“No man is an island,” the age-old saying goes. As great as each individual might be, we need each other; we were made for community.
From the first moments of our creation, God knew that it was “not good for man to be alone” (Gen 2:18). It’s the first time he pronounces something “not good” after finding the sun, stars, sea, earth, animals and mankind itself (very) good.
We were not made to go it alone. We are our brother’s keeper.
You matter to the mission of the Church, and the Church needs you. Your priest does, too.
On Mission Together
“No one person can do everything, and no one person hopefully wants to do everything or is even gifted in that area,” said Father Mike Schmitz, a priest of the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, known for his Bible in a Year and Catechism in a Year podcasts.
Throughout his time as chaplain of the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth, he has seen firsthand the great blessing of equipping leaders to live the mission to which the Lord calls them.
When he began at the university, he was a team of one. Right away, he tried to build up a group of student leaders he could equip to go out and evangelize.
“But again, I’m still one person,” Father Schmitz shared, reflecting on the early days of campus ministry. “So how do you build up leaders while simultaneously reaching out to those who don’t yet know the Lord?”
Over time, Father Schmitz continued to build his team, inviting FOCUS missionaries on campus to assist in discipling and evangelizing the Duluth students.
By inviting missionaries to engage in those areas, Father Schmitz could focus on the other areas of ministry to which he was uniquely called as a priest. With a team of equipped leaders, Father Schmitz could embrace his gifts and experience new life in his vocation.
“When you can lean into your gifts and operate out of your strengths or out of wherever the Lord has blessed you, there’s a life that happens there and then you can lean on other people,” he shared.
“I think when other people can lean into their gifts, you still get stretched in other ways,” Father Schmitz continued, reflecting on how his student leaders have helped him grow even as he helps to form them. “I’ve discovered with those folks who are good at something I’m not good at on the team, I can see what they do and accompany them and learn from them. It’s so inspiring to work with the team.
“I think it’s almost invaluable, especially for priests, because the temptation can sometimes be ‘I want to do it all myself or I feel like I have to do it all myself,’ so I think to be able not just to be given permission to rely on others, but also an opportunity to lean on others is invaluable,” he added.
Discerning your 'why' and 'how'
Our priests need us, so how do we respond? It’s a tall order to live Jesus’ Great Commission. Where do we begin?
The first step is discernment, Father Schmitz said.
“Every Christian who’s encountered Jesus and has experienced the life-changing grace of Jesus and comes to us, to the Church, will also necessarily hear the Great Commission of ‘Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations’ (Mt 28:19). And they’ll have to answer that ‘why would I do that?’” he shared.
In short, every disciple must discern their “why.” Why follow the Lord? Why go on mission?
Father Schmitz said that for some, the answer is simple: “It’s what a good person would do. Jesus told me to do it.” While those answers are not bad or wrong, they miss the full picture.
For the apostle – the one who has come to know, love and follow the Lord and then work so that others might too – there is a highly personal, discerned response to that “why.” The Holy Spirit reveals a particular mission to the apostle and inflames a desire, a conviction to live that out.
For one student, the “why” became clear when her younger sister started her freshman year at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Hoping and praying that her sister would come to know the Lord as she did, this future missionary realized that she had only encountered Jesus because someone invited her to get to know him. As she hoped that someone would do the same for her sister, she realized she was being called to make that very invitation to someone else’s sister.
When that big sister found her “why,” she found her “how.” Because she discerned a call to lead other women like her sister to Christ, she heard God’s call to become a FOCUS missionary.
Similarly, Father Schmitz said, the Church must always discern the “how” amid unique circumstances and environments, considering one’s own gifts, talents and charisms and the needs of the community and time.
“It’s the layperson or the person in the pews who’s discerning not only ‘What are my gifts. What am I passionate about?’ but also ‘What is the need of the parish?’” he said.
“This is a mutual discernment going on. If you’re going to have a healthy parish and a thriving team, then that means we’re going to be constantly discerning,” he continued.
Father Schmitz pointed out that ongoing discernment is not easy. Sometimes, the answer to one’s desire to serve might be a “no” or a “not yet” as the parish community grows and develops. In those difficult scenarios, trust is important for discernment – trust in the community, team and Holy Spirit.
In short, though difficult and time-consuming, discerning the “why” and “how” is necessary.
“It’s painful, but I think it’s going to be necessary,” Father Schmitz said, pointing to Jesus’ own promise to prune the trees that bear fruit. “Jesus says that those trees that bear fruit are going to get pruned so they can bear more fruit. It’s not like if you’re bearing fruit, you get left alone. No, Jesus said if you’re bearing fruit, you’re going to get pruned so you can bear more fruit. So those living teams, those healthy teams, it’s going to be an ongoing process.”
You Matter, and the Church Needs You
Lest the burden of discernment cause even the most highly engaged Catholic to balk, it’s important to consider one resounding truth: You Matter. The God who created the universe and set the planets in orbit also counted every hair on your head; he deigned to become one of us and, even more, to become food for us in the Eucharist. And because we matter, we have a part to play, Father Schmitz said. “That’s such a good, consoling thought. You matter to God. Therefore, it actually matters on Sunday whether you show up or not. Because you matter to God, your choices matter. If you didn’t matter to God, you can do whatever you want because you don’t matter, your choices don’t matter, it doesn’t matter. But there’s a responsibility that comes along with the fact that God loves you and that you matter to him,” Father Schmitz said. “If it’s true that you matter to God, then when you show up for Mass, he’s just that much more glorified and loved. And if you don’t show up for Mass, he’s just that much less glorified and loved,” he continued. As we let the truth that we matter to God and his mission sink in, we realize the import of our response to the loving invitation to follow Christ. We aren’t floating in the ether of nothingness where nothing matters. We have a purpose and goal: to know and love God and make him known and loved in the world. In fact, Father Schmitz said, there are some ways that only the laity can bring God out into the world; he cannot preach the Gospel in the same places and situations that laypeople can. The Church’s Dogmatic Constitution
tells us as much when it says, “The laity are called in a special way to make the Church present and operative in those places and circumstances where only through them can it become the salt of the earth. Thus, every layman, in virtue of the very gifts bestowed upon him, is at the same time a witness and a living instrument of the mission of the Church itself ‘according to the measure of Christ’s bestowal’” (33).
“There are places that God can only go if you’re willing to bring him there. So, my willingness to actually do that or not will result in God being known and loved or him remaining unknown and unloved. There are so many places that the laity can go that I can’t go, that I would never have the chance to go. That’s your circle; that’s your part of the world,” Father Schmitz added, encouraging the laity to live their mission faithfully. “You might be the only Catholic they ever meet.”
Having discerned their “why” and “how,” each Christian is called to be the cavalry, going forth and transforming his or her own sphere of influence, faithfully living whatever mission is given them.
Through that fidelity, countless others are empowered to say “yes” themselves. Through Mary’s “yes,” the world received its Savior. Through each of our “yes,” Jesus seeks to come into the world anew.
“Another thing is that they matter. Your neighbor actually matters to God so much that he lived, suffered, died and rose from the dead for your neighbor - not just for you. But they might have no idea because you’re not willing to tell them, Father Schmitz concluded, emphasizing the part each of the faithful has to play in Christ’s Great Commission. “We might think, ‘I haven’t done that; I haven’t gotten in anyone’s way!’ But have you ever shared him with anybody?”
By accepting our mission in Christ, by being the cavalry and going forth to preach the Gospel, we play our part in God’s plan.
Be the Cavalry. Confound the World.
No matter your particular mission, the Lord is inviting your “yes” to make him “present and operative” in those places where only you can. No reinforcements are coming to relieve you of your mission; you are the cavalry, called to go into your world and sanctify it with your joyfully countercultural witness. The good news is this happens alongside your pastor, parish and community. You’re not alone! You Matter. Your priest needs you, and the Church does, too.
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