥.
A spiritual director once recommended to me a devotional practice of praying three Hail Marys every night to ask Mary for vocational guidance. Since then, every night as I drift off to sleep, I pray my three Hail Marys. Some nights, I’m deeply present and impassioned in my plea for direction. Other nights, it’s a yawn-filled mantra of muttered Hail Marys on repeat that dissolves into sleep.
In both cases, 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐞. In my waking hours, with a gentle motherly push, she turns me in the direction her son has planned for me. I have a peace about my life’s work I could not have known without her.
Just as Mary understood with her fiat that God had great plans for her, she understands what our saying yes to God means. 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒚𝒔 𝒂 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐.
-Molly Jo Rose, “12 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟” US Catholic
