The call of Christ:
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening

		Living the Scriptures  with St. Paul University  Catholic Center  Mark Rose

It is time to wake up and recognize the call of the Lord. God is calling for us every day, and like Samuel, we must answer with a valiant "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."

But God, how do I know it's you and know what you are calling me to?

Yes, I am often burdened by these questions, frustrated by uncertainty and the perceived lack of response on the part of God. However, I know that through an exposure to the mysteries of the Church, the Word of Truth, and persistence in prayer, we come to understand one thing: that God tells us to be conformed to the love of Jesus Christ so we may receive the joys of everlasting life.

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Jan. 15, 2006) 1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19 Ps 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10 1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20 Jn 1:35-42

That is all we need to know, for if we realize this, then the revelation and truth of God's plan resonates in us.

We must also realize that with the desire to seek God in our daily lives, we are also called to be of help to others.

With the help of Eli, Samuel is able to identify God's call to him, leading him to become prophet. With the help of John the Baptist and Andrew, Peter is introduced to Jesus as Messiah and he eventually becomes Cephas, Rock of the Church.

We are in need of others to help us recognize this call, but even more, we must help others seek out this call.

This awareness of God's call and reciprocating it to others is so important because St. Paul tells us that our bodies belong to Christ and are made to reflect his image. If we can grasp the desire of God's call in our hearts, it will allow us to conform our bodies objectively to the Lord.

With the submission of our mind, body, and soul to the call of God and the ability to respond with vigor, it will enable us to become one in spirit with him.

So let us search for truth and love with all of our hearts that we may be aware of God's call. Then we can humbly respond with joy and exuberant anticipation, "Speak Lord, your servant is listening."

Mark Rose is a senior at the UW-Madison majoring in philosophy. He leads a small group bible study in addition to various other activities at St. Paul University Catholic Center.

St. Paul's Web site is www.stpaulscc.org

Faith Alive!

In a Nutshell Civility and openness toward those who differ with us "does not commit us to a relativistic approach," Bishop George Niederauer of Salt Lake City, Utah, said in spring 2005. He cautioned against labeling people and said that respect for the dignity of others with whom we disagree must be maintained. Religion, Bishop Niederauer advised, "is a wondrous value only in humble hands." Catholic News Service 3211 Fourth St NE Washington DC 20017 202.541.3250 cns@catholicnews.com	Food for Thought   The ecumenical movement had an insight that may be valuable for communities trying to address situations involving polarization. Ecumenists, coming from different Christian bodies, obviously differed in important ways. What was discovered was that the tone of their conversations changed when instead of starting with points of difference, they started with points of common belief. This is not to say that the ecumenists then swept their differences under the carpet. It is a basic principle of ecumenism today that people involved in it need to know their own faith and be willing to present it well. The ecumenical discovery, however, was that when divided Christians are aware how much they share in terms of faith, they view their differences with greater hope and can make progress in resolving them. Sometimes they even discover that something they've considered a big dividing point actually isn't that at all. There are times when people of different faith communities or within the same faith community differ on true basics. But many times their differences don't quite involve that. How can people remain civil and welcoming even though they have points of disagreement? Numerous church leaders today are asking that question. full story   Breaking the polarization ice By Barbara Stinson Lee Catholic News Service Central to the story of Disney's popular musical "Beauty and the Beast," is the concept of people's differences. Belle (who is Beauty) and her eccentric inventor father, Maurice, are outcasts in their town because she always has her head buried in a book, and Maurice is, well, just so different. Later we meet the beast, caught in an evil spell and ugly beyond imagination. He and Beauty are worlds apart in appearance, lifestyle, education, temperament. In the meantime, the evil spell is robbing even the beast's house staff of their humanity; they are turning more and more into inanimate objects -- a candlestick, a teapot, a feather duster. full story  Strategies for lessening polarization's force By Father Robert L. Kinast Catholic News Service Polarization is a fact of life in modern society. When polarization occurs among the church's people, it creates considerable concern. In the Catholic community there is a deep-seated assumption that all the faithful should be of the same mind on church matters. On the one hand, this assumption reflects the "sense of the faith" with which the Holy Spirit endows the baptized. On the other hand, it reflects the painful divisions which have occurred in the past and continue to challenge the church today. full story  The art of communicating when you see things differently By Jean Sweeney Catholic News Service We are rarely trained to communicate unless we find ourselves in marriage counseling. Seldom do churches or schools provide the skills training that could lead to a more peaceful world. In our culture we are bombarded with multiple examples of unskilled communications. Television sitcoms and reality shows are especially at fault, making humor out of anger, blame and put-downs. full story
	Faith in the Marketplace   This Week's Discussion Point: Do you have an insight, gained from the workplace or a school, for example, on how to build unity when people disagree forcefully about a concern?     Selected Response From Readers:
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