Faith and Family / Sean Gallagher

Waiting in patience lies at the heart of the life and calling of parents

“You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins” (Lk 1:76-77).

These are the words of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, on the occasion of his son’s birth. Prophetic words about a newborn destined to be the culmination of all the prophets.

The archangel Gabriel had told Zechariah of the mission of his son. Zechariah doubted the angel’s words and was struck dumb as a result—until John was born. Then John’s father sang forth a canticle of praise that included his prophecy about his son. His canticle is prayed every day in Morning Prayer in the Church’s Liturgy of the Hours.

Zechariah probably never saw the fulfilment of his son’s divine mission. He was already an old man when John was born. His wife Elizabeth was beyond childbearing years. That is why John’s conception was a miracle that paved the way for the coming of the Messiah.

But how remarkable was Zechariah, really? Every parent has dreams for their newborn children when they hold them in their arms for the first time. When parents of faith gaze for the first time at the child whom they have waited for nine months to see, they might wonder what God’s plan might be for the miracle he has given them.

Every child has a divine mission. They are all called in some way to prepare the way of the Lord in their own corner of the world. They’re empowered by God to make their own contribution to sharing his salvation by experiencing the forgiveness of their own sins and by extending that forgiveness to those who have hurt them.

But parents holding a newborn child have to wait for years to come to know how God is calling their son or daughter to prepare his way, to share with his people knowledge of salvation.

While there are always exceptions to the rule, vocations ordinarily blossom slowly over many years, one petal after another being revealed until that vocation finally appears as a beautiful flower in full bloom.

Through the grace of their own vocation as parents, mothers and fathers play a part in the manifestation of their children’s vocation. While often it’s indirect, it’s nonetheless indispensable.

Parents prepare the hearts of their children to be open to God’s calling in their lives in many ways. They form their faith over many years. They give their children the example of living out faithfully their own vocation to marriage and parenthood and by valuing vocations to ordained ministry and religious life. And through it all, parents prepare their children for their vocation by putting prayer with their children and prayer for their children at the heart of their daily lives.

Woven into all of these and countless other ways that parents play a role in their children’s vocation is waiting—waiting patiently, year after year, to see how God will bring to fulfilment the dreams they had for their children when they held them in their arms for the first time.

Advent is a season when the Church awaits both the celebration of the Lord’s first coming in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago and recalls our patient waiting for his glorious second coming at the end of time.

Maybe these next four weeks can be a good time for parents to reflect spiritually on how waiting is at the heart of their own vocations. †