Gospel Reflection – January 23, 2026

We are chosen by Jesus not because of our merits and efforts, not because we are better than others, but “simply because He wanted to.” The choice, the initiative, is His; it is not ours. It is a free calling. We are in the hands of the Good Shepherd, from whom no one can snatch His sheep. He gives us the strength necessary to answer His call with faithfulness.

And He chose us to “be with Him.” Living with Jesus turns the chosen and sent one into a credible witness because they speak of what they have “seen and heard,” not from memory, not from hearsay. Chosen to walk with Him, to live closer to Him, to collaborate with Him in announcing the Good News.

The vocation of those twelve, and ours as well, is a present, not a prize; a gift, not a result of our human logic.

Let us not put limits on His call. Let us not fall into discouragement. Let us not be so busy with “our own things” that we don’t hear the voice of the One who called us to be His friends. We cannot be mute; we must communicate to others the message that we, too, have chosen as the “pearl of great price” of our lives. “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” (2 Cor 9:16)