Our faith teaches us that a vocation is “the calling or destiny we have in this life and the hereafter. God has created the human person to love and serve Him; the fulfillment of this vocation is eternal happiness” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1, 358, 1700).

 

So when we pray for vocations we essentially are praying that everyone answers God’s call to the perfection of holiness which is the destiny of all — everywhere — not just in our own backyard. And a good vocation is contagious. Look at the saints. So many of the saints passed on their lives of holiness to others, like St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare. For thousands of years, people have sought to follow in their footsteps.

 

And contrary to secular culture, all those answering the call to married life seek it for life. Long married couples are always asked for their advice on successful marriage because most all couples want to emulate the longevity of their love and fidelity.

 

So too, are there young men and women who look to our priests and religious men and women to find lives of meaning and purpose. The influence of the lives of good and faithful servants filters down whether we realize it immediately or not. 

 

Vocations did trickle down in several ways for a local family. Rockford Realtor Ken Becker called The Observer earlier this year to let us know the influence of one vocation on another. Becker let me know that his nephew was going to be ordained this year on May 19 in Missouri for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. Deacon Jayson Becker, according to an article in the Catholic Key diocesan newspaper, was influenced by his late aunt who was a religious sister.  He said he never forgot her gentle push to say yes to God. Later, another aunt, Sharon Becker Preston, helped get Jayson to a seminary for older men pursuing the priesthood. However, the two aunts weren’t Deacon Jayson’s only influences, his uncle Ken told me. Jayson also had other good examples in his life — his dad, permanent Deacon Jim Becker, and his mother, Rita, of Muscatine, Iowa, as well as his great uncle, the late Father Anthony Becker of the Diocese of Rockford, who died in 2015. 

 

Deacon Jayson’s vocation is being celebrated by some pretty proud relatives here in the Rockford Diocese including uncles Ken and Don Becker who are members of Holy Family Parish in Rockford; Walter Becker of Dixon and aunt Patricia Becker Schmidt of St. Anne Parish in Dixon. 

 

As we celebrate vocations in this issue of The Observer in anticipation of April 22, which is World Day of Prayer for Vocations, we can add a prayer of thanksgiving for vocations like Deacon Jayson’s. Even though his priesthood won’t be carried out here, Catholics in this diocese and everywhere can be grateful for the influence it will have. The Becker family vocations are a great example of answering the call to love and serve God, and how we should all work to pass down and celebrate vocations. On April 22, pray for and encourage vocations in your family.