Today’s first reading talks of love. St. John reminds us that we came to know love when Jesus laid down his life for us, therefore we ought to lay down our lives for others. This is a heavy lift followed by another challenge: “Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.”  We can believe in the importance of love and speak of love, but it can be difficult to show love—particularly to one who has caused pain.

This is where the gospels come in. The gospels truly serve as a guide for how to love. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus invites Philip to “Follow me.”  Philip shared this invitation with Nathanael who also follows and finds that Jesus knows him. Jesus promises him that as their relationship deepens, he will see greater things.
Jesus, as God, created us and when he calls us, he knows exactly who is calling and why. It takes faith and patience for us to understand how God works.

I have seen this ‘personalized call’ in action through my life personally and professionally. I have had the opportunity to counsel young people particularly when they realize that their l. path might look a bit different than they envisioned. I distinctly recall an interaction I had with an undergraduate student who aspired to be a physician. Despite doing everything right, they were not accepted into medical school on their first application. They were really hurting. You see this student really prepared to have a stellar application—successfully dealt with academic rigor, volunteered, shadowed physicians, and is really an outstanding human dedicated to caring for others. Besides a big hug and a safe place to be emotional, I reminded them that this did not mean that they would not become a physician, but the path might look a bit different. Fast forward, this person is now a physician and can attest that the path looked different but acknowledges gratitude for the experiences that were encountered on the detour. God knew that this person’s gifts were needed elsewhere for a bit. So, this was a personal calling. As I mentioned, I have learned this personally too. I firmly believe that God calls us to be where we are supposed to be at the right time. Our faith and the word of God will guide us along the path.

Today is the feast day of St. John Neumann. His words remind us of our purpose: “Everyone who breathes, high and low, educated, and ignorant, young, and old, man and woman, has a mission, has a work. We are not sent into this world for nothing. We are not born at random.”