All this Sunday’s readings, from the first to the third, have something to

say about vocation; in fact, in today’s readings, we can see that whomever
meets God lives a completely new life. Our reflection comes from the
meditation we had on the first reading from the first book of Samuel. Most
of us have heard many times about this pericope of Samuel’s vocation.
Young Samuel was asleep when he heard his name being called. Awakened
from sleep by this call, Samuel goes to his master and mentor, the one we
can call in today’s language “spiritual director," Eli, saying, “Here I am.
You called me." Three times, this happens, and finally, Eli realizes that it is
the Lord who is calling the boy. So, he advises Samuel that next time this
happens he shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” What
does this narrative teach us as Christians in our daily life?

First, we learn from Samuel’s call that our vocation is personal and
individual. God’s relationship with every one of us is very personal,
making our call individual. My existence in this world has a purpose. As a
christian, I have a mission from God to fulfill and no one else, other than
me, will accomplish it. This is why, when the time came for God to
announce to Samuel his vocation, he never used a third part like Eli, for
example; God straightly visited Samuel despite his youthfulness and
announced to him what he was called to. This might be a challenge to some
of us, here or outside this community, who might want to be priests on
behalf of somebody else. If I am a Dominican friar because my mother
would like to have a priest among her children, I have mistaken and may be
in the wrong place.

Second, this reading is a call to spiritual awakening in our Christian life. In

fact, Samuel could hear the voice calling his name because he was awake
and ready in his heart and in his spirit. Brothers, we all need that spiritual
preparedness to hear the voice of God, especially in this clamorous world.

1
In other words, we need “the power of silence to go against the dictatorship
of noise,” to quote the great theologian Cardinal Sarah. In our daily life, it
can happen that we find ourselves burdened by ministries, apostolates,
studies, or other personal or individual responsibilities. Despite that, do we
find a moment alone with God to hear his voice? The model for this
exercise is Jesus, whose mission of preaching the good news never blocked
him from having intimacy with God. In the Gospel, of Marc, we read: “In
the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house and went off to
a lonely place and prayed there.” (Mk 1, 35)

Lastly, the pericope of Samuel’s call teaches us the role of the Church in
every Christian’s life. Although God calls every one of us individually, the
communal aspect of the Church is not to be forgotten. In fact, from these
repeated visits of Samuel to Eli when God was calling him, we learn the
role of the Church in helping each faithful understand and clarify the voice
of God at work in their life. Here comes then the relevant importance of
spiritual directors in our Christian life, the importance of catechists in the
young faithful’s formation, the relevant work of priests and deacons in
sacrament preparation and administration, and so on. It is all about the
unity of the Church and the collaboration of the faithful. According to this
perspective, the Church consists of faithful men and women who are bound
together by their participation in God’s Spirit through the living Christ.

Brothers, on this second Sunday of Ordinary Time, let us pray to the Lord
so that he may help us to discern our vocation and find out what He really
wants us to be and to do. May we continue to pray that each of us may
strive to fulfill God’s will each day to the best of our ability, freely,
faithfully, and fully. Amen!