Our Third Fundamental Conviction: You Were Born for This!

Fr. John Riccardo

Ash Wednesday

February 17, 2021

You and I are not alive right now by chance. 

You don’t just happen to be here, wherever you are, as you read this.

God could have chosen for you to be born in 14th century England, or 8th century Germany, or two hundred years from now in Alberta. 

But He didn’t. He willed for you to be alive right now, with all that’s happening in the world, our country, and His Church. 

Take a moment and let reality sink in. 

God is the author of history, or, more literally, His-story. He is the ultimate Dramatist. He is writing an extraordinary story, and you and I are living on the page right now. The same Holy Spirit who worked in the lives of those men and women in the Acts of the Apostles is working in your life and mine right now. He is writing the next chapter of the story. We are living “the 29th chapter” of Acts.

We’ve said that at the heart of our work are what we call “three fundamental convictions.” Our first conviction is that the world in which we live is crying (and has been ever since that fateful day in Eden, to be sure). Our second conviction is that Jesus founded the Church to be the means by which the world’s cry can be answered…but the Church is crying, too. These are sobering, challenging realities, and can often leave us feeling overwhelmed, anxious, fearful and more. A quick perusal of the news this morning can make it appear as if everything is falling apart and going to hell in a hand-basket. 

But this is not true!

Jesus is Lord, and this is not the mere conclusion of a prayer. It’s reality. It’s the truth. All authority, in heaven and on earth, has been given to Him. He is the ruler of the kings of the earth—even now! He holds all of history in His hands. He has bound the strong man and conquered the powers of Sin and Death. And He has willed for all of us—bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, mothers, fathers and single men and women—to be alive right now. 

Our third fundamental conviction is inspired by St. Joan of Arc, one of the most remarkable women in history (or men, for that matter). As Joan was beginning her mission to save France, she was asked how she could embark on such a task, surrounded by soldiers (and thus in a most precarious position). Her answer, translated into English, boiled down to this: “I am not afraid. God is with me. I was born for this!”

And so, it is for you and me. We were born for this. You were born for this! God has blessed each of us with gifts, both natural and supernatural, and wants to use us—broken and sinful as we are—as active agents of re-creation, transformation, and healing in His hands so that He can get His world, His family, back. 

This is not to be naïve or even optimistic. It might become very difficult to be a disciple of Jesus in the days ahead. It certainly appears that way. But what of it? The One who is within us is greater than the one who opposes us. 

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece The Lord of the Rings, a conversation takes place relatively early on between Frodo and Gandalf. Frodo is overwhelmed by the mission before him. He faces fearful odds and is engaged in a task that appears, and is, beyond his own strength. “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” he says to Gandalf. “So do I,” Gandalf acknowledges. “And so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

This day has been given to us. May we embark upon it with unshakeable confidence in the Lord Jesus.

Do not be afraid. God is with you. You were born for this!