THIS SUNDAY’S LITURGY speaks to us about vocation. The first reading recounts the story of the calling of Samuel, a young man who lived in the temple. One night he heard his name called three times while he slept, and each time he ran to the priest Eli, thinking it was Eli calling him. The third time, Eli realized that it was the Lord who was calling him. So Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening’” (1 Sam 3:8-9). From then on, Samuel learned to recognize God’s voice and became a prophet. The Gospel today presents a similar scene. John the Baptist, with two of his disciples, saw our Lord passing by and said to them, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” (Jn 1:36). Then the two began to follow Jesus, and after spending that day with Him, they recognized that He was truly the Messiah. They then told others what they had discovered, and thus the first group of apostles was formed.
These Scripture passages underscore “the decisive role of a spiritual guide on the journey of faith and, in particular, in responding to one’s vocation.”[1] Samuel and the two disciples learned to recognize the Lord thanks to the advice of Eli and John the Baptist. God relies on human mediation to communicate his call. First and foremost, it is parents who, “with their authentic and joyful faith and their conjugal love, show their children that it is beautiful and possible to build one’s whole life on the love of God.”[2] This is why Saint Josemaría used to say that the members of Opus Dei “owe ninety percent of their vocation to their parents, because they knew how to educate them and taught them to be generous.”[3] The witness of a friend can also broaden our horizons and inspire us to be “salt and light of Christ.”[4] Like John the Baptist, that person shows us where Jesus can be found and invites us to discover the joy of living alongside Him. In this time of prayer, we can thank God for all those who have accompanied us on the path of faith and vocation, and we can ask Him to help us to be like Eli and John the Baptist, showing the way to the Lord to those around us.
WHEN John and Andrew approached Jesus and asked Him where He lived, our Lord replied, “Come and see.” He didn’t give them detailed information, which they might have requested as a sign of admiration or even to satisfy their curiosity. Instead, Christ invited them to do something specific, to enter more deeply into his life: He opened to them the doors of his home and his heart. And “they came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day” (Jn 1:39). John was so impressed by that time spent with our Lord that even decades later, when writing his Gospel, he remembered when it had taken place: at about four in the afternoon (cf. Jn 1:39). “Every authentic encounter with Jesus remains alive in our memory; it is never forgotten. You forget many encounters, but a true encounter with Jesus remains forever. And many years later, those two even remembered the time. They were unable to forget this encounter that had changed their lives and that was so happy and so complete.”[5]
Perhaps John and Andrew had approached Jesus seeking a clear and direct answer, so they would know where to turn in times of need. Other figures in the Gospel also come to Jesus in search of clear answers, like the rich young man: “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” (Mt 19:16). Our Lord always responds by inviting us to share in his life: this is the true ideal that satisfies our longing for happiness. “We may have many experiences, accomplish many things, establish relationships with many people, but only the encounter with Jesus, at the hour known to God, can give full meaning to our lives and make our plans and initiatives fruitful.”[6] Whatever our vocation – whether in marriage or celibacy – it is a call to share our life with God and to give it to others. Surely John, looking back as he wrote his Gospel, would not have exchanged anything for the opportunity to follow Christ. That is how God acts in each person: “The surpassing love of Jesus impels to great works, and incites to the continual desiring of greater perfection. Love wishes to be raised up, and not to be held down by any mean thing.”[7]
WHEN he recalled that first encounter with Jesus, John records Andrew’s immediate reaction: he went to find his brother Simon and told him he had discovered the Messiah. But he was not content with mere words; he wanted Simon to see Christ with his own eyes. So he brought him to our Lord, and Jesus, looking at him, said, “You are Simon, son of John; you will be called Cephas” (Jn 1:42).
When we receive good news, or something happens that fills us with joy, the natural reaction is to share it with those we love. And this, in turn, multiplies our joy, because it spreads the reason for our happiness to others. This is precisely what happened to Andrew and the rest of the apostles. In spreading the Gospel, they communicated a reality that filled people with joy and that they themselves bore witness to with their own lives. As Saint Josemaría wrote: “You live in the middle of the world as just another citizen. You should feel the constant desire to give people the joy you experience as a Christian.”[8]
The Virgin Mary brought to her cousin Elizabeth the joy of having conceived the Messiah. In the Magnificat she praised what the Lord had done in her soul and declared that his mercy would reach all men and women (cf. Lk 1:46-56). “Our prayer can accompany and imitate this prayer of Mary. Like her, we will feel the desire to sing, to proclaim the wonders of God, so that all mankind and all creation may share in our happiness.”[9]
[1] Benedict XVI, Angelus, 15 January 2012.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Saint Josemaría, Conversations, no. 104.
[4] Saint Josemaría, Alone with God, no. 273.
[5] Francis, Angelus, 17 January 2021.
[6] Francis, Angelus, 14 January 2018.
[7] Thomas de Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, 3, 5.
[8] Saint Josemaría. Furrow, no. 321.
[9] Saint Josemaría, Christ Is Passing By, no. 144.