May We Serve

By: Rick Hernandez

Let us read one of my favorite passages, The Sending of Isaiah, in the Old Testament. 

'“Woe is me; I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” 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!” And he replied: “Go …”' (Isaiah 6:5-9)

​The passage is perfect for those of us who have grown to understand that a life in Christ requires recognition, repentance, and restoration, and that these are but a calling for us to “go” and serve. Let us read a related quote from Jeremiah’s Complaint.

“Thus, the Lord answered me: If you come back, and I take you back, in my presence you shall stand [you shall serve me]; If you utter what is precious and not what is worthless, you shall be my mouth. Then they will be the ones who turn to you, not you who turn to them.” (Jeremiah 15:19)

​Jeremiah was complaining that his life was hard, and that his mission to God’s people was difficult. Yet the Lord answers Jeremiah that in His presence Jeremiah "stands". Let us remember that the only individuals who could stand in the inner sanctum, in the inner space, in the presence of God, were those chosen for a mission by God, among them, Abraham, Moses, Levi, Levi’s priestly line, and the prophets of the Old Testament. Jeremiah’s life was hard, but his heart was true. The Lord says to Jeremiah, “You shall be my mouth”, and then promises to help him.

“And I will make you toward this people a fortified wall of bronze. Though they fight against you, they shall not prevail, for I am with you, to save and rescue you—oracle of the Lord.  I will rescue you from the hand of the wicked, and ransom you from the power of the violent.” (Jeremiah 15:20-21)

Like Isaiah and Jeremiah, we are the faithful, the rescued sinners. We must remember our repentance and confess our sins so that we may be restored. We must recognize our Savior and humbly submit our will to Him who loves us. Can we become acquainted yet again with our mission of love and mercy, empowered by our Lord’s Eucharist in His sacrifice of Love?

“God does not command impossibilities, but by commanding, He admonishes you both to do what you can and to pray for what you cannot.” (Saint Augustine of Hippo)

I am always inspired by this simple wisdom from Saint Augustine. We do what we can, not what we can’t.  We give from ourselves, a humble sacrifice of time and effort. For those we can help directly, we become good Samaritans, and for those we cannot, we become their intercessors through prayer. Through repenting and leaving our old selves behind, living our lives faithfully and actively living our mission of mercy, we become as the apostles and saints. Saint Paul concisely describes this.

“For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God [that is] with me. Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.” (1 Corinthians 15:9-11)

​It is normal to feel we cannot be capable missionary disciples, for we may not recognize all of our gifts and capabilities, but even then, if we offer our Lord who we are, and what we are, He can, through us, perform what is necessary. 

“You must let God act. He will do great things in you, provided that you let Him.” (Saint Peter Julian Eymard)

​Let us keep our faith fully alive. By enabling our faith with action, we pass forward that which we receive in the Eucharist, that which we receive by uniting our humble offering to the sublime offering of Christ.

‘What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also, faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.’ (James 2:14-17)

I enjoin us all to accept our call to Christ’s missionary discipleship. May we serve our Lord, and our brothers and sisters. That we may, by word and action, “… love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

Let us pray:

“May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep by the Blood of the eternal covenant, furnish you with all that is good, that you may do his will. May he carry out in you what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21)

Rick Hernandez

Rick Hernandez is a commonsense Catholic, Lay Associate of the Blessed Sacrament, and a Director for Elisheba House. He lives in Trinity, Florida, with his wife Ivonne and their children. He also writes for the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament's Daily Eucharistic Reflections and for Catholicmom.com.