Christ the Cornerstone

Jesus calls us to leave everything and follow him, like the Apostles

[Jesus] saw two brothers, Simon who is called 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.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him (Mt 4:18–22).

The Second Vatican Council stressed the “universal call to holiness” (“Lumen Gentium,” chapter 5). Jesus’ invitation to leave everything and follow him is extended to each and every person who seeks to share in his life.

Christ calls every one of us by our names. Although the paths we take may be very different, the Holy Spirit guarantees that we will find Jesus by whatever road we choose.

The paths followed by the holy women and men we venerate as saints can seem very different.

Some, like St. Francis Xavier and St. Mother Theodore Guérin, co-patrons of our archdiocese, involved missionary work in foreign lands.

Other saints, like SS. Vincent de Paul and Teresa of Calcutta, cared for the poor and marginalized social outcasts. SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi cast aside all their worldly possessions to embrace lives of radical poverty.

SS. Thomas Aquinas and Catherine of Siena dedicated their whole lives to prayerful reflection and teaching.

For the past 2,000 years, women and men have been following Jesus by different paths. They have responded to the universal call to holiness in unique and deeply personal ways. In the process, they have inspired countless others to join them in saying “yes” to the Lord’s call by name.

The vocation (call) that each of us receives from the Lord shapes who we are and how we live the Gospel in our daily lives. Consecrated women and men (religious sisters, brothers and priests) follow Jesus according to the charisms (gifts) of their founders.

For example, the Oldenburg Franciscan Sisters and the Franciscan Friars in our archdiocese live their religious lives in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. The same is true of the Benedictines at Our Lady of Grace Monastery and Saint Meinrad Archabbey who follow the Rule of St. Benedict. The Sisters of Providence and the Jesuits strive to live as their founders taught them. All are following Jesus—but in the distinctive manner of the holy men and women who founded their particular religious orders.

The majority of Catholics here in central and southern Indiana respond to the universal call to holiness by living the Gospel in the ordinary circumstances of their lives.

The Sunday Eucharist, which is the source and summit of Christian life, is the means by which people are gathered around the table of the Lord to encounter Jesus in Word and Sacrament. Sunday Mass is also the occasion for “going forth” to proclaim the Gospel in both words and actions. Lay Catholics follow Jesus in prayer and worship, in learning about their faith and sharing it with others, in caring for the poor and vulnerable, and in living as generous and responsible stewards of all God’s gifts.

Bishops, priests and deacons are also called to holiness, but in ways that are distinct from other baptized Christians. Whereas everyone shares in the holiness of Christ, those who receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders are asked to take the place of Christ by being instruments of God’s grace through sacraments (especially Eucharist and reconciliation), constant prayer (Liturgy of the Hours, meditation), preaching the Gospel, offering pastoral care, and serving as spiritual fathers and servants of God’s people, all while striving for personal virtue, self-denial and being a living witness to Christ’s love in their daily lives.

In Sunday’s Gospel (Mt 4:12-23), Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, James and his brother John to leave everything and follow him. They responded to the call to holiness without fully understanding what was being asked of them. Their reward would not be immediate, and it would not be in the form of wealth, power or prestige. All would suffer hardship, and their example would inspire many future generations to follow them.

Whether we are clergy, religious or lay people, Jesus asks us to leave everything, to trust in him, and to grow in holiness by surrendering our wills and our lives to him.

May we have the wisdom to say “yes” to Jesus’s call to be holy. May we be courageous women and men who prefer nothing to living the holiness of Christ. †