Success Redefined

The goal of our existence is holiness. Often we lose sight of this truth, thinking that the goal is a certain occupation, or in the Catholic world, entering into a certain vocation. We think in terms of accomplishments, of success or failure. If a young man leaves seminary he has failed and must now seek marriage if he wants to be successful. People tend to overlook the fact that God works in us throughout the discernment process, he is always calling us to Himself, to the fullness of life he created us for from the beginning. As long as we are moving toward him, becoming more who we are created to be, we have not failed. Even if a person believes they are called to marriage, but never marries, they could very well be further along the path of holiness than they would be if they had married at age twenty. The necessary thing is to listen to the Lord and follow where he calls. Sanctity grows as we say yes to him and follow where his path leads, no matter where it might be.

Sometimes the Lord’s path will lead us through a desert road, or into the wilderness. Being in the wilderness doesn’t mean you are lost or that you have strayed from the right path, though it certainly may feel like it at the time. And it is okay to feel lost, but it is good, at the same time, to remember that feeling so doesn’t make it so. Trusting in the Lord and in his plan is an act of faith, an act of the will. We can choose to trust that we are in the right place, even if our emotions say otherwise.

Traditionally the desert is a place of preparation for the people of God, even our Lord spent time there before beginning his public ministry. Rather than seeing it as a detour or a set back on your way to the goal, receive it as a necessary part of the plan that leads to that goal. This is much easier to do once we are firmly convicted of what the goal truly is, not a job, career, or particular vocation, but holiness. With holiness as our goal, and our eyes fixed on Jesus, we will achieve the only truly lasting and meaningful success, everlasting life with God.

Keeping holiness as our goal does not mean that we shouldn’t strive for excellence in whatever particular call the Lord has for us. It simply means that our success, our worth, is not defined by the status of our occupational or vocational call. Being fully in our vocation or at the top of the field in our career will not automatically make us holy any more than a lack of those accomplishments deprives us of our holiness. Learning to value what God values and to see ourselves as he sees us will give us peace, trusting that even though our sanctity may remain hidden from the eyes of the world is seen by the God who loves us.