Greetings! Our “ora et labora” adds great zeal to establishing Christ’s Kingdom. Keep them up, and God bless you! F. Philip, OSB St. John the Baptizer had been arrested for denouncing King Herod who was living with his bothers wife. St. John and our Lord had both been preaching in Judea. But at the time of St. Johns arrest the Jews there had grown very hostile. So, Christ with his followers journeyed north into Galilee. There Jesus proclaimed that the messianic kingdom foretold by the prophets was at hand. Christs message to the Jews was similar to that of St. John: Reform your lives and believe in the good news. This, too, was the message of Jonah, which resulted in the reform of the Ninevites. Of course, at first, Jonah did not want God to forgive them. This was not the case with Christ. --(Illus Sun Hom Mark Link, SJ, 1988 pp. 53-54) “In Sept., 1862, the Civil War tilted decisively in favor of the South. The morale of the Northern army dipped to its lowest point. Large numbers of Union troops were in full retreat. But then President Lincoln put General McClellan back in command. He mounted his great black horse and cantered down the dusty roads of Virginia, meeting the retreating Union army. He waved his cap in the air and shouted words of encouragement. When the tired men saw their beloved teacher, they began to take heart. Down mile after mile of Virginia roads the stumbling army came alive to fight again and change history forever.”—Much more so was the effect of Christ of whom Edward Farrell wrote (Surprised by the Spirit), “who is this man walking along the shore by the shimmering sea? Who is this man-bright, shining, and terrible-who looks at us with searing eyes-eyes that search our very soul? Who is this man who sees our thoughts and reads our inmost heart with loving, knowing eyes that say: ‘Nothing less than all of you is what I want’?” As He was making his way along the Sea of Galilee, he observed Simon Peter and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea. He called both of them to follow him, saying, Come after me. I will make you fishers of men. In a similar manner he called James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They immediately left their father and went off in the company of Jesus. However, Christs call to these two sets of brothers to be his apostles was not his first meeting with them. Previously Andrew and John had both been followers of St. John the Baptizer. John the Baptizer, upon seeing Christ, had called him the Lamb of God, and both disciples left to follow him. Andrew, in turn, had brought his brother Peter and John his brother James, to Christ. They had followed him, more or less at a distance, for a months time or better. But now that John the Baptizer had been imprisoned, Christ extended a formal invitation to these two sets of brothers to become his apostles. He extended to them a vocation. God does not give the same graces or the same calling to all. Some he calls to the married state of life to be the fathers and mothers of families. Some he calls to be doctors, lawyers, and professional people. Some he calls to be school teachers. And some he calls to be priests and sisters, to enter the religious life. Not everyone accepts it as did Peter and Andrew, James and John in todays gospel. Some choose to reject this calling of Christ. On one occasion, when a young man came to Christ and asked Him what he had to do to gain eternal life. Christ said if he wanted to be perfect to go sell everything and come follow Him. The gospel tells us that the young man found this difficult to do because he was very rich. Really, though, the bottom line is that we need priests especially to offer Mass and effect the sacrament of Reconciliation, so essential to bring peace into the world. Others afford a supporting role more essential, perhaps, than the role of the priest. It is a matter of team work in living out the supreme law of love of God and neighbor
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 09:15:06 +0000
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