"Follow me, sinful man..."

As a person prone to many mistakes, I was asking for forgiveness from the Lord after a certain transgression I did on my part, about a few hours after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

It was during the first hours of today, the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, that I really prayed for forgiveness, as well as strength.

"If it is indeed Your Call to me that will prevail despite my weaknesses, let me be filled with purity and grace, and this alone will be enough to sustain me," I thought.

The remorse turned into astonishment, when upon turning the TV to EWTN, I suddenly saw an ordination mass, with priests laying on their hands on the candidates for ordination to the presbyterate into the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. I slept, somehow comfortable with the fact that God is still sending signs to me, I just did not feel worthy to interpret them with my own human understanding. I resolved to attend mass the next day.

I was secretly praying and hoping that confessions be open during the first mass in the morning at the university across the road. Not only were there confessions, the door opened as if letting me in.

I still do not know, and will not try to assume, what all of these mean. What I know for sure is this: God has a plan for me. I pray that when the time comes for me to fully follow the call that I perceive God has helped me to be ready and become a worthy sacrifice for Him.

This morning, I have been scanning a lot of blogs which feature their owners' vocation stories. I really love it when I connect to people having the same convictions and same hopes and dreams as I have. I am praying for them, and I pray that they will also do so for me. I am very inspired.

All of these call to mind a favorite song of mine in my native language Ilocano, Surotennak (Follow Me).

Surotennak, ket pagbalinenkayto...
Surotennak, ket pagbalinenkayto a mangalap iti tao...
Pinanawanda nga dagus dagiti iketda, ket simmurotda Kenkuana...

Follow Me, and I will make you...
Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men...
They left their nets immediately, and set out to follow Him...

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Saint Francis Xavier, pray for us.

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Picture credits: http://www.michaeljournal.org/images/penance.jpg