There is Only One Mission

General George S. Patton once said, “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

There has only ever been one thing to do, one great mission to which we are all called. It is the same mission that John the Baptist answered, to bear witness to Christ. John was completely focused on His mission as the herald of the Messiah. When that mission was accomplished he was content to give way to the Lamb of God.

As members of Christ’s mystical body we are the physical presence of Jesus to the world. It is not enough for us to be merely servants; we are each called to be a light to the nations so that God’s salvation may be known to the ends of the earth.

How we do this will be different according to each individual’s unique gifts, talents and ingenuity. We are all called to the same mission but each one of us is called in a unique way that only he or she can fulfill, a way that will never be repeated.

Many of us spend our lives running from God and rejecting His call. But when we embrace His mission and realize our role in God’s great plan, we receive grace upon grace and peace upon peace.

The things we are experiencing right now, good and bad, are all part of God’s plan to save the world. How we respond to those things is up to us.

Pax vobiscum
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time