Here I am, Lord, use my gifts

Good News Reflection
Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
January 13, 2010

Today's Saint: Hilary of Poitiers
Pray for help in defending the truth:
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/Hilary.htm

Today's Readings:
1 Samuel 3:1-10, 19-20
Ps 40:2 and 5, 7-10
Mark 1:29-39
http://www.usccb.org/nab/011310.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_01_13.mp3

Here I am, Lord, use my gifts

By the way, did you get the private email I sent you the other day, when God dictated that letter in which he was requesting your services? Oh, it ended up in your junk mail folder? You thought it was spam? God couldn't possibly ask you to do something so different from what you're already doing that it would shake up everything.

Think of the last time you were asked to do a favor or a work that was so far outside the box of what you expect to be doing with your life that you said "no".

Sometimes we're asked to do more than what God's requesting, and we say "yes" out of guilt or for the reward that we hope to receive. And sometimes it's God who's asking, and we say "no" out of fear or a reluctance to alter our plans. How can we safely know when to say yes and when to say no?

Both the first reading for today and the responsorial Psalm highlight what our mental attitude should always be: "Here I am, Lord, I come to do Your will." Then the "yes" or "no" becomes God's responsibility. If we're available, if we're willing to do whatever he asks of us, it's up to him to make his will clear. And he does! Our responsibility is to keep our ears clear, unmuffled by our own desires.

God's call is based on the gifts that he's given us. How generous are you with your gifts? At your funeral, will people talk about how God used you to make a difference in this world?

When you come face to face with Jesus at the time you enter eternal life, will you judge yourself unworthy of the fullness of his love because you were stingy with the gift of yourself?

You are a gift because God created you to be a gift. You are unique; therefore your calling is unique. No one but you can accomplish what God asks of you quite like you can. God has matched your particular calling to your talents and abilities.

We each have a unique calling to ministry. I suspect that one of the reasons why God hasn't yet answered our multitudinous prayers for an increase of vocations to the priesthood is because first the laity must increase in their own vocations. The Church was founded on the collaboration of laity and clergy working together to build Christian community and provide faith formation. It wasn't until the 13th century that the laity lost awareness of their importance in the mission and ministry of the Church.

Vatican Council II brought us back to the original understanding of every Christian's vocation. As we Catholics more fully embrace this change, priests will increasingly encourage the ministries of laity, and the laity will increasingly discern how the Lord wants to use their giftedness in cooperation with their priests.

We all need to say, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."

© 2010 by Terry A. Modica
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