See if you can follow this line of reasoning. I promise you, it’s all true and it’s guaranteed to make perfect sense--eventually.

As for the call for the number which is relatively small, this can come as it did for the apostle Paul. That is to say, this call can come after a fall, which is very good news for all. Praise God, a fall the size of a shopping mall does not preclude this special call. Although it’s certainly true that if someone falls--and stalls--they may never discern this call. Thus it is absolutely essential that we are on the ball regarding the ‘call for all,’ because responding wholeheartedly to the call for all will either prevent the fall, or it will cause us to bounce back up like a tennis ball after the fall.

I can tell that you’re following this perfectly so far.

He who is our all is the source of each call. So let’s resolve today not to forestall. Let’s get rid of our gall—let’s give it a curtain call, as did St. Peter and St. Paul, and permit the Source of each call to quickly install his grace into our hearts. In the long haul, this will bring us happily to his banquet hall. And in the short haul, this will keep us from hitting a stone wall, as we seek to discern if ours is also the call which is not for all, but only for the number which is relatively small.

Some of you may be thinking, "Fr. Ray, did you fall off a wall or recently get hit with a golf ball?" No, I can assure you I did not! I will now explain what I just said, all of which relates to the three Scripture readings we just heard.

"There’s a call for all, and there’s a call for a number which is relatively small." The call "for all" is the call to holiness! "You must be made perfect,’ Jesus said, ‘as your heavenly Father is perfect." Holiness is not an option in this life—it’s everyone’s vocation! As it says in the New Catechism, paragraph 2013: "All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity. All are called to holiness . . . "

Our second reading today from 1 Corinthians 6 reminds us of this truth. St. Paul says, "The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. . . . Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body." These, of course, are sins which many people today want to deny or ignore: pre-marital sex, masturbation, pornography, adultery, homosexuality, artificial contraception. If we are serious about fulfilling the call which is "for all," then we can’t deny or ignore these sins if we’ve committed them. We’ve got to face them, confess them, and repent of them with a firm purpose of amendment. If we don’t, then (in effect) we are putting a "pall" over God’s call to sanctity—and we are putting our salvation in jeopardy! We are running the risk of missing out on the eternal banquet which Jesus died to give us. Remember what I said earlier?—"The call for all should certainly enthrall [in other words, we should want to be holy], but upon it all too many put a pall [that is to say, they refuse to repent of their sins]. Sadly, this keeps them out of the banquet hall." (Which, I might add, is the greatest tragedy of all!)

But what about "the call for the number which is relatively small?" That, of course, concerns the vocation to the priesthood and/or religious life. Today’s Gospel text from John 1 is about the call of three men who would someday become three of the first priests--after their ordination at the Last Supper: Andrew, Peter, and probably John (although he’s not identified as John in the text). This call to serve God as a deacon, priest, or bishop (or as a religious brother or sister) is certainly not for everyone, but it most definitely is for some. And it’s comforting to know that this can be God’s plan for our life even if we’ve been a terrible sinner in the past. As I said a few moments ago, "[This call] can come as it did for the apostle Paul—after a fall. [In fact] a fall the size of shopping mall does not preclude this special call." St. Augustine, St. Paul, and many others would surely attest to that.

So what’s the key in discerning whether or not this is God’s call for us in our life? The key is: "the call for all!" It all goes back to that. If we want to know what God’s will is for us, then we need to stay close to the Lord. In other words, we need to be fulfilling his universal call and seeking holiness. If we’re not trying to live a holy life, then we will never know with a moral certitude what God wants for us as an individual. If he happens to be calling us to a consecrated life of some kind, we’ll never know it; and if he’s calling us to marriage, we’ll be very likely to make the wrong choice of a spouse. People who are called to marriage should want to marry the person God wants them to marry. But how will they ever know that if they’re living an ungodly life? Since they’re living in the state of mortal sin, they’ll be disconnected from the One whose help they need to discern properly! (By the way, I think this gives us an important insight as to why so many marriages fail these days. Think of how many couples live together before they get married. And of those who don’t live together, how many of them are being chaste--or at least going to Confession when they’re unchaste?) Recall what I said earlier: "If someone falls, and stalls, they may never discern the call." I said that with regard to priesthood and religious life, but it also applies to marriage. This is why "it’s absolutely essential that we are on the ball regarding the call for all [the call to holiness]." Holiness is the foundation for proper discernment.

Of course, even if we are living a good, holy, moral life, we will probably still need some help in figuring out what God wants us to do while we’re on this earth. Like Samuel in today’s first reading, we will need an Eli or two. Samuel did not understand what was happening to him, until Eli realized what was going on and gave him the guidance he needed. He said, "Go [back] to sleep, and if you are called [again], reply ,’Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.’" Many of us have been blessed with people who have helped us to discern the Lord’s call, as Eli helped Samuel. As some of you know, one of my Elis was Fr. Frank Giudice from Westerly. When I was an indecisive, mixed-up young adult, he helped me to hear the Lord’s voice clearly in my heart, and I will always be grateful to him for that.

So where do we go from here? Simple. We need to "resolve not to forestall." We must give our gall "a curtain call like St. Peter and St. Paul" (that means we need to repent of our sins) so that the Source of these calls can "install his grace into our hearts" if it’s not already there. That will help us on two levels: In the long haul, it will bring us to the "banquet hall" of heaven (which is the most important benefit of all); and, in the short haul, it will keep us from hitting a stone wall (in other words, from being stopped) as we seek to know God’s call in our lives and remain faithful to it.