are you doing your jobs?
"The congregations grew stronger in faith and daily increased in numbers." —Acts 16:5
The Lord insists that we bear abundant, lasting fruit (Jn 15:5, 16). Consequently, it is good to ask ourselves: "How many people have I tried to lead to a total commitment to the Lord through my love, service, witness, words, prayer, and fasting?" Another crucial question we should ask ourselves is: "How many Christians have I tried to lead into leadership in the Church?" For example, when St. Paul heard of Timothy's faith, he was eager to have Timothy go on mission and begin apprenticeship for leadership in the Church (Acts 16:3; cf 2 Tm 1:5).
The Lord holds each of us accountable to be, as it were, one of His vocation directors, leading Christians of all walks of life into leadership in the Church. However, we must first be a witness for Jesus (see Acts 1:8) and an evangelizer, for the essence of the Christian life and leadership is evangelistic. Pope St. Paul VI stated this succinctly: The Church "exists in order to evangelize" (On Evangelization in the Modern World, 14).
Be fruitful. Be an evangelizer. Be a vocation director. Be what the Lord wants you to be.
Prayer: Father, make me see the Christian life the way You want me to see it.
Promise: "I chose you out of the world." —Jn 15:19
Praise: Pope St. Gregory VII's last recorded words were: "I have loved justice and hated iniquity...therefore, I die in exile" (see Ps 101).
Reference: (For a related teaching on Christian Leadership, order, listen to, or download CD 60-1 and CD 60-3 or DVD 60 on our website.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, November 28, 2018
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