Point for prayerful consideration: God always takes the initiative.

Brief Notes on the Theme:
As I mentioned earlier, the first act of prayer is God's, not ours. In like manner, it is God who calls, not ourselves nor any other human being, although God may use other persons as instruments to invite us to listen.
God's initiative manifests itself in different forms. Occasionally, God instills within us a desire and longing for meaning in our lives. At other times, God gives us a feeling of love and responsibility for other people, especially the poor and the marginalized. Whatever may be God's way of calling us, one thing is certain - it is the Spirit who stirs in us a desire to look for God and respond to the call. It is God's Spirit who operates, however unrecognized, at every moment of our life and in all the circumstances of our personal history, leading us to where we are meant to be. The Spirit we await in prayer is constantly coming in our life, constantly calling us to move into the future, as we continue to journey towards God.

Scripture Meditation #1

John 1:35-41..."Come and see..."
Guiding Notes
In this passage, John the Baptist affirms to his followers that there is one among them whom they do not know. As Jesus walks by, the Baptist looks at him and says, "There is the Lamb of God." On hearing this, Andrew and John followed Jesus. He turned around and asked them, "What are you looking for?"
This is a question Jesus asks us time and again as we go about our lives. What are our attractions, inner dispositions and inclinations? What are we seeking in life? We will surely gain nothing through finding Christ unless we are willing to submit ourselves to him.
Reflection Questions
a) In what ways does this text speak to me?
b) What am I looking for in life? In Jesus?
c) What are my inner dispositions and inclinations?
d) What are my feelings and realizations?

Scripture Meditation #2

John 4:7-30… "If you only knew what God is offering… the water that I shall give will become a spring of water within, welling up for eternal life."
(Since this passage is quite long, read and reread the story until you get a mental picture or image of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Then, focus your attention at the selected verses given above.)
Guiding Notes
In the story of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, Jesus does not only choose to reveal his true identity and mission to a Samaritan woman - someone who was marginalized by society because of her gender, her ethnic roots, her religious affiliation, and her questionable reputation; he also takes the initiative to invite this woman to enter into a theological discussion with him. In doing so, he gently leads her to enter into her past experiences and personal history and to recognize in the various events of her life her deep longing and thirst for meaning - a meaning which she can only find in her relationship with the true God as revealed to her in Jesus.
We are all like the Samaritan woman. In each one of us is a deep longing for God. Only Jesus can lead us along the path of self-knowledge and discovery of who God is in our life. He takes this divine initiative when we dare to enter into relationship with him in prayer.
Reflection Questions
a) What was striking in this story? As I entered into the scene of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman through the use of my active imagination, what did I see, hear, experience… what feelings, images, insights were evoked in me?
b) In what ways do I identify with the "thirsts" of the Samaritan woman?
c) In what ways is Jesus leading me to grow in self-knowledge and in my relationship with him?

Scripture Meditation # 3

Mark 3:13-15..."Then Jesus went up into the hill country and called those he wanted and they came to him."
Guiding Notes
Jesus takes the initiative in choosing those whom he wants to be his companions. They came to him in freedom. Jesus entered into relationship with each one of them in varying degrees of intimacy. In calling us, God wants us to take part in Christ's mission just as the apostles did.
Jesus came in order to save all, but his work began with the poor. Although he himself came from the middle-class of his time, country, and culture, he did not exclusively belong to the poor nor to the rich. However, in calling his apostles from among the common and ordinary people, he located himself within a specific milieu and social class.
Reflection Questions
a) In what ways does this passage speak to me?
b) How am I experiencing Jesus' call to follow him?
c) What do I see as the obstacles to my participation in Christ's mission?
d) What are my feelings and realizations?

Scripture Meditation #4

Acts 13:2-4..."Set Barnabas and Paul apart and send them..."
Guiding Notes
It was during their prayer and fasting that the Holy Spirit acted in the lives of Paul and Barnabas - setting them apart for God's mission.
Sometimes, the Holy Spirit cannot act in our lives unless we properly dispose ourselves to the Divine action through prayer and fasting. Fasting cleanses our whole being of selfish concerns and prepares our inner selves to encounter God in prayer in all the circumstances of our lives. Prayer and fasting create an inner space in us and free us to allow the Spirit of God to take the initiative in our lives.
Reflection Questions
a) In what ways does this passage speak to me?
b) How have I experienced the action of the Holy Spirit in my life?
c) What is my experience of prayer and fasting, particularly in connection with my vocational search? What particular forms of prayer and fasting do I find helpful?
d) What are my feelings and realizations?

Other Scripture Suggestions

o 1 Samuel 3:1-20..."'Samuel! Samuel!' And Samuel answered, 'Speak, for your servant hears.'"
In what ways do I identify with God's call to Samuel?

o John 15:16..."You did not choose me, it was I who chose you."
How am I experiencing God's choice of me?

o John 6: 44-47..."No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me."
In what ways do I experience the drawing of the Father in my everyday life?

o Matthew 4:18-22..."Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of people."
In what ways do I identify with the first disciples who heard Jesus' personal invitation to follow him?

o Mark 2:13-17..."Jesus said..., 'Follow me.' And Levi got up and followed him."
What struck me in Levi's response to Jesus' initiative to call him?

o 2 Timothy 1:6-11..."Take your share in laboring for the Gospel with the strength of God. He saved us and called us - a calling which proceeds from his holiness. This did not depend on our merits, but on his generosity and his own initiative."
In what ways do I experience God's generosity and initiative in spite of my own unworthiness to receive God's?

o Romans 11:33-36..."Who has ever known God's thoughts?...For everything comes from God..."
How am I experiencing the mystery of God's call?