Today’ readings are about God’s call and those who are called to follow
Him. In the first reading, Samuel was sleeping in the temple, near the ark,
which was the dwelling place of God, when he heard the voice of the Lord,
call him by name.
He awakens and thinking that Eli was calling him, he
states, “Here I am.” After going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. You called me.”
Eli responds stating, he did not call him, and tells him to go back to sleep.
After three times, Eli realized, the Lord was calling Samuel, and so, he told
him, the next time he hears his name, he is to respond stating, “Speak,
Lord your servant is listening.”
The psalm also speaks of the Lord’s call. It states, “Here I am Lord,
I come to do your will.”
In the Gospel, Our Lord calls some of His disciples. After John the
Baptist points to Jesus and states, “Behold the Lamb of God.” Two of John
the Baptist’s disciples heard what he said, and began to follow Jesus. Later
in that afternoon, Andrew, who was also one of John the Baptists disciples,
found his brother, Peter and told him, he had found the Messiah and both
began to follow Jesus that day as well.
Today’s message is about vocations. A vocation is a calling. The
Lord calls many men and women to follow Him. Men are called to the
priesthood and/or religious life, as monks, friars or hermits. And women
are called to be religious sisters or nuns. Even though there is a great
shortage of priests and sisters in our country, and throughout the world,
this is not the case in our diocese. There are three stumbling blocks to
vocations in the United States. And all begin with the letter “P”. They are
pride, power and pleasure.
Pride causes one to not go to confession, to be blind to one’s sins, and
so, one therefore is deaf to the Lord’s call. Serious sins block God’s graces,
and pride can cause one to not even acknowledge one’s own sins. Pride
wants us to be self-sufficient, to place our self, and our desires, above God
and to seek our own selfish desires. But Jesus calls His followers to be
humble and self-giving.
The second “P” is power. If young people seek power, fame, worldly
glory, honors, and money, they are unable to hear the Lord’s call. The
desire for power causes young people to want to move up the corporate
ladder, to control others, to win at all cost, to be selfish with one’s money
and goods and seeks to live a life of luxury.
The third “P” is pleasure. Excessive pleasure causes one to be deaf
to the Lord’s call of a vocation as well. The seeking pleasures of the eye
and body, the desire for immediate pleasure and satisfaction causes
deafness to the call. Pleasures include inordinate shopping and purchasing
excessive clothes and wardrobes, or expensive money wasting hobbies.
Other sinful pleasures include indecent images, excessive food, drugs,
abuse of alcohol and pre-marital activity. But Jesus calls His followers to
die to self and to be pure and chaste.
The response to the vocation shortage caused by pride, power and
pleasure, can be found here in our own diocese. They are: Eucharistic
adoration and monthly confession to conquer pride; stewardship to conquer
power, and mortification to conquer excessive pleasure.
Young men and women, who come to Eucharistic Adoration pray, in
humility, and hear the voice of Jesus say, “Come, and follow me”. As
Samuel heard the voice of the Lord, while near the ark, the dwelling place
of God, so, the voice of the Lord can be heard in prayer, before the new and
everlasting Covenant, the Eucharist. And when young people go to
confession, humility replaces pride, because we realize we need God’s
forgiveness and mercy.
Through our time, talent, and treasure by way of stewardship, we
conquer the desire for power, and discover true power is in the giving of our
self. Stewardship overcomes the stumbling block of power, and so, one
hears the Lord call to serve and to give.
Mortification conquers excessive pleasure. Because God dwells
within us, we are to protect our eyes from sinful images, and our bodies
from harmful things, such that we strive for purity and chastity. Through
Mortification by way of prayer and fasting, young people turn away from
false pleasures and are free to respond to God’s call.
More and more young people today, are willing to turn their back on
peer pressure and the ways of the world. They are tired of being told all
sorts of lies by society. They seek truth and are willing to lay down their
lives to follow Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life. They want to
serve and to live a life of virtue and holiness. They want the world to be a
better place.
Today, let us pray for all young people, that Our Blessed Lady, who
always did the will of God, will inspire young men and women to hear the
voice of Jesus, and respond, “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.”