September 21, 2011
St. Matthew
Dear Family of Mary!
In today's Gospel we read: "As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, 'Follow me.' And he got up and followed him." (Matt 9:9-10) This is the famous "calling" of Matthew, the moment when Jesus encountered Matthew and invited him to become one of his followers, the moment when Matthew's life was forever changed. This "call" redefined Matthew, refocused him, and liberated him from his life of sin. It seems mysterious. Why did Matthew respond as he did? What did Jesus communicate to Matthew that made him get up? We will never know. It was private between Matthew and the Lord. It was a call specific to him. And think of the huge effect Matthew has had on the world by answering his call. His Gospel has been read by billions of people!!
Our Lady speaks about calls constantly in her messages. In almost every message she thanks us for responding to her call. You might say that every message is a call. She calls us to listen to her and follow her lead. She is passing by us and issuing a call to us in each message, a call to come closer to Jesus. Here is an example:
"Dear children! Today I am with you in a special way, holding little Jesus in my lap and I invite you, little children, to open yourselves to His call. He calls you to joy. Little child
ren, joyfully live the messages of the Gospel, which I am repeating in the time since I am with you. Little children, I am your Mother and I desire to reveal to you the God of love and the God of peace. I do not desire for your life to be in sadness but that it be realized in joy for eternity, according to the Gospel. Only in this way will your life have meaning. Thank you for having responded to my call."
(December 25, 1996)
There are several calls in this one message. We are invited (a call) to open ourselves to the call of Little Jesus. Jesus' call is joy! We are invited to joyfully live the messages of the Gospel! In the Gospel we will find the meaning for our lives. Our Lady calls us!
Right now I am reading a book by Fr. Jacques Philippe, Called to Life (Scepter Publishers, 2008), in which he explains the essential nature of being called. Fr. Philippe believes that God relates to us by way of calls. God calls us into being and then He calls us into a relationship with Him throughout our lives. He invites us to become His children, to learn from Him, to follow Him, to know Him, and to work with Him. Our lives grow in meaning as we respond to God's calls in our lives. To be called is to be fully human! He writes:
"From an anthropological point of view, that mankind is called is not some remote reality, something that happens only from time to time or reserved, as might wrongly be supposed, for certain privileged individuals who are fortunate enough to receive a special vocation. Rather than being added to our natural makeup, as if it were something we could get along without, calling is basic to our very identity as human persons. The fullness of human flourishing is not possible by the use only of our own physical, intellectual, psychic, and emotional resources. We can only fully realize our humanity by responding to God's calls - subtle and mysterious, to be sure, yet also real and constant all during our lives." (Fr. Jacques Philippe. Called to Life. p. 9-10)
"We can only fully realize our humanity by responding to God's calls..." Isn't this amazing! I am just stunned by how simple and yet profound this is. I never thought of life in this way before, but it makes sense!
I think it is beautiful that Our Lady always thanks us for responding to her call. She is calling us at God's request, drawing us into relationship with Him so we can live our calls. She understands being called. The Annunciation was the greatest call ever given to a human being. She responded with her whole self, and now we have Jesus! Answering God's calls is very fruitful. We are being called in our own way, just like Mary. Each of us has a job to do for God. We are all important. We are all called. It may be very small, but each job is essential for the salvation of the world. Our Lady is with us to help us to answer the calls of God in our lives. In doing so we will become more and more our true selves! Isn't that awesome!
"Dear children! Behold, also today I want to call you to start living a new life as of today. Dear children, I want you to comprehend that God has chosen each one of you, in order to use you in His great plan for the salvation of mankind. You are not able to comprehend how great your role is in God's design. Therefore, dear children, pray so that in prayer you may be able to comprehend what God's plan is in your regard. I am with you in order that you may be able to bring it about in all its fullness. Thank you for having responded to my call."
(January 25, 1987)
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