I recently watched a YouTube short featuring an apparently well-known star. I’m not much for the entertainment industry, and as a result, I’m not familiar with the current crop of notables. One particular comment she made caught my attention: She alluded to the apparent epidemic of confusion people seem to have about their identity these days.
She said that amid this confusion, there is one time in a woman’s life when her purpose and identity are clear—when she has small children to care for and hold.
A mother knows who she is and what she must do. Her children serve as a daily reminder of her responsibility for their very survival. The mother becomes the center of her children’s lives, just as they become the center of hers.
I believe this sentiment is correct. There is something grounding and elemental about this stage of life for both mothers and fathers—something that leaves one changed forever.
A similar thing can be said for being a disciple of Jesus Christ. In Christ, we know who we are and whose we are. We are infallibly certain of our life’s mission. We know why we were created, our life’s destiny and our path on this sojourn. We can never truly become lost, because our journey’s North Star is not a map but a person who bids each and every one of us to follow.
The entire dynamic of our lives as disciples revolves around communion and mission. We are not merely believers in philosophies or advocates of arcane and secret paths of knowledge. Instead, we are believers in a person we know and follow—the Risen One. He is revealed to us as Lord. Our identity and mission in life is to be conformed to the person and mission of Jesus of Nazareth. He is the one born in a manger and lauded as King, the one to whom shepherds draw near and angels adore.
The stupendous and eternal miracle of the Incarnation—Jesus Christ, true God and true man—is followed by a second incomparable miracle: the miracle of salvation and re-creation, the miracle of Christ becoming all in all. (cf. Col 3:11)
The Father’s plan for both you and for me—ordinary men and women, ordinary in our abilities, talents and sin—is that we are destined to become like Christ. Based on His Incarnation and brought to fruition in His Paschal Mystery, we are invited to share in a new freedom, a new identity and a new mission.
Through the priest’s hands, Calvary becomes present during the holy sacrifice of the Mass. We praise, worship and thank the Father, while giving our lives over to Him so that we may be conformed to Christ’s death and resurrection. In so doing, we are formed into a holy and heavenly temple—not made by human hands.
One can only stand in complete awe and wonder when considering the marvelous act God has done in Jesus Christ and the plan for our future He has made ready. As St. Paul said, “eye has not seen, ear has not heard … what God has prepared for those who love him.” (cf. 1 Cor 2:9)
Being in communion and on mission means being caught up in the sacramental life of the Church. This leads to a eucharistically centered mission—with, through and in Him.
As disciples, it is our identity, calling and destiny to share Christ’s mission and be in communion with Him. It is to allow the Father’s plan in Christ to gain a foothold in us and bring us to the banquet He has prepared for those who love Him.
In the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Chaste Heart of St. Joseph, I am—
Most Reverend
Gerard W. Battersby
Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of La Crosse