Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
/Dominica II per Annum A
18 January 2026
In the context of this Gospel selection, Jesus has already been baptized, such that John is reporting to the crowds what he saw when he baptized the Lord. John reports, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him”. Given what John knows, and given the signs that accompanied the baptism, John is able to point to Jesus and say, “Behold, the Lamb of God”.
That’s a phrase I get to say each and every day. I get to say that phrase as, just before Holy Communion, I hold up and present the Lamb of God in his Real Presence, given for his people. I say that phrase daily, as does Fr. Bali, and any good priest. I say it before large crowds and in smaller chapels. I say it in my prayer room at home when, on some occasions, I am offering Mass privately by myself. I say it in a hotel room when traveling. I have said it sitting on the floor of a tent in the Alaska wilderness while on a salmon fishing trip in the backwoods. Every day! Behold, the Lamb of God!
The vocation, life and ministry of the priest became my focus as I reflected on this Gospel in preparation for the homily. In part, the priesthood came to my mind because of the particular way that priests are privileged to do something like what St. John the Baptist did. Priests are called to point out the Lord. Priests are called to point people to an encounter with the Lord. We are called to present the Lord’s teaching and to remind people what it means to follow the Lord by turning away from sin, repenting, and living a new life of commitment in discipleship. Like the other words of St. John the Baptist in today’s passage, priests minister so that the Lord might be made known, and they testify that Jesus is the Son of God. Priests make the Lord Jesus present in our midst because of that sacred power given to priests in the Catholic Church to consecrate and change bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Lord. Priests make the Lord’s mercy present because of that sacred power given to them to grant absolution for the forgiveness of sins.
I imagine that another reason that priesthood came to my mind for this weekend is because I have just returned from annual time with a good number of my seminary classmates. Quite a few of you know this, but each early January around 15 of my seminary class come together from across the country and we gather on an Alabama tree farm, where we spend a week together. It’s an unlikely spot for a priest gathering. The reason we gather there is because it is owned by the family of one of my classmates. It has plenty of space to accommodate all of us. And frankly, we like the quiet of the woods where cell phones don’t work so well. We spend our week together with a daily holy hour followed by Mass in the chapel built on the site. We go on hikes. Some of us hunt. We have great meals. We sit around a bonfire and enjoy carrying on. We have spirited discussions on all manner of topics. We joke and tease one another. We seek advice on pastoral decisions we need to make at our parishes. In short, we are brothers and we are blessed and renewed each year to begin the year with this time set aside for our fraternity.
Maybe I shouldn’t make a homily so personal. But, I want you to have an idea of the deep sense of mission that priests have. And the joy that we have in the unique privilege of standing where we stand and pointing out Christ to the world. We know ourselves to be ordinary men. We know ourselves to be sinners who need confession just like you. We have our own set of characteristics, personality traits, talents and defects. In all the sacraments the Lord takes ordinary things and sets them aside for a sacred purpose. Likewise in the Sacrament of Holy Orders the Lord chooses and calls ordinary men to be committed to ongoing conversion, even while we minister to the flock and call you to ongoing conversion.
Each of the four Scripture readings, including the psalm, can be said to show us something about calling and vocation. The first reading gives us some insight into the Prophet Isaiah’s awareness of his call to service, that he was formed from the womb to be the Lord’s servant. The psalm provides that response that we can hope is on the lips of any person called by the Lord: “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.” The second reading shows us St. Paul’s awareness that he is called to be an apostle. And, of course, in the Gospel, St. John the Baptist baptizes, and makes known, and testifies that he is called to serve the one who ranks ahead of him: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
I think all of this (the Scripture readings and my recent time with brother priests) comes together in a way that should motivate us to pray for future vocations to priesthood and religious life. We should pray and have Masses said for vocations. But we need to be still more proactive and direct, like St. John the Baptist. The readings should motivate us to point to our young people who may have a calling; to make that calling known to them. Like St. John the Baptist we should give testimony to the Son of God and call other servants into his mission. This proactive and direct effort should take place in our families with parents pointing out priesthood and religious life to their children. It should happen in our parish when you who occupy these pews see a young person and are attentive that perhaps the Lord is calling YOU to help that person hear an invitation to priesthood and religious life.
We talk a lot in our day about person’s discerning a religious vocation. There is a certain truth and value in that. But I heard a priest say something once that struck me as a message that we don’t hear enough of. He said, our constant talk about discerning can sound more like all the emphasis is placed on a person deciding and figuring out a call to priesthood and religious life. Yes, he said, a person has to discern. But we need to remember that the first focus and emphasis should be on God who calls. This priest said, rather than only talking about discerning, we should start with encouraging people to first pray to receive the grace of their vocation. That the Lord would make it known to them. We begin by praying to God and giving Him permission in a certain sense to give to us the gift of our vocation. Then we take time, yes, and with much help, to discern God’s will. So, girls and young ladies, listen up! Make a simple prayer yours: God, IF you have formed me in the womb and called me to spiritual motherhood in consecrated religious life, then give me the grace of that calling and help me to hear it and to be willing to listen. Boys and young men, listen up! Whether you are more visible in service at the altar, or maybe you are sitting in the pews today: Make a simple prayer yours: God, IF you have formed me and called me to spiritual fatherhood as a future priest, then give me the grace of the priesthood; help me to hear that call and to be willing to listen, and seek answers. You won’t regret praying to receive God’s call, seeking to know it, and following in the mission of service. We all need others, like a John the Baptist, to point out the presence and the action of the Lord in our lives. Speaking for myself, there is a deep sense of mission and purpose in priestly life. Some of the most unique experiences and blessings come to me, not because I deserve them, but simply because I am a priest called to make the Lord present. And, as I just enjoyed in my time away, some of the best friendships of your life will be found in the camaraderie of formation in seminary or religious life where you can share a unique bond with others who have the mission to testify to the Lord and to make him known: Behold, the Lamb of God!