The Three Calls
1. Called to go all out
to put all your energy or enthusiasm into what you are doing,: perform a task as well as possible; bet the farm,
bet the ranch, exert oneself, go for broke, pull out all the stops,
shoot the works,
use every muscle.
The Bible exhorts, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the
Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the
reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ” (Col
3:23-24). This was actually spoken to slaves in regard to their work
for their masters. Yes, you can be enthusiastic for the Lord, and
glorify him in your job!
In fact, the word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek “en theos” which
means “God in us.” All human beings are created in the image of God.
But as Jesuits we have a special spark of the divine nature. If there is any
group of people in the world that ought to be positive, progressive and
enthusiastic, it should be Jesuits!
2. Called to proceed scripturally
We must remain strong in the Word and stayed consistently involved in a solid Bible study. Jesus, in the last chapter of the Gospel of Luke, works to open the minds of His Disciples to the meaning of the Scriptures. He had tried to do it so many times before, but now the experience of the Resurrection gave His words a new light and taste. We shoudl realize the importance of continual scriptural education. We should know now the importance of Jesuit scriptual education. We must take up the shield
of Faith, the helmet of Salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God. That is the only way we can arm ourselves against the disunity and dissent and all the other tools of Satan in this world. It is an
invaluable effort toward His Will.
3. Called to proceed humbly
We must, then, proceed humbly on God’s promise and assurance rather
than relying on our self-confidence. St. Paul encouraged the Corinthian
Christians in this way: ‘Such confidence as this is ours through Christ
before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything
for ourselves, but our competence from God…’” Those who pray humbly can proceed boldly. Those who do not pray humbly
have a hard time proceeding boldly. It gets hard. There’s opposition,
life, ministry gets difficult. And all of a sudden you’re like, “Am I
doing the right thing? Should I have even started this? Should I have
volunteered for this ministry? Should I be pursuing this life course? I
don’t know, maybe I made a mistake.” Crisis ensues. Several key biblical
texts and themes for teaching, select doctrines of the church that
inform teaching as a ministry, and features of teaching in the Jesuit
tradition and its current practice can be employed. This is but one area of work and endeavor that can be explored. We can address these matters
with deep commitment to our shared Jesuit tradition, yet also with
profound respect for what the Holy Spirit has done across the centuries
in other traditions of the Church.
