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Meeting St. Rose of Viterbo
And My Vocation As Husband and Father
by Brian
Every Sunday Bobbi, Bella and I sit in the same pew at the Carmel Mission. Across from where we sit is a beautiful painting of St. Rose of Viterbo. St Rose (1235-1252) was a Franciscan tertiary. She was a spiritual dynamo - calling people to repent and turn back to God. The painting, which is very old, depicts St. Rose clothed in a Franciscan habit, wearing upon her head a crown of roses, and holding a large crucifix in her hand.
Every time I look at the painting I see a young woman who did not lose sight of her vocation. St. Rose knew who she was and that her calling came directly from God. Unlike St. Rose, I sometimes forget that I too have a vocation. It's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day routine of things that I lose track of my own vocation - to be a holy husband and father.
Each one of us, whether religious, married or single, has a vocation. Although I can't see myself like St. Rose - wearing a religious habit, holding a crucifix in my hand with a glow of light radiating from my person - I can see myself changing my daughter's diaper, doing laundry and leading my family in the Rosary. This is my vocation; this is what God has called me to.
No matter what anyone says, God has given me a vocation. Maybe it is not glamorous. Maybe it won't lead me to fame or fortune, but who cares? As long as it leads my family to Heaven I have no complaints.
St. Rose of Viterbo helped me to understand that each of us has a vocation and by following it faithfully we can reach Heaven, our true home.
God bless.