Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, religious
(I John 3:7-10; John 1:35-42)
Vocation promoters often utilize the dialogue between Jesus
and John’s disciples in today’s gospel.
They see in it a similar situation to that of their vocation prospects. These young men and women are interested in
following Jesus closely but need to clarify their desires. Jesus’ question, “’What are you looking
for?’”, challenges them to move beyond the indecisiveness of youth and
formulate their objectives in life. Then
they will be able to see if religious life or priesthood will facilitate
meeting those objectives.
Responding to Jesus’ question, Andrew and John’s other
disciple tell Jesus that they want to see where he lives. They are not interested in his human
neighborhood but in his divine one. They
have heard John testify that Jesus is the “Lamb of God,” the one with God’s
Spirit to take away the sin of the world.
Now they want to see if it is true.
If Jesus is the Messiah, Andrew and the other disciple will stay with
him.
Having just recognized Jesus as the Messiah at Christmas, we
too want to stay with him. He will not only teach us how to live so that our
lives may be full but also his presence to us will be eternal life. In this new year we want to endeavor to learn
and practice his ways. Then, meeting him
in the sacraments, we will have a sense of the fulness of life that we
seek.
