This year at Cathedral Prep, I am teaching a course on moral living to the seniors. Father John Cush, a frequent contributor to this same column and a member of the faculty at Cathedral, is teaching senior English. Each of us plans to use the book “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson.

However, Father Cush will be discussing it from a literary point of view whereas I will use it to discuss the potential for good and evil that lies within each human being. We will use the same text, however, we will use it to meet the needs of our particular classes.

The same can hold true for the Gospel writers. The basic history contained in each of the four Gospels is, obviously, the same. However, each author emphasizes different aspects of the various stories to highlight particular themes and points of view.

Last week, as we celebrated the Baptism of the Lord, we heard St. Mark’s account of Jesus’ Baptism. Mark emphasized John the Baptist’s protest at being asked to baptize Jesus and his decision to do it anyway at the insistence of Christ. In St. John’s version, which we hear today, there is neither protest nor an actual baptism with water that we read about. John emphasizes the descent of the Spirit. He quotes the Baptist as referring to it twice almost as if it were a revelation that was meant for him personally. In a sense it was. However, in the same sense it is meant personally for each one of us.

The common theme throughout the readings is mission, a sense of service based on our faith. Isaiah talks about being formed in the womb to be a light to all nations. In the opening lines of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he tells them that they have been consecrated in Christ to be a holy people.

In the Gospel, the Baptist uses the vision of the Spirit descending on Christ as the impetus for his proclamation of the presence of Christ. In each of our readings, we encounter biblical figures who are personally touched by God and sent out to complete a mission, to somehow take that feeling of being chosen and pass it on either through the proclamation of a message or the performance of good works.

If our emphasis last week was on the sacrament of Baptism, this week we are called to reflect on the gifts of the Holy Spirit we received at Confirmation. Or, rather, we are challenged to ask ourselves how well we have used those gifts.

We believe that Confirmation was a moment when each of us was personally touched by the Holy Spirit. In writing about Confirmation, St. Ambrose said, “Recall then that you have received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear in God’s presence. Guard what you have received. God the Father has marked you with his sign; Christ the Lord has confirmed you and has placed his pledge, the Spirit, in your hearts.”

We guard the gifts we have received by using them, by putting into action in word and deed the personal touch God has placed on each of us.

At Cathedral Prep, we are dedicated to helping the young men who come to us to discern God’s will in their lives and put their discovery into action. We guide them as they ask what God’s will for them is, as they seek to learn how to put their faith into action. Our mission statement, which I believe expresses the mission of every Catholic high school in our diocese, states that “Through an integrated program of prayer, study and activities, students of the Cathedral community mature in mind, heart, and soul. They are prepared for the challenge of further study, as well as to become prayerful and active members of their parishes, responsible citizens of their nation, and loving, concerned, generous members of society, no matter what choice they make regarding their lives.”

Although at Cathedral we emphasize the priesthood as a viable life choice, all of our life choices must be rooted in faith.

Through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, each of us has been called to a mission and empowered to carry it out. Christ never gives us a challenge without also giving us the grace and gifts with which to meet that challenge. With our lives may we join John the Baptist in proclaiming that we have seen for ourselves and can testify that Christ is Lord.

    Readings for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Isaiah 49: 3, 5-6
    Psalm 40: 2,4, 7-8, 8-9, 10
    1 Corinthians 1: 1-3
    John 1: 29-34