It has been almost three weeks since I moved into the parish communities of St. Boniface and St. Lawrence. To say the least, it has been a time of great gratitude! Since May 30th I have met many new faces, seen a few familiar ones, and tried my best to learn a few hundred names. However, despite my horrible ability to remember names (which I will over time), the sense I have received from our community is one rooted in gratitude and service. A historic and faithful community that shares its joys, hopes, sufferings, and trials with one another in such a committed way. I am beyond grateful to serve and be present to such a community for the next year!

This particular assignment is a new chapter in my journey toward service in the vocation of priesthood. “Vocation” is a word that is often thrown around and misunderstood. The reality of any Christian’s identity is rooted in one’s particular vocation – the unique way in which we live out faithful service to God and one another in our own community. So often we associate “vocation” with priesthood or religious life. In reality, each one of us has been given a vocation with diverse gifts and talents in order to accomplish the great mission of Christ and His Church – whether we are married or single, called to ordained ministry or religious life, and even those who find themselves in the complicated circumstances of life.

All of us are called to pursue that particular vocation in which we can best live out our Christian identity – not simply a life that is the easiest, most comfortable, or expected way that life often puts in front of us. Rather, we can take our inspiration from this Sunday’s gospel (Matthew 9:36-10:8). Jesus sends out the twelve apostles on a daunting task to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, [and] drive out demons.” Today, in our own particular situations, we also are called to respond to Christ’s command of service by going forward in our own vocation and proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven is here among us – using the very gifts and talents we have uniquely received to minister to others: with curing compassion to the sick in mind and body, raising people from death of despair, cleansing the divisive wounds of society, and casting out the addictions that so destructively take hold of our sisters and brothers. With gratitude, we give to others that which we have so generously received from God in our own unique vocations.

“Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” –Matthew 10:8