.jpg)
Below are some thoughts form Archbishop Oscar Romero that all the YAGMs received at our training in Chicago before we left for our countries of service. I think what it says is so important to remember and I’ve found them very helpful this year while serving at the centre.
“It helps now and then to step back and take a long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a small fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the Church’s mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it well. It may be incomplete but it is a beginning, a step along the way, and opportunity for the lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.”
-Archbishop Oscar Romero
(Murdered on 24 March 1980, El Salvador)
“It helps now and then to step back and take a long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a small fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the Church’s mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it well. It may be incomplete but it is a beginning, a step along the way, and opportunity for the lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.”
-Archbishop Oscar Romero
(Murdered on 24 March 1980, El Salvador)
2 comments:
Praise God for being the one who sees the who picture; for being the one who places those in our life who plant seeds and water them and PRAISE GOD for being the one who brings the increase!!!! I cannot believe you have been in Europe for so long, I was looking back at how many posts you have done- girl, you been gone for a while! I miss you tons... but I knwo that God is doing amazing things in and through you! I can't wait to see you in August! Love you!
I needed this. It is difficult to remember the impact we have when we get lost in the details, the frustration and the letdowns. It is important to always stay focused on the small but powerful work we can do in God's plan.
Post a Comment