THE WORD AND THE SAINT
Hebrews 10:1-10; Mark 3: 31-35
It is a familiar theme in Christian parlance to discuss the fact that each of us has a vocation and that he or she is called by name, each one, in a very specific manner. Each of us has a purpose and is called to achieve that purpose without fail, or atleast strive to. But one question always remains and stands out: how will we know what God wants of us?
Truly speaking, can we ever know for sure, what God wants of us? If we can stay tuned to God's voice and God's promptings, we would at any given moment make choices and decisions in keeping with God's will for us then and there. What is needed for this is a disposition that the readings outline today: Behold, I come to do your will.
It is this readiness to do God's will that makes Mary the first disciple of Christ, more than being merely the biological mother that she actually was to Jesus the Christ! The fundamental disposition is, never to lose sight of that one absolute, in relation to which all our choices and decisions have to be made: God's Will, and a total surrender to it.
Francis de Sales was convinced of it, not only in his life but also in the lives of those whom he directed. In his Treatise on the Love of God, he dedicates two full chapters on finding the will of God for each of us - the crux of it according to him is the love we have for God. We obey God because we love God, he says. "Whoever truly takes pleasure in God desires faithfully to please God and, in order to please God, desires to conform to God." In that process of expressing our love, we become children of God - that is, brothers and sisters of Jesus our Lord.