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Views from the Choir Loft

Samuel & Eli

Fr. David Friel · January 16, 2012

The first reading for this Sunday tells the warm story of Eli & Samuel. I imagine that almost everyone in the world can identify with one of these two characters.

For young people in the Church, Samuel is a tremendous model. When he first feels himself being called, Samuel wants to respond immediately, even though he doesn’t really know how. The Scripture even tells us that “Samuel ran to Eli.” The boy doesn’t get frustrated, either, even as the mysterious voice he hears continues to nag him. Perhaps most notably, he demonstrates great humility by asking for Eli’s help. Samuel is, indeed, a great model for our young people and for how they should go about discerning the Lord’s call in their lives.

For others in the Church, it is Eli who serves as the great model. Did it not require the aid of Eli’s wisdom for Samuel to recognize the voice of the Lord? Eli, himself, had to recognize the Lord’s presence and then give Samuel direction so that he could respond to it. This is the great contribution of parents, teachers, coaches, aunts, uncles, Scout leaders, and all types of mentors: to point out the voice of the Lord. They have the opportunity to help young people discern their calling in life and to offer them encouragement as they learn to live it out.

There is no doubt in my mind & heart that God has a plan for every single one of us. Perhaps the greatest task young people face is figuring out what that plan is. A great many people, though, unfortunately never bother with taking up that task. This is, of course, a terrible shame, since none of us can ever be happy apart from God’s plan for us.

This is proven over & over & over again in the news every day. Some people think that doing whatever they want whenever they want will make them happy. They are (I would imagine) surprised to find that the end result of living in such a way actually isn’t happiness, but misery. Only in doing the will of God do we ever find peace; only by living out God’s plan for our lives can we be truly happy.

Our Church needs many young people like Samuel, who are willing to be called and formed in unique & beautiful ways. We need them to stand up and say with Samuel, “Here I am. You called me.”

Our Church also needs many wise Eli’s to guide our young people. We need them to point out the voice of the Lord—whatever it might be saying—in the midst of our societal noise.

I am confident that the Lord is speaking. My hope is that His young servants will be listening.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
    The organ accompaniment booklet (24 pages) which I created for the 4th Sunday of Lent (“Lætare Sunday”) may now be downloaded, for those who desire such a thing.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Vespers Booklet, 3rd Sunday of Lent
    The organ accompaniment I created for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (“Extraordinary Form”) may now be downloaded, if anyone is interested in this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Weeping For Joy! (We Hope!)
    Listening to this Easter Alleluia—an SATB arrangement I made twenty years ago based on the work of Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel—one of our readers left this comment: “I get tears in my eyes each time I sing to this hymn.” I hope this person is weeping for joy!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“As often as possible they gathered together the children of the village and sat them down in the cabin. Father Brébeuf would put on a surplice and biretta and chant the Our Father, which Father Daniel had translated into Huron rhymes, and the children would chant it after him. Next, he taught them the sign of the cross, the Hail Mary, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Commandments.”

— Biography of St. Jean de Brébeuf

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