JULY242024

The prophet Jeremiah comes across as the kind of person we recognize. The book which bears his name opens with the Lord calling Jeremiah into his mission of being a prophet. Jeremiah objects that he can’t possibly do the job — I’m too young, I don’t know how to speak. But God counters these objections: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you. In other words, if God wants you to do something you will have the gifts to do it. Pope Francis is challenging Catholics today to become “missionary disciples.” No longer is it sufficient to simply sit in the pew, say out own little prayers, try to keep the commandments as best we can. We have something very precious in the faith that those around us, family and friends, are starving for, even if they don’t know it. We might, like Jeremiah, object that we don’t know how to talk about faith to others. God answers us as he did Jeremiah: “I am with you.“