August 13, 2025

By Father William Muench
NCC columnist

Just last evening, I attended a Mass and ceremony celebrated by the bishop. It was a ceremony of Candidacy. Five seminarians dedicated themselves to enter preparation for ordination as priests for this diocese. After a time of discernment, these five each decided that they have a vocation to become a Catholic priest. They believe they have a call from God to be a priest.

Today, I would like to use this opportunity to propose to you that while the vocation of priesthood is an important vocation in the Church, this vocation is not the most important vocation in the Catholic Church.

I believe that the first and most important vocation for all Catholics is that which is common to all the baptized –the vocation of being a disciple of Jesus. Every other vocation in the Church must be seen in relation to this one. When we are baptized, Jesus calls us all, “Come, follow me.” We are all called to be disciples of the Lord.

This call of the Lord is a transformative vocation. In fact, this is a life long transformative vocation for us all. Our call, received in faith, is that we understand we are ready to follow Jesus out of personal conviction. Cardinal Newman, the great English saint, wrote this: “What difference does being Christian make in the way we live our daily lives? I fear that most of us would not bother, if we believed that Christianity is nothing more than a fable.”

Recognizing our call as a Christian changes everything. Christianity is all about how to live, not just what we believe. Faith must be translated into action. Catherine Doherty, foundress of the Madonna House Community, said this often: “Don’t bother proclaiming that you believe unless you act accordingly.” In other words, show me. We, Christians, have so much to offer, something this world desperately needs. We must not be shy about our ole. A Christian must be bold and courageous about their following of Jesus.

Jesus said, “I came that you may have life and live it to the full.” The Gospel message of our Lord challenges us to a deeper and more authentic way of living our lives. It implants in us the seeds of eternal life.

This morning, I celebrated the morning Mass. The Gospel reading tells the story of Jesus walking on water. After teaching many people, Jesus sends the apostles off in their boat, and he goes up the mountain to pray. The apostles run into rough water. Suddenly, they see Jesus coming towards them walking on the water. As he comes closer, Peter boldly asks Jesus to allow him to come and meet him, to walk on the water toward him. Peter gets out of the boat and starts to walk on the water, but then he becomes afraid, and he starts to sink. He prays to Jesus, who reaches out and pulls him out of the water.

We must understand that this is our story. Often, as a disciple of the Lord, we are ready to do something – we are ready to act, we know we must say something important, we want to get out of the boat, and we want to act like good and courageous Christians. I must admit – speaking for myself – that there are too many times when I fail in my efforts, when I act and speak poorly, when like Peter, I sink. So, I often pray to the Lord – especially at Mass – that this day, with the help of Jesus, I will really live and act like a brave and bold Christian, like I can change the world for Jesus.