Saturday, July 14, 2018

Send Me

Send Me


Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with it and said, “See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!”  Isaiah 6:6-8

“Therefore, do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.” Matthew 10:26-27

Piety
Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” 6:5

Study
The ember flown to Isaiah symbolically purifies him of sin in preparation for his mission as God’s prophet. The ember touching his sinful lips cleanses him.  When he agrees to be set forth on the mission, he can be silent no longer.  Those lips, once unclean are now clean. Thus, he can speak the message that God sends him to deliver.

Jesus also sends the disciples on a mission where they need to make the same transition – from silence.  They need to take what God reveals to them and pass it on.   

How does this relate to the short life of today’s saint – Kateri Tekakwitha, The “Lily of the Mohawks,” and patroness of the environment and ecologists? According to a series of messages posted by the Maryknoll Missioners (@MaryknollFrsBrs), here is one view:

Pock-marked & nearly blind from smallpox at age 4, #Tekakwitha means “Bumps Into Things” Native Americans pronounce her name “Ga-de-lee De-Ga-Gwi-Ta” She walked from her village in Upstate NY to a Montreal settlement (215 miles) to escape further persecution for her faith.  (1/3)

She impressed all with her humility, kindness, courage & piety. At her death at 24, attending Jesuit missionary & others testified her skin became smooth, clear & radiant. She’d once made a rosary of stones when her stepfather deprived her of that devotion. (2/3)

#KateriTekakwitha demonstrates that who we are might be determined by outside forces, but what we become is up to God and us. St Kateri pray for us as we pray for all native peoples of the Americas! (3/3)

What the Lord revealed to St. Kateri had to be passed on.  Despite persecution, he continued to pursue her mission across the miles and across the hardships she faced.  Rather than thinking she was doomed or destined to silence, she persisted. #shepersisted

Action
What we become is up to us and God. Isaiah persisted. Matthew persisted. Kateri persisted. You persist. I persist.

What is God asking you to become today?  

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