theROCK

The Great Commission

Do you ever have those moments where you find yourself just stopping and thinking, am I doing what I'm supposed to be doing, or did I miss something along the way? I’m not talking in the little things of life but in the big things, the life decision things. I’ve found myself reflecting on that recently. It hasn’t been the first time I’ve found myself thinking about that. I especially grapple with it when I re-engage with the Holy Spirit. In my opinion, this is what discernment and vocation is all about – asking the question and listening to what God tells you. In the Gospel of Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus gave a mandate to His disciples: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” It is exactly this phrase that launches my reflection of, “I am following the great commission as best as I can be? What should I be doing differently to better answer the call?”.

As baptized and further confirmed Catholics, we have a moral responsibility to the great commission. Reflect upon the questions that were asked during your Confirmation.
Are you resolved to live fully the Faith?
Are you prepared to listen to the challenges of the Holy Spirit in our world today?
Are you committed to building His Holy Catholic Church?

I reflect again, am I doing what I am supposed to be doing or did I miss something? This is our mission. This is our vocation.

Holy Spirit, please work in me, with me, and through me for your greater glory. Please grant me the gifts I require to do your work.

A Supernatural Way of Living

Are you ready to die? This was the question the professor silently wrote on the chalkboard the first evening of my formation class in servant leadership. My thoughts ran immediately to answer, “Well, I’m certainly not ready yet!” As it turns out, he wasn’t referring to a physical death, but rather an orientation of the heart to be willing to do the Lord’s will. He was really asking us if we were willing to die into Christ, His Church, and His Mission.

Jesus models for each of us how He, as the good shepherd, lays down his own life for each of us, His sheep. Offering our owns lives for the love of others is Jesus’ vocational request for each one of us. This is not a skill to be perfected with practice, or a natural human attribute that only some of us are given, but rather a supernatural way of living through the power of grace that each of us is destined for.

Everyday Discipleship

While I am now an empty nester, I remember very clearly when my children were in grade school. I was teaching fourth grade and working really hard at being a "good mom". I had great role models in my mother and my grandmother, for what it looks like to blend work and home. While both these things were my vocation, I was always wanting to do more in the church. I wanted to lector, be a Eucharistic minister, serve the poor in the various meal programs, and the list goes on and on. There was only so much of me to go around! My children needed me first, the children I served needed me second, and then I had to choose.

In sharing my frustration with one of my co-workers a long time ago, he wisely reminded me that I was being a disciple in raising my family. I was being a disciple by teaching my children, and the children I taught, to know, love, and serve Jesus. I was being a disciple by doing what I could with the time I had. He reminded me that when my life changed, so would how I served God's people.

Being a disciple also meant that I needed to take time to feed my soul - a person cannot give what they do not have. I now look at it as I need to be Martha but also Mary.

Our catechism says that as followers of Jesus, our goal is to know, love, and serve Him. How are you doing that? What is an obstacle you face? What is St. Dominic doing to help you? What would you need from your Church to assist you, if anything? I look forward to learning.