There is a central theme that comes to us in today’s readings: God is calling us to accept His invitation to live our lives in His service.

In the first reading, Samuel is called by the Lord. Even here there is confusion because his mentor, Eli, does not realize the call is from God. However, Samuel accepted the call and became the most powerful man in Israel. He became the spiritual leader of the country and anointed Saul as the first Jewish King. The gospel passage describes another dramatic event. Andrew and Simon Peter meet Jesus and they accept His invitation to follow Him.

As we recount these momentous events we might say, "I haven’t heard any "call" from God." Of course you have. You heard His call this morning and here you are, worshipping in His church, His temple, just as the Israelites of the Samuel’s time did. Just as the early Christians did. Of course, one might think that such a "call" is not as dramatic as those of Samuel, Andrew and Peter. It’s not as dramatic because, for most of us, God’s "call" comes to us a we go about our daily tasks.

How does He speak to us? Well, let’s try a little experiment. There are young people here that are in grade school, high school or college. You may be saying to yourself, "I didn’t hear a call of God before I came to Mass. I’m here because my mother said, "It’s time for Mass." That’s fairly normal, isn’t it? And, possibly, even though you’re here, you may not be excited about your having come. I can remember I felt the same way when I was young.

So, I’m going to issue a "call" to you this morning. As long as you are here, why not use this time in a productive manner? We are all here to pray. Speaking again to the young people here, have you considered what your parents have done for you? I would suggest you think about the fact that you probably live in a nice home, that you eat good meals and that you are receiving a fine education. You probably don’t contribute monetarily to this comfortable life.

Does God expect you to return these gifts from your parents? Yes, I think He does. How? He expects you to be grateful and one way to express that is to say a prayer of thanks to Him for giving you the blessing of wonderful parents. As you come to communion, don’t just walk up the aisle and receive the host but let your heart speak to God and say, "Thank you for what you have done for me." And, later when the occasion arises, say those same words to your parents.

Some might observe, "That’s a pretty simplistic "call". That’s just the point. Our call from God will not came as a voice in the night ... He will not appear to us in a vision and call us as He did Peter and Andrew. We won’t get a call on our cell phone to come and follow Him.

It’s in the normal things we do every day, in thanking our parents, in loving our children, in helping our neighbor that we really do answer God’s "call". But if we wait for the lightning to strike, we wasting opportunities that God is giving to us.

The parents here can answer God’s call every day. He says to us, "Love your neighbor." For parents, who is your closest neighbor .... your children. And so, as you perform what may be considered normal tasks of feeding, housing and clothing your sons and daughters, you are doing exactly what God expects of you. When you love them by exerting a reasonable amount of discipline, you are again showing great love for them ... just as God expects.

We might say, "But that’s not as exciting as Samuel hearing God’s call or the fact that Peter and Andrew agreed to follow Jesus." Of course it is. We may not think so because we don’t equate what these men did with our lives. When we hear these accounts we don’t ask the question, "How should I answer the call of God?’

Listen to today’s Psalm:

"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
to do you will, Oh My God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"

That’s beautiful. "It is prescribed for me to do your will." But if hear only words we don’t realize that God speaking to us, now ..... today. "Your law is within my heart." If we as adults don’t realize He is calling us to be the examples our children must have, then we rally aren’t listening to His "call". Most of us are going to get to Heaven living what some might call "boring lives". But loving one another is not boring. Bringing some of our surplus to people in need is not boring. Praying the rosary, going to a week day Mass, is not boring. It’s what God has "called" us to do. Will we answer as Samuel, Andrew and Peter answered?

We may feel that Samuel, Peter and Andrew made great sacrifices to respond positively when they were "called." If our "call" is so easy, why hasn’t each young man or woman here expressed gratitude to their parents for all they have been given. How do the young people think your Mom, Dad will feel you say, "Thanks for all you’ve done for me." If you listen closely, you may hear them whisper, "Thank you Lord."

If living a life of answering God when He "calls" is so easy, why do we get so involved in our busy schedules, the Super Bowl, our social engagements and the everyday task of living our lives that we fail to set aside time to follow His commandments, to pray and to help others? Why? Because it’s not easy to hear His "call" and it’s not easy to answer it.