Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the founder of the Missionaries of Charity, herself wrote on the back of the undated image, “The first child I picked up. He died a saintly boy.” (CNS photo by Alessia Giuliani, Catholic Press Photo)
THE MARRIED LIFE
My mother used to say that each of us has a mission in life, and that mission is not complete until our life on earth ends. A big part of her mission was to be a wife and mother.
Even when she was older and suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, she was still our mother and mothered others. One of her favorite things to do was sit on a park bench and watch children run around at a playground. The gift of motherhood was strong with her, and it is that mother’s love that we treasure.
While my grandfather was alive, he had a mission to encourage vocations to the priesthood and worked hard for the Serra Club. During the last year of his life, when he was suffering from cancer, he wondered why he was still here. My mother challenged him, saying his mission was not yet complete. “You’ve always promoted vocations to the priesthood,” she said. “Why don’t you talk to your grandson?”
That grandson was my brother, Matt, who recently had a conversion to the Lord after years of searching, and at that time was going to daily Mass and spending hours in prayer, while working in business. My grandfather reflected on this and spoke with my brother.
Years later, after he was ordained a priest, Matt said it was this conversation with our grandfather that inspired him to become a priest.
“Life is not meaningless; it is not left up to chance. No! It is a gift the Lord grants us, saying to us: discover who you are, and work hard to make the dream that is your life come true! Each of us — let’s not forget this — has a mission to accomplish.” (Pope Francis)
Sometimes we are inspired by the stories of others, like Mother Teresa, and we think we need to go somewhere to accomplish our mission. Mother Teresa often received letters from people saying they wanted to join her in Calcutta, India. She frequently wrote back saying that they should stay where they were and find their mission in their own families, towns, churches, workplaces and communities.
Sometimes people neglect their own families for the sake of a mission. They do a lot of great works, but their family falls apart. Others always put family first and hardly ever contribute to others outside the home. There should be a balance between reaching out to others and caring for those closest to us.
My mother tried hard to reach that balance. Although much of her life was spent tirelessly caring for her own large family, she did many other works of mercy. She did Meals on Wheels, drove elderly women to the grocery store, volunteered for Right to Life counseling, and was a good listener. But most of all, she prayed. She prayed in the morning; she prayed in the night. When she picked us up after school, she had a rosary in her hand.
Prayer is the beginning of mission. Prayer opens our hearts to God, who in turn gives us the grace to act.
The question is, what is the Lord calling you to?
