February 9, 2025
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus gives his first disciples a great sign of his power and Simon Peter falls to his knees, sensing his unworthiness to be in the presence of God, similar to Isaiah’s reaction to his mystical vision of God’s glory in today’s First Reading. In both instances, God encourages them to look beyond themselves and their shortcomings and to focus their attention on the mission that God has given them and for which he has equipped them. The fruitfulness of their missions will not depend on their worthiness, lack of sin, or even natural talents but on relying on the power of God, working through them and with their cooperation, to bring the increase.
Recently, Bishop Gruss has asked us all to become a “Diocese on Mission.” This is a recognition that we are no longer living in times where we can open the church doors on the weekend and assume that people will come. We can no longer assume that children (even those born of Catholic parents) will automatically be brought for baptism, that young adults (even those raised with a Catholic upbringing) will seek to marriage or the Sacrament of Marriage in the Church, or that young people will continue to regularly practice their faith after receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. We must adopt the missionary mindset of Jesus’ first disciples, proclaiming the Gospel message (kerygma) in the midst of a society and culture often not very receptive of the teachings of Jesus.
Bishop Gruss has called us to be missionary disciples in three ways:
- to foster vocations and support our priests.
- to form disciples who can be sent on mission.
- to go out and invite all people to join us, especially those who have left the full practice of the Catholic faith.
The first pillar of our mission is to foster vocations and support our priests. We have formed a Vocations Commission at Assumption to answer this call. This Commission organizes various parish opportunities to support all vocations such as the weekly “V is for Vocation” section of the bulletin, to give young people an opportunity to learn about the various vocations in the Christian life in their Faith Formation sessions, to pray for vocations such as periodic Holy Hours for Vocations (this Wednesday evening, February 12, 7:15pm). Our Knights of Columbus council has been instrumental in this endeavor, supporting seminarian formation through their various fund-raisers.
The second pillar of our mission is to form disciples who can be sent on mission. We must regularly practice our faith by attending Mass every weekend if at all possible. We need to also take advantage of opportunities to better understand the Catholic faith we celebrate through bible studies and book studies (as we are currently discussing the book Behold, Believe, Become, hosting Bible Study every Thursday morning at 9:15, and a men’s faith study group meets every other Saturday morning after Rosary). We are also offering Living the Eucharist small groups once again this Lent. For the mission that we have been invited to join, the better formed that we are in heart, mind, and body, the more confident we will be in our missionary witness.
The third pillar of our mission is to go out and invite people to join us, especially those who are not practicing their Catholic faith at this time. We have spoken over the past couple of years about becoming an evangelizing church. The time has come for us to move beyond words and begin inviting. As was the case with Simon Peter and Isaiah, we may not feel worthy for this mission (“I still haven’t gotten my life in order.” “I don’t know enough about God, Catholicism, etc. to answer questions.”). But also like them, the power does not come solely from us, our knowledge, or our talents. The power to change hearts and lives comes from the Holy Spirit who has been given to each of us through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. This assurance gives us the confidence to come out of our comfort zones, put our nets in the deep water, and expect an abundant catch. We can no longer wait for people to seek us out. We need to reach out to our family, friends, neighbors, etc. and invite them to a fuller life in Jesus through the Eucharist and the other sacraments of the Church.
You can read more about Bishop Gruss’ invitation in the latest Great Lakes Bay Catholic magazine which has been mailed to every parishioner household.
I would like to conclude this week with a recognition that we are celebrating the Jubilee of Armed Forces, Police, and Security Personnel this weekend. As Jesus said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13) Our police, fire, armed services, security officials put their lives on the line every day to protect and serve us. We recognize their sacrifice and the sacrifices of their families, and we say “thank you” from the bottom of our hearts. In a special way, they are a sign to all of us of the importance of seeking justice, maintaining the common good, and safeguarding the dignity and infinite worth of every human life. May God protect them in their duties!