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Wednesday, November 30

Saint Andrew, Apostle

The Path of the Child

Today’s Gospel tells us about Saint Andrew’s call to follow Jesus. Jesus called him and his brother Simon and they abandoned everything to follow him, immediately. How could they leave everything at once, without a single question, in order to be with a man they did not know? What is the nature of the attraction that Jesus exercised on them?
People followed Jesus without understanding his teachings; indeed, a number of times the apostles even found them difficult to accept. It is not the content of his teachings that attracts them. It is the power of his presence. There is something different, exceptional about him.
The beginning of the Christian life is not a discourse, a message; it is an event. There is something in Jesus that corresponds with the deepest most powerful desires or needs of the human heart, and the presence of Jesus awakens those desires. These are the desires for justice, peace, beauty, truth, forgiveness and harmony that we hear in the words of Isaiah, the prophet of Advent.
Jesus awakened these desires and, in his presence, they began to be fulfilled. But do we believe that what happened to Andres and the apostles can happen to us today? Can Jesus still fulfill all the desires of the human heart? Yes! That is why we celebrate Advent.

Reflection based on Matthew 4:18-22
Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete

Loving Father, draw me to yourself by my desires which are themselves your gift.