It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom 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 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 workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
This prayer was first presented by Cardinal John Dearden of Detroit in 1979 and quoted by Pope Francis in 2015. Sometime, the prayer is falsely attributed to St Oscar Romero, although I think the sentiment of this prayer is in the spirit of St Oscar Romero. The USCCB website states that this prayer is an excerpt from a homily written for Cardinal Dearden by Father Ken Untener for a Mass for Deceased Priests. Father Untener was named bishop of Saginaw, Michigan in 1980.
This prayer talks about planting seed, which is what ministry in our Church is often about. Our work is not centered on us, but are centered on God. We do our work, but it is enhanced and aided by God’s grace. We are just a small part of a small story of the kingdom of God. I have referred this quote before, but I heard this quote again at a virtual conference this past week on stewardship. This prayer is worth looking at again and again.
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