Homily: October 16, 2016, Friday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time (our purpose)

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“In Christ we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will.”

Last night, when I read these words of St. Paul, they deeply touched my heart, especially the words, “chosen” and “destined according to God's purpose.”

Just before reading this passage, I had watched the livestream of the funeral of the priest who baptized me. He was the pastor of our parish in India from 1988 to 1991. Interestingly, I never had the opportunity to meet him personally.

After serving in our parish, he left India to become a missionary in Peru, South America. He spent the next thirty years of his priesthood serving the poor and bringing the sacraments to people in remote communities.

At one point, he returned to India, but he decided to go back to Peru. He said, “India has so many priests, but in Peru, people are thirsting for the sacraments.”

As I watched his funeral and saw him lying in the casket, I thought to myself, Here is a man who faithfully fulfilled the purpose for which God had chosen him. He had completed his mission, not for his own glory, but for the glory of God.

St. Paul reminds us today that every one of us is chosen by God for a purpose. That purpose may be great or small in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of God, no life is without meaning.

Sometimes elderly people ask me, “Father, why am I still here? Why doesn't God call me home? Am I here simply because someone needs a job taking care of me?”

These are painful but sincere questions. And today's reading gives us a beautiful answer: As long as we are alive, our lives have meaning and value in the eyes of God.

Our purpose changes with the different seasons of life. When we are young, we may serve God through our work, our families, and our responsibilities. As we grow older, our mission may become something quieter: praying for others, offering our sufferings to God, encouraging someone, or simply being a loving presence.

We do not have to travel to mission territories or accomplish something extraordinary to fulfill God's purpose. Even a simple prayer offered from a hospital bed can bring glory to God.

And in today's Gospel, Jesus gives us a beautiful assurance: “Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.”

If God cares for the little sparrows, how much more does he care for each one of us!

Our worth is not measured by what we can do, how much we accomplish, or how useful we are to others. Our worth comes from the fact that we belong to God.

My dear friends, one day our earthly mission will come to an end, just as it did for that missionary priest. Until then, whether we are young or old, healthy or sick, active or dependent on others, let us remember that we are chosen, loved, and precious in God's eyes.

And may we live each day with one simple desire: Lord, let my life, whatever its circumstances, bring glory to your name.

Amen.



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