In the Greek Church, St. Andrew is revered as the "Protoclete," that is, the "first called" (see 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.
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: | Jesus "said to them, 'Come after Me and I will make you fishers of men.' " –Mt 4:19 |
| PRAISE: | "The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation, on which were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Rv 21:14). |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College