First Monday of Advent, Feast of St. Andrew

11/30, Feast of St. Andrew

Beside the Sea of Galilee,

the Lord saw two brothers, Peter and Andrew,

and he said to them:

Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.

This type of reading or antiphon has a special meaning to me now in the seminary.  It is all about listening to God's call.  That is something important to remember, our vocation is a call from God that we must follow.  There is choice involved, there must be or no free will, but it must first be a call from God.  The other part of it is that we are all called to be fishers of men.  The majority of the "work" is done by lay people in their everyday lives.  The best way we can effectively "haul in a big catch" is by living out good Christian lives.  A good witness is much more effective than a forceful hand.