ABSTRACT
A person whose vocation repairs the world is Maria, the Portuguese owner of a pastry shop in Tarrytown. Not only does she make delectable apple and marble cakes; she’s also the type who knows her customers’ names and makes them feel as if the bakery exists for them. The world is made up of heroes like favorite Frankfurt barkeep. They are the people who find a particular vocation and make the world better, in sometimes miniscule ways, by practicing their craft with integrity, purpose, and care. David Brooks, in his poetic book The Second Mountain, calls the match with vocation an “annunciation moment”. Both writing and education are paths of discovery; discoveries about the world and about ourselves. A healthy society depends on creating opportunities so that people can find a suitable match with a vocation that brings meaning to their lives and goodness to the world, whether as doctors, teachers, artists, construction workers, farmers, or preachers.
