relay race
"He picked up Elijah's mantle." —2 Kings 2:13
Elijah passed on his mission, ministry, and power to Elisha. Do you have a mission to pass on? Do you know your mission? If you are doing something of long-term significance for the Lord, you need to disciple others to carry on that mission. In this way, the Church will grow and be built up as an ever more effective instrument of establishing God's kingdom on earth.
To build the Church and to leave behind us a great spiritual legacy, we must:
- be doing something of long-term significance, that is, doing God's will for our lives,
- seek God's will about those He has chosen to carry on the mission after we leave this earth,
- specifically call these people to become our disciples and thereby disciples of Jesus (1 Kgs 19:19ff), and
- pray with others in the Christian community for those who have accepted our call. Pray that they receive a "double portion" of the Spirit (see 2 Kgs 2:9).
If we do these simple things, we will see our children and grandchildren totally committed to the Lord. Parishes will be filled with worshipping, evangelizing Christians; seminaries and convents will be repopulated with faith-filled future priests, brothers, sisters, and deacons. New parish churches will be built, and old parishes will be expanded rather than closed. Make disciples (Mt 28:19) for now and the future.
Prayer: Father, may much of my work be continuing when Jesus returns.
Promise: "In that way no one can see you are fasting but your Father Who is hidden; and your Father Who sees what is hidden will repay you." —Mt 6:18
Praise: Jesus healed Rhonda, a young girl with a bleeding ulcer, through the reception of the Eucharist, and through the prayers of those who brought Holy Communion to her home.
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 29, 2012
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