The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
"No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” - Jesus
As a millennial in the Church and as a young adult in general, I often find myself wanting to have everything in my life perfectly structured in order for something else to take place. Jesus invites us into deeper communion and friendship with Him throughout our everyday life, but I sometimes find excuses to put off prayer, daily rosary, weekly adoration, or attending daily Mass because of my busy schedule. As a young professional working in the sports industry, or in any industry for that matter, you come to the realization that 24 hours in a day is not enough. But it is the same 24 hours that St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Mother Teresa had. This is where waiting around for the perfect schedule to find time to do all these things becomes the opposite of a virtue.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is asking us to leave ALL that we have going on and to follow Him. And to follow him now. Although we are not setting hands to a plow, we can at times become overly attached to our monthly agenda by choosing the various activities in our lives over the call to greatness with Christ. Avoiding the call to follow Jesus can happen by an outright "no" on our part; however, not answering His call can also come by simply waiting for the perfect schedule where you’ll have hours to sit in adoration, or for when you have enough time to go to daily Mass before work, or where you have just the right amount of time before bed to read a chapter from the Bible.
For most of us, there is never going to be a perfect schedule or a perfect scenario in our journey toward Heaven. It is in our daily "yes", whether small or large, where we choose to give of ourselves to God and choose to follow Him. Let us go into this week and remember that Jesus said, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” As men and women of God, we must enter into our daily lives remembering that our life’s purpose is not to check off all the things on our day’s to-do list; rather, our life’s purpose is to ultimately get to Heaven.
Heavenly Father, guide me to know Your will. Protect me from distractions that cause me to stray from Your call to holiness and lead me to be forever in pursuit of following Your Son, Jesus Christ. Shepherd me away from the vice of a busy schedule and into Your Son’s grace to always strive forward to follow Him. St. Joseph the Worker, pray for us!
Paul Sandoval is the Senior Producer for The University of Texas at El Paso Athletics department. He dedicated his ministry, The Heights Creative to Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, where his creative efforts to display God’s goodness is through photography and videography. Follow him on Instagram.