Called. Equipped. Commissioned.

Called, equipped and then commissioned. Or should it be commissioned, called and equipped?

Over the past few weeks I have spent some time reflecting on what I have been called, equipped and commissioned for. I can tell you that God planted a little ‘NET seed’ in my heart almost ten years ago. He laid it in fertile soil and attended to it regularly. At times it looked like it would never grow into anything more than a tiny little sprout, but eventually after much care, maintenance and watering the seedling grew into a calling that I could no longer avoid saying no to. That's how I know that I am called to serve in Sydney on the Catholic Youth Services NET Team in 2014.

And I know that I have been equipped to do so. I spent six weeks on training earlier this year to specifically get ready for this year. But something I don’t think about is that God has been preparing me for this particular call since the day I was born. I believe that everything happens for a reason. And I believe that everything that has happened in my life has brought me to where I am now and will take me to the places I’m going in the future - even though I don’t know where or what they will be. It’s not a coincidence that I was on this team in 2012. God planned that. And He is going to use my experiences from that year to do His work this year. Two years ago I would not have thought I would be doing a third year, but God was preparing me for it without me even realising!

 

2014 Netters, Staff and Freedom Staff

On Friday 21^st February fifty-one Netters were commissioned by the Archbishop of the Brisbane, Mark Coleridge, to share the Good News to the youth of Australia. We were asked three questions:

• Are you prepared to witness to Jesus, the Risen Lord, in all your words and actions?
• Through the ministry of proclaiming the Gospel, are you prepared to help others encounter God, our Father, through Jesus Christ whom He has sent?
• Are you prepared to be joyful witnesses who are willing to sacrifice your lives so that the Kingdom may be proclaimed and the Church established in the midst of the world?

To each question we all answered ‘we are’. 

The word commission has several meanings, but can be defined as a duty or task committed to a person or group to perform or the authority to undertake certain duties. This year I have been commissioned to encourage young people to love Jesus and embrace the Church, by witnessing to Jesus in all my words and actions, proclaiming the Gospel, and being a joyful witness. Essentially I have been commissioned to bring the Good News to others, but wasn’t this what I was commissioned to do in baptism? The Catechism of the Catholic Church says ‘“reborn as sons of God (the baptised) must profess before men the faith they have received from God through the Church” and participate in the apostolic and missionary activity of the people of God’ (CCC 1270) and in Ad Gentes, the Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church, it states that every single disciple of Jesus ‘has the duty of spreading the Faith’. (AG 23) Which leaves me wondering if I was called and then commissioned, or commissioned and then called to this mission...

 

Either way on February 21^st we were sent out to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to this country. And it has been a great journey thus far. As training came to an end we prepared for our first Encounter Days and then ran them. We had a few last minute things to learn on training, we visited the CarmeliteSisters in Ormiston. And then it was time for us to head to Sydney. We were warmly welcomed by the staff of Catholic Youth Services and have settled in. We’ve been busy since the day we arrived, but there’ll be more about that another time.

It is a privilege that God would call me to serve here in Sydney again in 2014. It is not at all what I would have picked. But I know He has been preparing me for this for a very long time and is going to be even more amazing than I could ever imagine. For now I’m going to put the question of which came first; the call or the commission, in the same basket as the chicken and the egg!

 

The Great Commission - Matthew 28:19



My commission reminds me of the theme for World Youth Day last year; 'go and make disciples of all nations.' (Matthew 28:19) The full text of Pope Francis' homily from the World Youth Day Mass on Copacabana Beach can be found here, but here are some words for reflection:

 

"Where does Jesus send us? There are no borders, no limits: he sends us to
everyone. The Gospel is for everyone, not just for some. It is not only
for those who seem closer to us, more receptive, more welcoming. It is for
everyone. Do not be afraid to go and to bring Christ into every area of life,
to the fringes of society, even to those who seem farthest away, most
indifferent. The Lord seeks all, he wants everyone to feel the warmth
of his mercy and his love."