November 27, 2008

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By Dr. Mary C. McDonald

Secretary of Education, Superintendent of Catholic Schools

It was a very large high school located in the inner-city of Philadelphia, Pa. The challenges at the school mirrored the challenges in the neighborhood, and the struggles of those who were just trying to make it through another day. It was my first day of teaching. "How hard can it be?" I thought as I waited in my classroom for the first bell to ring. I had been in school most of my life. I had seen dozens of teachers. They were in charge, explained material, and gave homework. "I can do that," I thought, "how hard can it be?" Then the students came in. I quickly learned how hard a job can be.

By the end of the day I had taught six classes of Algebra and Geometry to about 230 students, none of whom wanted to be in that class. Added to that was the warning from my colleagues that the first day is always as good as it gets. "I'm in big trouble, I thought, now what?" I was not eager to face the next day, not to mention the coming year. Yet I knew that I was supposed to be there. I believed it was where God had called me to be, so, like it or not, I was just going to face it. I soon learned that the students needed more than Math. The problems they faced were more than just finishing their homework. They needed to experience hope, and a vision for their future that was more than their experience of the present told them it would be. I began to understand why I was there. My job was to teach the students Math. My mission was to be a conduit of God's love for them, to change the environment for them, even for an hour a day, so that they would learn to grow in that love. I was prepared for the job, but needed anointing for the mission.

Jesus knows what we are made of, and tells us what it will take for us to succeed in His mission, in spite of frustration, fear, or failure. It is prayer. It is through prayer that God anoints us for times of trouble. In the Gospel of Matthew, 26:39-41, Jesus makes it clear that even if our jobs are difficult to do, when we are fulfilling God's plan for our life, prayer will strengthen us for our mission, and keep us doing our job. "Going a little further he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not my will, but yours be done." Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you not keep watch with me one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

It is the same for all of us when it is hard to do whatever it is we do. Often God will use adversity in our lives to bring about good, to use a difficult situation to fulfill His purpose. If there is a problem, then perhaps you have been chosen by God to be the solution. Perhaps you are meant to be the blessing in a hostile environment, and to make a difference by not becoming part of it. There is a reason you are in that job, that family, that situation. When you are anointed, empowered by the Holy Spirit for your mission, then you can work with difficult people no one else can work with. You can raise children no one else can raise. You can teach students no one else can teach. You can work with customers no one else can work with. You can handle situations no one else can handle. You can change an environment that destroys other people. You can work with finances no one else can work with. You can bear suffering, sorrow or pain no one else can bear. Through prayer your faith activates, and you are at your best when the situation is at its worst. You know that God is always your present help in trouble.

How hard can it be? It can be very hard, seemingly impossible at times. If we prepare each day in prayer, we know that with God, all things are possible. God knows your trouble. He knows how you live. He knows where you work. He knows your situation. He knows how hard it can be. Consider Father Mychal Judge's job. He learned how hard it can be to be a Chaplin for a fire department. He did his job, and always remembered his mission. He was prepared for his job, and anointed for his mission. Each day before he went to work, he always said this prayer that he wrote:

Lord, take me where you want me to go; Let me meet who you want me to meet; Tell me what you want me to say, and keep me out of your way.

Father Judge was killed on September 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center in New York, while doing his job for the New York City Fire Department, and fulfilling his mission for God.

May God find us so faithful to the mission he gives us, especially when we find out just how hard it can be.

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