Have you ever seen an assembly line in action?  It’s an amazing thing to see, almost like watching a choreographed dance.  One person in the assembly line has one particular job and another person has a different job, and each person does his or her job at the precise time in the process that it is needed.  As the product moves along the assembly line, this once unfinished piece of plastic and steal begins to take shape into a finished product, such as a car or a household item.

That’s what I think of when I think of today’s reading from St. Paul to the Romans.  “We, though many, are one Body in Christ and individually parts of one another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them…”  Indeed, we are many parts of the same body of Christ, and each one of us has a different purpose in this world.  There is no one that is more or less important than another, but rather we are called to different tasks in the body of Christ in order to assemble the final product, that is the kingdom of God on earth.

But before we can ever hope to complete our particular tasks as members of the body, we have to ask the question, “What am I called to do within the body of Christ?”  God created each one of us and he loves us, and thus, he has a particular purpose in mind for each one of his creations.  We all have a calling from God, to be a husband or wife, to be a single person devoted to serving others with our gifts and talents, or even to be a priest, deacon, sister, or brother.  But we can only ever come to realize our vocation in life through prayer. St. Paul tells us, “Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.  Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.”  indeed, let us persevere in prayer…prayer for ourselves as we seek to know where God is calling us, and prayer for one another that those around us might be open to a call from God in their lives to a religious vocation.  Prayer is the key to coming to know God in our lives and coming to know his will for each of us.  Let us begin to carve out some regular time each day for private prayer with the Lord.  If we begin to sit and listen, he will speak, I guarantee.

When the body of Christ is operating at full capacity, with holy father and mothers, virtuous priests and sisters and brothers, and zealous Christians all around, then it is a beautiful thing to witness.  Let us begin to truly desire a fully functional “assembly line.”  Let us begin to ask the question that must be asked, “Lord, what is my role in all this?  Where are you calling me?”  And let us encourage one another to seek to know God’s will in their own lives, so that we might all work together to build up the kingdom of God each and every day according to our own individual roles in life.