Today’s readings have as their common theme that of deliverance: the first reading and psalm promise deliverance to Israel after her long exile; Paul testifies to our deliverance from sin through the free gift of faith, mercy and grace in Jesus Christ; and finally, John’s Gospel reminds us that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son”: Jesus sets us free from sin and death by the Paschal mystery of his life, death, and Resurrection.
God Calls You by Name: Become Who You Are! (Part III)
March 5, 2015
A VOCATION STORY: The 1981 Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire tells the story of two runners training to represent Great Britain in the 1924 Olympic Games. One of them, Scotsman Eric Liddell, is also training to become a Christian missionary in China. His sister Jennie disapproves of what she judges a distraction from his true calling, and seeks to dissuade Eric. His answer speaks volumes about the nature of a God-given vocation: "Jennie, I believe that God made me for a purpose, for the mission in China. But he also made me fast.
God Calls You by Name: Become Who You Are! (Part II)
March 1, 2015
Last week, at our Faith-CAFÉ, we spoke of the danger of reducing vocation to simply the question of “state of life” or “the work I do”, of giving priority to doing over being. This idea – that “what I DO with my life must follow from who I AM” – is expressed in a maxim attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas: agere sequitur esse, action flows from being. So the question remains” Who am I?
God Calls You by Name: Become Who You Are! (Part I)
February 21, 2015
"Who am I? Where do I come from? Where is my life going? What do I value? What should I be doing with my life?" Such questions surface at various times in our lives. Typically, we suppress, deny, or postpone giving them an answer. Where can we begin? It is tempting, when such questions arise, to lose ourselves in more general discussions of the “meaning of life”, when life confronts us with a question far more intimate – and unsettling: "Who am I? What is the meaning and purpose of MY life?"
In today’s Gospel, we witness the healing ministry of Jesus: his cleansing of the leper, restoring him to health, to his family, to his community. This week, we continue our reading of Pope Francis’ message for the 2015 World Day of the Sick: “I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame.” (Job 29:15)
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