We Are Prophets of a Future Not Our Own
It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view,
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
It is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that
they hold future promise.
We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning,
a step along the way,
an opportunity for God’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builders,
and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
My thoughts:
This is a catechist prayer by Archbishop Oscar Romero. This prayer is a reminder that we catechists cannot do it all. We can only plant these seeds. I think this prayer provides some perspective when you feel like that you are not getting through to a bunch of unruly teenagers in a high school RE class. I can understand this feeling as I taught teenagers (9th and 10th grades from 1993-2012. It was a challenge.
Years later, I find out that one of my former students entered the seminary to become a priest. I remember he was one of my best students in the classroom. So, I am not really surprised. So, all we can do is plant those seeds of faith. We will never know if we had an effect on a young person. I think that is the point. We can only do so much. God will take care of the rest.