Denver Catholic

JUNE-JULY 2024 | DENVER CATHOLIC Of course, St. John Neumann was called in a particular way to preach the Good News and to abide in relation- ship with the Trinit y himself. He also knew the eternal significance of inviting others into that relationship so they might know and love the Lord and share that love. "Each person [that is, you and me, dear reader] brings some unique dimension to helping the world hear and respond to the Good News." You and I are unique, unrepeatable, beloved children of God. Our neighbors cannot be as we are meant to be; they cannot fulfill our particular mission as we can. There will never, ever be anyone on this earth just like you or me. God does not know waste. "We are not sent into this world for nothing; we are not born at random," St. John Neumann once said. "God sees every one of us. He deigns to need every one of us. He creates every soul for a pur- pose." Blessed and complete in himself, God may not need us properly speaking, but he deigns to allow us to be a part of his grand design. We are invited in and given a part to play. We matter. W H Y N OW ? Wouldn't it have been easier if we were born at some other time, with fewer difficulties and challenges? Dear reader, in every age, the Church has stood in contrast to the world. Called to be in the world but not of it, the Church points beyond the ephemeral to the eternal, to Heaven. Different from previous ages, our challenges may be many, but our mission to confound the world through our joyfully countercultural witness remains the same. We have been created for this time to be beacons of light, truth and goodness. So it was for the patriarch Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers. Even amid great darkness, experiencing the brokenness of his world, his loving trust in God endured. Years later, he was set over Pharoah 's household and exercised shrewd judgment, providing for the world during famine. When his brothers appeared before him one day, 6

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