1 Jn. 3: 7-10; Ps. 98: 1, 7-9; Jn. 1: 35-42
A new year brings us the sense of new beginnings with new opportunities as Christians to live our lives in acts of righteousness. Our prayer this day is that we see the saving power of God. How are we to see his saving power? It begins with an act of faith, with songs of praise, shouts of joy, and trust in God’s rule over the world.
The gospel reading today is the beginning of Christ’s mission after his coming through the womb of Mary in his humanity to bring us his divinity. He calls us as he called his disciples to follow. “Come, and you will see.” This is our message of today. Take an act of faith and come to the Lord. Come as you are. Come as a sinner, poor, hungry, sick and weak in need of a savior. We come through prayer, in confession in our celebration of the Mass. We come by reaching out to others and giving of ourselves. We come by offering our day, this moment to God with thanksgiving and praise. Often we must take the act of faith in the darkness of life by taking the next right step he has placed in our hearts which leads to the light. If we always saw the light we simply would need to do an act of the will and follow. The disciples we told “Behold the Lamb of God” and in an act of the will followed. We can behold the Lamb of God in the Eucharist truly present and follow him through our sacraments.
When we are in the darkness, let us give praise to God for he is with us in our darkness waiting on us to open ourselves up to Him. In the darkness we are to pray, “Here I am Lord, I offer you my intellect, my will, and my emotions, this body and soul let it be done to me according to your will. I offer you my darkness with an act of hope for your divine providence. I offer you my praise as an act of love. I offer you my actions as an act of faith in your guiding love. I come to you, come to me with a word of truth to my mind. I come to you, come to me in a consolation of peace in my heart. I come to you, come to me with a sign of hope through the action of others. I come to you, come to me that I may see your saving power that I may follow in your love.”
Jesus took Simon, son of John and called him “Cephas” translated as Peter and “rock”. Jesus wanted Simon as a rock of faith but this required many trials for Peter to become the rock for Christians. Jesus is calling us also by name. What name may he be giving us as his followers? Do we need to be “rock” in leading our domestic church at home or “grace” in testimony of holiness, or “joy” in thanksgiving? We too have a name to represent our call to service but we start by coming to see as disciples before we are sent forth as apostles. In taking his name as Peter he passed through his darkness before he became the light of “rock”. This is taking up our cross daily and following Him. Trust in the Lord he has given us a purpose to follow, each according to God’s plan but all as Christians, that is followers of Christ.
Today is also the Memorial of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, a Religious who in many ways lived a traditional Christian life with periods of darkness as when she lost her mother as a child of 3 years and periods of light when she entered the Catholic faith to begin her calling to set up a school for girls and later the order of Sisters of Charity. Through this she was also a mother, a wife, and a widow in her earthly pilgrimage. She is the first American born canonized Saint by the Church. It is in the ordinary life that God’s call is to do extraordinary virtue with our lives.
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