Saint Mons. Oscar Arnulfo Romero (archbishop of El Salvador and martyr) reminds us of the true meaning of all ministry. When we understand that our calling springs from an initiative of God and not from a personal choice, we realize that there is nothing and no one who can separate us from the love of Christ.
He reminds us of the Gospel of Saint John 16 "You chose me, but I chose you and commissioned you to go and bear fruit, a fruit that lasts."
The call of a Christian is not a simple response to a request from the pulpit or a personal decision to “volunteer.” It's a call!
God does not always "call the empowered, but he always empowers those he calls." And this is why we sing and affirm with certainty a beautiful song composed by Damaris Thillet: "Nothing and nobody will be able to separate us from your love, nothing, and nobody will be able to separate us from you Lord." (OCP)
Whether you are a musician, singer, reader, acolyte, usher, altar server, or a committed disciple - we must always remember that "we may never see the results, but that is the difference between the construction manager and the bricklayer."
In these words, is the key to a happy ministry without false expectations? When we understand our vocation from this perspective, we do not give room for fatigue or discouragement. We will see everything with the "eyes" of Christ.
The tribulations and trials we face in our work in the Church do not matter. Cheer up! Christ is the friend who never fails. "I have conquered the world." (John 16.25)
Monsignor San Arnulfo Romero, Bishop, and martyr, left us a beautiful prayer that must be the "itinerary" of every disciple. Prayer of Archbishop Romero: "Sowers of a future that is not ours."
"During our lifetime, we only carry out a tiny part of that magnificent undertaking that is the work of God. Nothing we do is finished, which means that the Kingdom is always before us.
No statement says all that could be said. No prayer can fully express our faith. No confession brings perfection; no pastoral visit brings integrity. No program fulfills the mission of the Church. In no scheme of goals and objectives is everything included.
We try to do this: we plant seeds that one day will grow; we water seeds already planted,
knowing that they are a promise of the future. We are laying foundations that will need further development. The effects of the yeast we provide are beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and, realizing it, we feel a certain liberation. She enables us to do something and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an occasion for the grace of the Lord to come in and do the rest.
We may never see the results, but that's the difference between the construction manager and the bricklayer. We are bricklayers, not construction managers, ministers, not the Messiah. We are prophets of a future that is not ours. Amen"
Por Angel Correa
Vicepresidente de AMPHE
