Day 6: Presentation Day Novena

Today, we reflect on  the gift of being prophetic

We remember our Presentation family in North America, Central and Latin America

We begin in the name of God our creator,

Christ who shows us the way and

the Spirit who continues to give us hope and courage

Prophets are those who are able to see the wrongs in their world and have the courage to act in order to make the change. Nano Nagle saw the wrongs before her and found ways to respond to them

Read the following reflection-

It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.

The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts; it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.

Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying

that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said. 

No prayer fully expresses our faith. 

No confession brings perfection. 

No pastoral visit brings wholeness. 

No programme accomplishes the church’s mission. 

No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow. 

We water the seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. 

We lay foundations that will need further development. 

We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. 

This enables us to do something and to do it well. 

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,

an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest. 

We may never see the end results,

but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own.

(Ken Untener)

REFLECTION:

What does being prophetic mean for me?    How do I live it out?