"Follow Me"

A significant theme of last Sunday's readings is that God has a calling for each and every one of us - a unique, beautiful, grace-filled calling in which we can do wonderful things.

Amid this fast-paced, busy world, can we hear that call?

And are we willing to answer it?

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In the Second Reading, we heard that God has "saved us and called us with a holy calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the grace which He gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago" (Timothy 1:9). Then, in the Gospel, the Lord said of Jesus, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him", shortly after which, Jesus said to "Rise and have no fear" (Matthew 17: 5, 7).

Taken together, these messages are very powerful and inspiring. We can see that God has a wonderful plan for each of us, and has mercifully and generously provided us with the graces needed to fulfill it. Even more, He gave us His only son as an ideal example of how to live one's life as a means for serving others, glorifying the Lord, and manifesting God's plan, even when it means enduring hardship and making great sacrifice. To be sure, to accept God's call, which may or may not be exactly how we had envisioned our life when we were formulating hopes and dreams for the future, and to pursue the fulfillment of that call, can be challenging at times. Yet, as Jesus reminds us, we should "rise and have no fear", because He is ever at our side, loving us, guiding us, and helping us along our way.

In keeping with this theme, my choir sang Paul McCartney's "Follow Me" during Communion this past Sunday. Here are the lyrics, as well as a link to the video.

You lift up my spirits, you shine on my soul
Whenever I'm empty, you make me feel whole
I can rely on you to guide me through any situation
You hold up a sign that reads: "Follow me"

You give me direction, you show me the way
You give every reason to face every day
I can depend on you to send me to any destination
You hold up a sign that reads: "Follow me, follow me"

Down the track of loneliness, down the path of love
Through the woods of heartache to the end
On the shores of sorrow, where the waves of hope crash in
The perfect place for me to find a friend

You lead me to places that I've never been
Uncovering secrets that I've never seen
I can rely on you to guide me through any situation
You hold up a sign that reads: "Follow me, follow me
Follow me, follow me
Follow me, follow me
Follow me, follow me"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzHkYUPf59s

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The title, and thus the main theme of this song, in my choir's interpretation, is that God is lovingly asking us to follow Him - that is, to accept the plan and calling He has for us, surrender our hearts to Him, and go about life seeking to serve others and glorify Him in the distinct way He has shaped for us, using our unique God-given gifts and talents.

Also of note is that He is not ordering us, He is asking us. He gave us all free will, and thus, we are given a choice.

Will we choose to open our minds and hearts so that we can hear the call God is making to us?

Will we then choose to answer that call? That is, will we submit ourselves to the Lord and seek first and foremost to do His will?

Will we seek to help others? Will we seek to live and love in a Christlike way in all that we do?

From the final verse one can infer that when we do choose to listen to God and to follow Him along the path He has crafted for us, we will experience opportunities and joys we never thought imaginable! From good comes more good, when that good is rooted in the love of God and His word.

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What is your calling? How are you fulfilling it? I would love for you to share your thoughts.

Let us all pray to be able to clearly discern God's unique, loving calling for us, and to more greatly possess the patience, positivity, and perseverance needed to carry out His plan.

Love and blessings to you all,

Karen