St. John Henry Newman is the patron saint of priests, so I have never given him much of my attention. But his feast day recently passed and I read some of his writings that I believe can be very inspiring for laypeople too. He lived in England in the 19^th century and spent the first half of his life as an Anglican. Then he converted to Catholicism because he studied the Church Fathers and concluded that the Catholic Church is the continuation of the Church that Jesus had established. He was a priest, popular preacher, writer, and theologian in both churches.

This quote spoke to me considering the value of our lives, no matter our age or occupation or talent or health status. Newman wrote, “God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has not created me for naught. I will trust Him, whatever I am. I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him. In perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain.”

It isn’t our natural inclination to think we can be serving God in our sickness or perplexity or sorrow – especially perplexity. When we are not at our best or while we are in transitional stages of life, we can assess ourselves to be fruitless or a burden. It is comforting to recognize that we can serve God throughout our life no matter our condition. Mother Teresa echoed Newman’s message a century later when she said that God does not ask us to be successful, he asks us to be faithful.

This brings to mind the truth that most of us live ordinary lives: we grow up, choose a vocation, then live it out for the rest of our lives as best we can. If we are to think we can only serve God in special ways, we might be tempted to conclude that we have not served Him well, when in fact living simply is exactly what He asks of us. As disciples, let us embrace our ordinariness and remember that “God has not created me for naught, I will trust Him whatever I am.”

Scripture: Read Psalm 131:1-2. What stands out?

Call to Action: We have a statue of St. John Henry Newman in our prayer garden. Stop by and ask him to teach you how to best serve God in whatever state of life you find yourself in.