Chosen … Jesus calls each and every one of us much like he did St. Matthew. Caravaggio’s The Calling of St. Matthew illustrates how we are chosen. We are chosen in our own different ways, “as Apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers.” (Ephesians 4:11) We are called. Jesus points to us and desires us to follow him. Our own hesitancy lies in our own insecurities, our own judgment, our own sinfulness, our own lack of trust in Jesus.
As St. Augustine says, “there is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future.” Jesus desires each and every one of us, no matter our state in life. We are chosen. We are wanted. We are loved. We are called.
—Joseph Hamaty is the Executive Director of Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House in Lake Dallas, Texas.