Denver Catholic

30 AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2024 | DENVER CATHOLIC ON MISSION TOGETHE R "No one person can do everything, and no one person hopefully wants to do everything or is even gifted in that area," said Father Mike Schmitz, a priest of the Diocese of Duluth, Min- nesota, known for his Bible in a Year and Catechism in a Year podcasts. Throughout his time as chaplain of the Newman Center at the Uni- versity of Minnesota Duluth, he has seen firsthand the great blessing of equipping leaders to live the mission to which the Lord calls them. When he began at the university, he was a team of one. Right away, he tried to build up a group of student leaders he could equip to go out and evangelize. "But again, I'm still one person," Father Schmitz shared, reflecting on the early days of campus ministry. "So how do you build up leaders while simultaneously reaching out to those who don't yet know the Lord?" Over time, Father Schmitz contin- ued to build his team, inviting FOCUS missionaries on campus to assist in discipling and evangelizing the Duluth students. By inviting missionaries to engage in those areas, Father Schmitz could focus on the other areas of ministry to which he was uniquely called as a priest. With a team of equipped lead- ers, Father Schmitz could embrace his gifts and experience new life in his vocation. "When you can lean into your gifts and operate out of your strengths or out of wherever the Lord has blessed you, there's a life that happens there and then you can lean on other people," he shared. "I think when other people can lean into their gifts, you still get stretched in other ways," Father Schmitz con- tinued, reflecting on how his student leaders have helped him grow even as he helps to form them. "I've discov- ered with those folks who are good at something I'm not good at on the team, I can see what they do and accompany them and learn from them. It's so inspiring to work with the team. "I think it's almost invaluable, especially for priests, because the temptation can sometimes be 'I want to do it all myself ' or 'I feel like I have to do it all myself,' so I think to be able not just to be given permission to rely on others, but also an opportunity to lean on others is invaluable," he added. DISCE RNING YOUR 'WHY' AND ' HOW' Our priests need us, so how do we respond? It's a tall order to live Jesus' Great Commission. Where do we begin? The first step is discernment, Father Schmitz said. "Every Christian who's encoun- tered Jesus and has experienced the life-changing grace of Jesus and comes to us, to the Church, will also necessarily hear the Great Com- mission of 'Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations' (Mt 28:19). And they'll have to answer that 'why would I do that?'" he shared. In short, every disciple must dis- cern their "why." Why follow the Lord? Why go on mission? Father Schmitz said that for some, the answer is simple: "It's what a good person would do. Jesus told me to do it." While those answers are not bad or wrong, they miss the full picture. For the apostle – the one who has come to know, love and follow the Lord and then work so that others might too – there is a highly personal, discerned response to that "why." The Holy Spirit reveals a particular mission to the apostle and inflames a desire, a conviction to live that out. For one student, the "why" became clear when her younger sister started her freshman year at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Hoping and praying that her sister would come to know the Lord as she did, this future missionary real- ized that she had only encountered Jesus because someone invited her to get to know him. As she hoped that someone would do the same for her sister, she realized she was being called to make that very invitation to someone else's sister. When that big sister found her "why," she found her "how." Because she discerned a call to lead other women like her sister to Christ, she heard God's call to become a FOCUS missionary. Similarly, Father Schmitz said, the Church must always discern the "how" amid unique circumstances and environments, considering one's own gifts, talents and charisms and the needs of the community and time. "It's the layperson or the person in You matter to God. Because you matter to God, your choices matter. There's a responsibility that comes along with the fact that God loves you and that you matter to him."

• Cover