Your Invitation Awaits

"Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress"

Remember how it all began? As we prepare for the final installment (in the final movie) of the Harry Potter saga, so many of us are looking back over the years that this journey has spanned. Recall how young Harry - hardly aware of his special destiny - began receiving mysterious posts that his aunt and uncle continued to keep from him - how no matter where he was, the letters always found him, until he got the above letter on a tiny rocky islet. The wizarding world needed Harry Potter, and there was nothing that would stop that message.

You know, God is a lot like that. When He has a plan for us - and He has a plan for all of us - there is nothing that will stop His call. Sure, many place obstacles in front of it, but as Archbishop O'Brien tells youngsters, "If God wants you, He'll get you." It takes a listening heart, though. God continues to call - even through all our objections, distractions, and "other plans." God needs us, too, and that is why He calls. Our openness to that call leads to the beginning of a great adventure that is our vocation.

This is why the invitation is so important. Those who are hearing God's call might not fully recognize or understand it. When we offer the observation that a young person might make a good priest or nun, we are part of that grand adventure, where God speaks to young people - no matter where they are.

While Harry's adventure is about to end, ours - with God - is only beginning.