Jun 24 Tue
Why does God call some people?
When God calls someone for a specific mission, He grants all the necessary and appropriate graces for the fulfillment of this task. In the case of St. John the Baptist, divine intervention begins even before his birth. For that reason, the Church applies these words from the book of Isaiah to him: the Lord called me and had me in mind already when I lay in my mother's womb.
Our Lord chooses his instruments from all eternity and generously bestows his graces on them. However, He requires our correspondence; we must welcome his gifts and let him act without putting up resistance. “We must say with St Peter: Lord, to whom should we go? Thy words are the words of eternal life; we have learned to believe, and are assured that you are the Christ, the Son of God (John 6:69-70). If we allow God's calling to enter our heart, we'll not walk amongst dark shadows. Above our miseries and personal defects, shines the light of God, which is like the sun shining above the storm clouds."
Before he was born, John was called, and later, he spent his life preparing the way of the Lord.
Calling and sending; vocation and mission: these are two aspects of the same reality that encompass one's entire life. Upon calling his Precursor, God entrusts him with an assignment for the good of all humanity: He shall bring back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. He shall unite the hearts of all, the fathers with the children... preparing for the Lord a people fit to receive him.
The entire life of the Baptist will be a faithful reflection of these words of the angel since he will spend himself completely in preparing souls for their encounter with Christ. He removed any personal interests; his sole objective was to bring men to Christ. A man must be content to receive the gift which is given to him from heaven, and nothing more.
We must have rectitude of intention and humility in all our actions.
The figure of St John the Baptist is an example of an upright intention. Like him, “You and I must be witnesses of Jesus Christ. We go along unnoticed in the middle of the world, but without any secrets. With God's help, we struggle to be better."
“Our motto should be that of the Baptist: It is right that Christ should grow in me, and that I become smaller (John 3:30). For that reason, our greatest ambition should be to live without human glory, so that God alone can be glorified, soli Deo honor et gloria (1 Tim 1:17)." St. Josemaría.
The example of the Precursor, who places all his work at Christ's feet, moves us to ask our Lord for a deep sense of service. Such a heroic manifestation of an upright intention is very good for you to keep in mind. True humility in God's service must always be lived.
To avoid many disappointments in life, we should be like fruit-bearing trees... but not only full of leaves. And that is how we should be: like a tree that gives much fruit... a tree that is pleasing to God and souls because it does good to everyone. So, humility. Let us ask for it from Mary Most Holy, our Mother; she declared herself to be the Handmaid of the Lord.