Finding purpose

“If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world ablaze!”

-St. Catherine of Sienna

Have you ever wondered what it is you are called to do?  What is your purpose?  I have wondered that often throughout my life.  I now know for sure, that I am called to follow God’s will and my purpose is to Love.  Jesus tells us, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Luke 10:27) We are all called to this as our purpose. But I still have those moments where I don’t know how best to do that.  In our career driven society, I ask, “what job is it Lord that you want from me?”  I wait for the Lord to show me that thing that I can do so well that it will point all people towards Him.

There are some people out there who have extraordinary gifts that point to God.  I am related to one such person.  My cousin, Kathleen Carr, can paint.  She can paint Sacred Art as you can see in the Divine Mercy image;

I can say, her talent takes my breath away.  She built the frame and painted the oil painting.  And I know that she has struggled to be a painter and to reveal the talent that God has given her.  I am so happy for her that she trusts enough to let the Holy Spirit guide her painting.  Look at the exquisite detail in the face of Jesus;

The world will benefit greatly from her extraordinary ability to paint Sacred Art. She is a blessing to us all.  She can paint almost anything, a family portrait, a scene, but her Sacred Art, it is truly Divinely inspired.  For the rest of us, that do not have an extraordinary gift like this, this is where I struggle.

I thought, as I was transforming, I needed to scream to the world in some extraordinary way, God LOVES YOU.  I often found myself frustrated and constantly searching.  I went to visit my parish Priest to ask him about it.  You know, sometimes, God puts a particular person in a particular place for a reason.  They say the one thing that strikes to your heart.  As he was new to my parish, he asked me some very simple questions, “what do you do?”  I answered, “I am a wife and mother and an RCIA catechist.”  I proceeded to spout out my life’s story and asked for direction as to what I am supposed to be doing.  To be honest, there was a moment there that I think he thought I was crazy, but gently he answered, “be who you are, be a wife and a mother and a catechist,” and he later added, “be gentle with yourself,” which is also a phrase my sister uses with me.  He said many other things as well, but those words stuck at my heart.  

I had to stop my spiritual ADD where I was looking right and left for the heavens to open up, the light to shine down, and God to say, “this, this is your gift, Susan,” and perhaps suddenly I would be able to sing!  Those simple words allowed me to know something I already knew in my heart, be extraordinary at the ordinary.  So for those of us who cannot sing, and cannot paint, do not despair.  You yourself are a gift because of who you are, not what you do.  When you realize that you yourself are the gift from God and that he loves you unconditionally, then you are able to just be.  Be right where you are, doing what you are doing, in the best possible, most loving way.  Today my dishes will be clean, and my dinner will be cooked, and my family will feel loved because I am just going to be where I am, where God put me.