Fr. Mark Haydu, LC
Before birth the Lord called me, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. —Isaiah 49:1
When an artist begins a painting, usually she or he has the end result in mind. The final product, the inspiration, is what sets the artist in motion.
Aristotle called this ideal the “final cause” because it was the first thing in mind (the inspiration) and the last to be realized (the final product). When God gives life to a human at the moment of conception, he does so with a final mission in mind for that child. He gives life freely, but not without a plan.
You and I are not the result of a coincidence or a chain of chemical reactions. We began at the heart of a loving, purposeful God. God willed you and wants you! You are who you are because of God’s infinite love. He created you as a unique and divinely designed human being. His purposeful hand reached out and lifted you into existence just the way you are.
Yet your creation is not merely in the past but a reality that touches you now. God holds you and keeps you in every moment of your life. With every breath and movement, God is sustaining you. Your life is a loving project of God today.
Like St. John the Baptist, who was created and called to be Jesus’ cousin and prepare the way for him, so you have a call to prepare the way for Jesus to enter your world. How you do that in your lifetime as well as how you do that today is something unique to you.
Your life has a mission! What is it?
Reflect
Do I have a strong sense of God’s mission for my life?
What might be some of the elements?
How have I benefited from other people who have been generous with their own mission?
Fr. Mark Haydu, LC, has written reflections for Our Parish Community Sunday bulletins (Liguori Publications). He is the author of Meditations on Vatican Art and Meditations on Vatican Art: Angels, both published by Liguori Publications. Fr. Mark is the national chaplain of the Lumen Institute.