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<\/a><\/p>\nBishop Unterner wrote this prayer\/poem in 1979. \u00a0It has sometimes been attributed to Bishop Oscar Romero, martyr of El Salvador. \u00a0It seems like a good poem for this week when we lost Gerry Stockhausen, who died too young.<\/p>\n
Blessings on your weekend.<\/p>\n
john sj<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s Post<\/strong><\/p>\n It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.<\/p>\n The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, No statement says all that could be said. Ken Untener, Bishop of Saginaw (deceased)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This prayer was composed by\u00a0Bishop Ken Untener\u00a0of Saginaw, drafted for a homily by Card. John Dearden in Nov. 1979 for a celebration of departed priests. As a reflection on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Bishop Romero, Bishop Untener included in a reflection book a passage titled “The mystery of the Romero Prayer.” The mystery is that the words of the prayer are attributed to Oscar Romero, but they were never spoken by him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Friday \u00a0January 15 \u00a0 “We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction Of the magnificent enterprise that is God\u2019s work.” Ken Untener\u2019s last job was as bishop of Saginaw, MI for the last 24 years of his life (d. … Continue reading
\nIt is even beyond our vision.
\nWe accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
\nOf the magnificent enterprise that is God\u2019s work.
\nNothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying
\nThat the kingdom lies beyond us.<\/p>\n
\nNo prayer fully expresses our faith.
\nNo confession brings perfection.
\nNo pastoral visit brings wholeness.
\nNo program accomplishes the church\u2019s mission.
\nNo set of goals and objectives includes everything.
\nThis is what we are about:
\nWe plant seeds that one day will grow.
\nWe water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
\nWe lay foundations that will need further development.
\nWe provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capacities.
\nWe cannot do everything,
\nAnd there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
\nThis enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
\nIt may be incomplete
\nBut it is a beginning, a step along the way,
\nAn opportunity for God\u2019s grace to enter and do the rest.
\nWe may never see the end results,
\nBut that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
\nWe are the workers, not the master builder,
\nMinisters, not messiahs.
\nWe are prophets of a future not our own.
\nAmen<\/p>\n