January 20, 2026 // Optional Memorial of Saint Fabian, Pope and Martyr // Optional Memorial of Saint Sebastian, Martyr
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Reflect on the Word //
Cleaning out my garage, I unearthed a relic from my past: a dusty high school trophy. Was it for volleyball? Track? Softball? Maybe the sport all my kids have excelled at—basketball?
Nope. My single skill back then (and arguably now) was creative writing.
What’s interesting is that for a long time after high school, that gift remained dormant. Sure, I wrote papers in college. I journaled and dabbled in poetry as a young mom. But writing with intention, for others, in obedience to what I began to realize was a calling? That came much later. And when I stepped fully into that vocation of writer, I found the fulfillment of what had been hinted at years before.
Sometimes, the anointing comes before the appointing.
It was that way for David in today’s First Reading: “Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and from that day on, the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David” (1 Samuel 16:13).
David was just a teenager when Samuel’s anointing set him apart for God’s sacred purpose. But what did he do after Samuel left that day?
He went back to tending sheep.
It would be a full fifteen years before he became king of all of Israel. In that time, he would mature as a leader, be tested and trained, and step into the role of king, ready to lead a newly unified kingdom.
I still marvel when I read that story—how God lavishly anoints us with a full “horn of oil” even when the appointment isn’t ready. Our gifts and charisms emerge fully only when the opportunity is right. Before then, they glimmer and flicker beneath the surface, dropping hints about our future place in the courts of Christ.
Sometimes we grow impatient, wanting to grasp at an appointment before our time. The problem is, whatever we try to possess—especially when it is not ours to have—ends up possessing us.
Sister, let’s allow God to choose the timing for the fullness of our personal calling. Until then, we’ll be obedient to the moment at hand, whether it be laundry, dinner—or herding sheep.
Relate to the Lord // Where have you been anointed by God? Ask for the grace to step into your calling.
Claire Dwyer writes with the desire that all women see the sacredness of their stories in light of Salvation History. Speaker, Retreat Leader, Author of This Present Paradise, senior copywriter and content editor for Avila Foundation / Spiritualdirection.com, and co-founder of the PraiseWriters community, she knows firsthand the power of words to set a fire on the earth. She lives in Phoenix with her family. Find out more about her here.
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