Faithfully living a vocation requires self-sacrifice of a high order. Remaining faithful every day without reward or acknowledgement can be disheartening. It can even be easier to do one heroic act in one moment in the sacrifice of martyrdom than to do a thousand good, mundane acts in the course of each day, every day, for years.

In our brokenness, we gravitate to what is easy and immediately satiating. Our personal experience of this brokenness makes it tempting to assume that young people will not see the goodness of a vocation because of its difficulty, or because it is a sign of contradiction in the world. This is especially true when it seems that the world around us gravitates ever more toward ease of life and even hedonism.

But the Christian life (which is always faithfully lived out in a vocation) is a sign of contradiction because it entails self-sacrifice in imitation of Christ. He calls each one of us to take up the cross (Mk 8:34). Marriage, sacred single life, religious life, the priesthood - none of these is easy, and the more faithfully lived, the more difficult they may seem. Real happiness in life comes not from avoiding difficulty, but rather from encountering vocational adversity with the Grace offered by God and the virtue born of our hard work.

Unfortunately, the most significant factor of modern society’s high divorce rate is that marriage isn’t properly understood by many people, even many Catholics. In its proper vocational context, Marriage requires embracing and overcoming difficulty for one’s own good and the good of the other. Those who enter into marriage with a self-first interest will almost certainly fail, and they definitely won’t be happy with the adversity inherent to the vocation. And if we can’t even get the “natural” vocation (CCC 1603) correct, it’s almost certain that the supernatural vocations, of which the joys and peace are not immediately apparent to the casual observer, will not often be considered.

This doesn’t mean that there is no hope! Quite the contrary! We have to remember that, in ancient times when the young Church was growing rapidly, She was surrounded by those who sought ease of life and hedonistic pleasures. This helped defined the Church as a Church of martyrs! If young people didn’t want to die for the Church, their Faith, and what God was calling them to be, the Church could never have survived and grown. The evidence of young people stepping up to faithfully live God’s call is seen throughout history.

It’s easy to shake your head and mutter “...kids these days...”, but it’s possible that the reason “kids these days” aren’t more likely to take up their crosses is because our world has taught them to avoid crosses. But young people are eager to make a difference in the most radical ways, as much as young people of any age have been. We simply need to offer the opportunity to them, and even to expect it of them. As a young person realizes the happiness that can be gained by the daily martyrdom of living a vocation faithfully, he becomes more attracted to whatever vocation to which he is called, regardless of the perceived difficulty.

The Church doesn’t grow through complacency, but through adversity. Good promotion, especially through information and good example, is key to helping young people understand what is to be gained by taking up the Cross of Christ. Let’s not be afraid to promote vocations despite - and, indeed, even because of - the difficulty involved in taking up the Cross and following Christ.

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"Be courageous! The world needs convinced and fearless witnesses. It is not enough to discuss, it is necessary to act! ... Consider, with seriousnesss and generosity, whether the Lord might not also be calling some of you."

- Pope St. John Paul II - Aquila, Italy, August 30, 1980