Reflection on Ministry

This is a prayer asked for again as it is very helpful for this time of year when we are over-scheduled and feel overwhelmed! It is by Ken Untener although it has been called the "Archbishop Romero Prayer."

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The Kingdom of God is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
 that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about: 
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they
     hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything,
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This 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 opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are the workers, not master builders; ministers not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

I always find that it helps me to read this and then confide all to the Heart of Jesus! I am also praying much to the Holy Spirit these days. My youngest grand nephew, Michael, is making his First Communion tomorrow on the Feast of Pentecost. Please pray for him and for his paternal grandfather who has a fast- spreading cancer.