Finding What We are Looking For

"What are you looking for?" he asked me.

We were sitting outside of the coffee shop on a breezy Sunday afternoon. "What are you looking for in a relationship?" he asked again.

It's an important question. But also one that can sometimes can seem like a "dating interview" if it feels like your date might actually be looking for you to give a specific answer, which will be the determining factor for whether or not he will ask you on another date.

And yet at the same time, it's so important to have clarity and know what we are looking for, isn't it? When we know what we are looking for, it is so much easier to find it. When we know what we are seeking, we can more easily see and recognize what we want and more easily follow after it when it shows up in our lives.

It is a question that also can sometimes be difficult to precisely articulate the answer. What are we really looking for?

Jesus asks the Apostles in today's Gospel, "What are you looking for?" (John 1:38) and they do not even answer the question.

Instead, they ask Him another question to know where He is staying. Perhaps the encounter with Jesus is too powerful for them to express with words an answer to His question. Perhaps the desire to want to know where He is staying and to want to spend more time in His Presence is the answer to what they have been seeking.

Today we honor the feast of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton who was a wife, mother, educator and foundress. Along her journey of seeking, she converted to the Catholic Faith when she found Jesus in the Eucharistic. She is a perfect patron and friend to accompany us along our journey of seeking and finding what we are looking for.

What are you looking for in your relationship with God? What do you want from Jesus?

And if you don't know how to fully articulate the answer yet, perhaps you too can go where Jesus is staying to spend time with Him and experience His Presence. Pop in to Mass or stop by the Adoration chapel to be close to Him.

What are we really looking for? // Mary Catherine CraigeClick to tweet

Learn more about Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton and her astounding faith today.

Mary Catherine Craige enjoys spending her time swing dancing, playing the Irish harp and surfing the ocean waves of northeast Florida. As a transformational life coach, she supports courageous women to create beauty out of challenging circumstances and to live a life of abundance, freedom and joy as the person God has created them to be. She is a contributing author to our children's devotional prayer book, Rise Up. You can find out more about her here.