In a popular song lyric, it says: Hold me, will you? Do you love me a lot? In your arms, I am the leading actor.
On this stage of life, everyone is the leading actor. But why is it that in faith, we live as supporting actors or even extras, rather than the lead? Could it be that we are not trained to live as the main character in our faith?
If making the church's faith one's own is the basic principle of training, then it is important to learn the minimum necessary to live as a believer and to blend into the church community. However, isn't it most important to foster autonomy so that one can live out their faith on their own?
Just as it is with life, faith cannot become truly one's own unless sought by oneself. In the early stages, someone walking alongside may take care of various things, but when one becomes an adult and must walk their own path, no one else can walk it for them. One must walk by themselves.
One of the greatest characteristics of Christian faith is the voluntary and free response to God's call. God calls us His 'people', but at the same time, He speaks to each of us individually, demanding a decision to walk the path of virtue as His children. God's call is directed at everyone, but each person's response must be individual, and therefore, not only recognizing the call but the decision and response is each person's responsibility.
However, this does not happen all at once; it is a process that takes a long time. Take the vocation to the priesthood as an example. A seminary student who enters the seminary with the desire to become a priest needs time to verify whether that desire is genuine. There are cases where one comes under the influence of parents or the parish priest, regardless of their own will. Or various impure motives may also be present. To accept the priesthood as 'one's own,' one must understand God's call for themselves and make a decision to respond concretely.
Do I truly wish to live as a priest? Have I experienced God's call in the life I have lived so far? What is the specific image of the priesthood that I have come to have? How do I plan to live out such an image of the priesthood through specific pastoral activities? A candidate for the priesthood prepares to answer these questions and publicly verifies their desire for the priesthood.
This applies to all believers. God calls us as His children, as members of the church, to a holy life. The call to this holy life appears in the journey of the life we have lived and experienced through the life of the church community, each person's faith life, and daily life.
Being a believer does not mean spending all day in church. It means living everyday life in a different way from ordinary people, that is, living everything in life with God. Faith penetrates all dimensions of life: the way we view the world, life, neighbors, and ourselves; the way we engage in economic activities, leisure activities, and relationships with others; the way we view and accept illness, suffering, life, and death; and the way we live ethical and political lives.
Am I living in response to God's call, desiring to realize myself through such a life? It's okay not to be ready to answer that question. What's important is to ask the question.
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