Psalm Reflection: Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C)

“Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.” - Psalm 117

In the 1920s, an American novelist named Anne Parrish was browsing through a bookstore in Paris when she came across one of her favorite books as a child. She picked it up, and opened the front cover to find her name scribbled inside; it was HER copy and it somehow met her halfway across the world at the exact right moment. So many people could have intercepted it first, and yet she found it. She was in the EXACT right place at the EXACT right time.

Do you ever feel like that? Or do you feel confused and anxious about where you are right now? Our world is so connected by technology and social media that we tend to look more at others and what they are doing, and then we get anxious that we are not there too. We are constantly thinking about where we should be or could be instead of where we ARE. The reality is that God has placed you, at this time in history, EXACTLY where you are with a single mission: to share the Gospel with the people around you. You were a planned addition to your family. You have the friends you do right now for a reason. You go to the school you do or have the job you have because that is where God wants you to live as a joyful witness.

We tend to think of missionaries as radical people who drop everything and travel to third-world countries to build orphanages and feed the poor. Yes, those people are incredible. But, not all of us can do that. However, we are ALL to be missionaries EXACTLY where we are because God placed us where we are for a purpose.

So, who in your family needs to know the love of the Lord? Which of your friends do not know Jesus? Who in your school or workplace needs encouragement and genuine community? You may be the only person they ever have in their life who could invite them - what if you don’t? This week, don’t take that risk, but ask the question: “what if I DO?” and reach out in love to those around you to share the love of Christ. Find opportunities to share what you love about your faith and what Jesus has done in your life. People’s hearts are hungry for it. We are praying for you this week!

See you in the Eucharist!