Spiritual Thoughts for the week

January 22nd

The Calling

This Sunday we hear two Scripture accounts of "vocation." The word "vocation" comes from the Latin root that means "to call," or "to call forth." We often hear this word used, as in "he or she has a vocation," traditionally associated in Catholicism with those who "answer the call" to be priest, deacon, sister or brother. But there is more to "vocation" that this!

In the first reading, the young boy Samuel has an almost amusing interchange with Eli the priest. He realizes finally that it is not Eli who keeps waking him from sleep, but the persistent voice of the Lord. Samuel is receiving a calling, his special prophetic vocation in the Lord's service.

In the Gospel today, Jesus calls three of his disciples, including Simon. To indicate that Simon is receiving a special call in the service of Jesus, Jesus changes his name---Simon becomes "Cephas," or "Rock." That name indicates what his new vocation as a disciple of Jesus will require of him as a steadfast rock of faith & leadership for the young Church.

In the second reading, Paul reminds Christians that we are called to holy and morally upright living. We should not betray the dignity of our Christian identity by immorality, since the Lord lives in us and we are His temple. We are to glorify God by our bodies and how we live. All Christians have this vocation.

Every Christian has a calling, because we are all baptized into Christ as God's children. Someone once said, "to have a problem with Call, is to have a problem with intimacy. Get closer to Jesus and you'll start to hear your Call." This means Vocation. Everyone has one, and each of us is responsible to God for what it is that He specifically has in mind for our lives. How do we hear that quiet voice of the Lord, summoning us to His service? As next Sunday's readings also tell of Biblical "callings," we'll explore this more in next week's bulletin.

Just remember, you have a vocation! You have received, or will receive, your own unique calling as a disciple of Jesus. We must listen, and then like Eli, Andrew and Simon Peter, be prepared to follow.