As we said last week the conclusion of the Christmas Season was not an ending but a beginning; it prepared us to live the season of Ordinary Time, which we are now in and which I like to call the season of Real Life, extra-ordinarily well. And how do we live our real lives extraordinarily well? We answer Jesus’ call to discipleship in all of its facets. Last week Isaiah taught us that God formed us to be His servants in the womb so that His glory would shine to the ends of the earth. All throughout this new liturgical season Jesus will be calling people to be His disciples and to let their lights shine; hence the title of our new series. Today the wonderful prophet Isaiah says: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest.” The people had seen a great light because they had answered God’s call to serve Him, and were now attracting others to do the same. They were becoming disciples and calling disciples by their very action of becoming disciple. In the Gospel today we find Jesus doing what He does, calling disciples. He says to Peter, to Andrew, to James and to John, “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.” And that’s what He continues to do today all over the world and right here at St. Aloysius Church in Pottstown, PA. He is calling us to be His disciples, to follow Him, to learn from Him and to serve Him, so that His light will become our light and others will become disciples as well. In today’s Gospel it seems as though Jesus might have been spurred into action by the arrest of John the Baptist. Perhaps He thought that He might soon be arrested as well. And today I believe that He continues to call us to be His disciples, to follow and to serve Him. We have been given many gifts and they are meant to be used in service of the Kingdom. Our talents are not our own; they belong to Him and are meant to be shared. Truth be known, we have an innate yearning within our souls to answer His call and to serve Him. We will never feel completely at peace until we do. So as we move through this season of Ordinary Time, this season of “Real Life,” let’s live it extra-ordinarily well by allowing Jesus to spur us into action in His service. In this way our light; no, His light, will shine.