Daily Mass Readings 05/19/2015 or Methuselah's Keys to Longevity!

"Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began." -Jn. 17:3-5

Daily Mass Readings 05/19/2015

This passage in today's Gospel reading struck me because Jesus is showing us how we too should glorify God by accomplishing the work he gave us to do. And he lets us know that we will also be glorified with Him and have eternal life in truly knowing God.

The catch here is.......what is the work that God gave you to do?

I think as men we often think of our 'work' as our jobs, but we forget that for most of us our job is not necessarily in sync with our vocation. Now I am not saying that our jobs contradict our true vocations, just that sometimes we need to see our jobs as simply a tool towards the accomplishment of our vocation. If we orient our work life that way, God is there and He will guide us towards whatever work helps us best to achieve our mission. (Even, as I have been known to do, if we are dragged kicking and screaming). Knowing that we are where He wants us to be and seeing what work He has put there for us can make those tough days seem better by focusing on how our role helps others and how God's love shines through us in our everyday work.

Paul's letter echoes this idea of doing what we are sent to accomplish. He is saying farewell to people he expects that he will never see again and he tells them flat out, 'you didn't always like what I had to say, but I did what I was sent to do and proclaimed the truth, so buzz off, you're on your own from here!' Well, that's not exactly what he says, but you get the idea. He basically says, I did what God sent me here to do, now I am ready with a peaceful heart, to move on to what He has planned for me next, whatever it is, even if it's death.

How great would it be, at the end of your days, when you know you will be moving on out of this world, to be able to say the same:

I have done what God sent me here to do, I have spoken the truth, I have loved, I have served, and I am ready, looking forward to moving on to the joy He has in store for me.

I pray that I may feel that expectant joy! I'm not expecting it for a long time, mind you. I am certain He has much more for me to accomplish and at the rate that I screw it up sometimes, I could live to be as old as Methuselah! Or to put it more eloquently, as the poem my father like to quote so often says, I have

.... miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

God Bless,

P.D.O.