call waiting?
Jesus "watched two brothers, Simon now known as Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea. They were fishermen. He said to them, 'Come after Me and I will make you fishers of men.' " —Matthew 4:18-19
In the Greek Church, St. Andrew is revered as the "Protoclete," that is, the "first called" (Jn 1:40). Andrew should also be revered as the "first who called," for, after being called by Jesus, "the first thing he did was seek out his brother Simon and tell him, 'We have found the Messiah!' " (Jn 1:41) We need to imitate Andrew. We, called by God, need to be calling to God all those the Lord has put in our lives.
Jesus said to His disciples: "It was not you who chose Me, it was I Who chose you to go forth and bear fruit" (Jn 15:16). We have been chosen and called to bear abundant (Jn 15:5), lasting (Jn 15:16) fruit. We are called to lead as many people as possible (1 Cor 9:19) to a total, deep, permanent commitment to Christ. Like Andrew, we are called to be missionaries and martyrs so as to lead the nations to Christ (see Jn 12:21-22). We are called to call.
As we end the year of the Great Jubilee, let us ask the Lord for the grace to live lives worthy of our calling (Eph 4:1).
Prayer: Father, may I live my vocations, that is, my callings, to the full.
Promise: "Faith comes through hearing, and hearing by the word of God." —Rm 10:17, our transl.
Praise: Upon being called, St. Andrew immediately abandoned his nets and became a follower of Jesus (Mt 4:20).
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Ralph J. Lawrence, April 24, 2000
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 27, 2000