The Catholic Leader - 22 April

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The Catholic Leader, April 22, 2018
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FAITH IN LIFE By SR melissa dwyer
Being a witness for the Lord
“Each one of us is called to become a
witness of the Lord, here and now.”
(Pope Francis, World Day of Prayer for
Vocations, April 22, 2018)
THIS Sunday, the Church com-
memorates the World Day of Prayer
for Vocations.
It’s a day when around the world we are
invited to fulfil the Lord’s instruction to “pray to
the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his
harvest” (Matthew 9:38).
Conscious that our first vocation is our bap-
tismal call, each one of us is called to radical
missionary discipleship.
Pope Francis reminds each one of us, “The
Lord, the Church, the world are waiting for
your answer to the unique call that each one
receives in this life. Do you accept the chal-
lenge?”
Each one of us, no matter our age, has been
given a mission in the Church and in the world.
This mission, to be witnesses of our personal
relationship with the Lord, necessitates that we
courageously step out into the deep, push away
from the shore, allowing Jesus to take us by the
hand and lead us to places where sometimes we
would rather not go.
Often it’s not easy to hear the voice of God.
In the midst of a world where everything is
loud and instant satisfaction remains a priority,
spending time in silence and waiting for God’s
time becomes increasingly difficult.
Yet this is the challenge for each one of us –
each day, to rely on the Lord and to wait patiently
for His promptings.
Too often we run the risk of waiting to be
perfect before embarking on the radical journey
of following Christ in whatever vocation we are
called to.
However, in order to be a disciple of Christ,
there is no expectation of perfection.
Just ask some of his own followers from scrip-
ture – Peter, Mary Magdalene, Zacchaeus and
Paul, to name a few.
Jesus reminds us time and time again that
he calls us in the midst of our brokenness and
sinfulness to rise up and follow him.
Yes, God calls each one of us, wherever we
are and at whatever age, to live out our faith
and be witnesses.
He doesn’t ask for perfection, but rather that
we do the very best we can – that we strive to
live our faith in credibility and authenticity,
conscious that at times we will make mistakes
and fall.
But what matters most is not the falling down,
but the courage to get up and keep going.
What’s encouraging about living out our
vocation, is that nothing is wasted.
If we look at our lives in the light of learning
from every experience, we are consoled by the
certainty that God’s grace comes with us, giv-
ing us the strength to live the challenges of the
present moment and the courage to step into an
unknown future of embracing the vocation God
reveals to us.
Confident that God will lead us where we
need to be, discovering God’s call might take
longer than we hoped.
Surely it will lead us on a journey through
valleys and over mountain tops, but God will
never abandon us in our striving to seek His
will and serve Him with our lives.
God has a dream for each one of us. God
calls men and women of our time to follow
Him.
He stands at the door of our hearts and
knocks, inviting each one of us to live our
personal mission of witnessing to His love with
our lives.
It’s up to us to play our part in the story that
God wants to write with us.
Sr Melissa Dwyer is a religious sister
of the in
Brisbane.
God’s
promptings:
“Surely it will
lead us on
a journey
through val-
leys and over
mountain
tops, but God
will never
abandon us in
our striving to
seek His will
and serve Him
with our lives.”
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