Monday: November 30

Monday of the First Week of Advent
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The Feast of the Apostle St. Andrew.
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Gospel + + + + + MT 4:18-22
As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.
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“How ready we all are with our praises when a cake is to be divided - provided
the cake is not ours.” Walter Savage Landor

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In his book, An Anthropologist on Mars, neurologist Oliver Sacks tells about Virgil, a man who had been blind from early childhood. When he was 50, Virgil underwent surgery and was given the gift of sight. But as he and Dr. Sacks found out, having the physical capacity for sight is not the same as seeing.
Virgil's first experiences with sight were confusing. He was able to make out colors and movements, but arranging them into a coherent picture was more difficult. Over time he learned to identify various objects, but his habits--his behaviors--were still those of a blind man.
Dr. Sacks asserts, "One must die as a blind person to be born again as a seeing person. It is the interim, the limbo . . . that is so terrible."
Faith in Christ is a gift which God alone gives. Many may not have this gift because they do not know who to ask or even why they should ask. Faith is not a matter of here it is and there it goes. Faith is a way of life. It’s how we live and love and think and work. Faith is how we choose our friends and how we let go of obstacles to a healthy life. For us to live in faith we also have to die to self. There is often a clash between the love we have for this world and attempting to live a life in Christ. Most of the time, something has to give.

Faith in Christ is who I am.
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