By Fr. Jim Dugal, C.PP.S.
During World War I, there was a secret message that had to be sent to the front lines. They could not take a chance that the enemy would intercept it, so they asked if anyone would volunteer for this dangerous mission.
One man stepped forward and said, “I’ll go. Send me.” This reminds me of God’s question in today’s first reading from Isaiah, “Whom shall I send?” And the reply: “Here I am. Send me.”
This is also reminiscent of the call that our class of priests heard at ordination. Our name was called and we responded, “Adsum,” which meant “present” or “here I am.” The message we were to deliver was also one of life and death–as St. Paul says, “Christ died for our sins. He was buried and raised from the dead.”
Today too, not only priests but all the baptized are sent to bring the Good News to those we meet. We do this in different ways according to our vocation in life. Do you realize that God continues to ask “Whom shall I send?” And many are saying, “Send me.” Like the thousands who went to Washington, D.C. last month for the March for Life.
But a barrier might be like the one Peter felt. He said, “I am a sinful man.” We are all sinners, but Paul says that “I am what I am by the grace of God.” God does not send anyone without giving the grace needed for the mission. He told Peter, “I will make you a fisher of men.”
So today take a moment to look at your life. Ask yourself, how is God calling me? How do I answer, “Send me?”
Fr. Jim Dugal, C.PP.S., is a preacher and retreat leader who lives at St. Charles Center in Carthagena, Ohio.