Fr Alex Swain

Beloved in Christ,

As a child, I remember playing Pokémon in my room upstairs, and hearing my mom or dad call down, “Alex!!!!” With an eye-roll I might shout back, “Whatttt?!” (I was, after all, very busy catching Pokémon and battling and so forth).

“Come down here!” With a huff, I’d go down the stairs only to be asked to do some chore, or help with something, that I just really didn’t have time for (after all, battles needed to be waged, and I needed to become the greatest Pokémon master).

My response to the call from my parents was lackluster at best as a child (though I hope now it’s better).

On the other hand, St. Matthew (whose feast we celebrate today, transferred from September 21 responds with great alacrity!

“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.” (Matthew 9:9)

Jesus said, “follow me,” and St. Matthew stands up and follows our Lord. No questions. No huffing. No saying, “just let me finish this last transaction.” None of that.

The Lord called, and Matthew arose.

St. Matthew is a wonderful example of what it looks like to respond to the call of Christ. He hears, he responds, he is obedient.

I would like to think that I would respond like St. Matthew, but the truth is, more often than not, I do not hear the call of Christ as clearly as I’d like.

Life is noisy. It is busy. Our schedules are full and our minds are swimming between schedules, to-dos, getting to the next appointment, and more.

Yet there is a way to learn to hear the call of God more clearly. Quiet and contemplative practices are critical to hearing God’s call on our daily life—and this is attested by the practices of the saints over the last two millennia.

Spending time in silent prayer to listen to the Lord, and spending time daily reading the Holy Scriptures, are two sure ways that we can begin to learn to hear the call of Christ daily.

May we prepare ourselves, in mind, body, and spirit, to respond like St. Matthew.

Amen!

—Fr Alex