Reading 1 Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8
In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple.
Seraphim were stationed above. They cried one to the other, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!"
At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.
Then I said, "Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
He touched my mouth with it, and said, "See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged."
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?"
"Here I am," I said; "send me!"
REFLECTION:
"Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" "Here I am," I said; "send me!"
Both in the first reading and in the Gospel we see two things. First, the prophet Isaiah and the Apostle Peter both recognize the greatness of the person in front of them and their own sinfulness. Second, when asked to go and do God's will they go and do it.
How many times has God called people deemed unfit to do his mission? Either in the eyes of the world, or in their own eyes. We see the poor and marginalized like St. Juan Diego, St. Bernadette, Saint Andre Bessette, Venerable Rutilo Grande, and even St. Joseph.
There are also saints that battled different types of mental diseases like St. Oscar Romero, who battled obsessive-compulsive disease. St. Jane Frances de Chantal, who battled depression. St. Lois Martin, who suffered dementia and hallucinations. St. Mary of Egypt, who was a nymphomaniac. And St. Camillus de Lellis, who was addicted to gambling.
And yet others that suffered from substance abuse like Venerable Matt Talbot and St. Augustine Yi Kwang-hon, both alcoholics; and St. Mark Ji Tianxiang, who was addicted to opium.
Even with our obvious vices and handicaps God still calls us. Some people do very public works of good, like funding a non-profit hospital. And some do it very quietly, like raising a family. What the saints and venerables had in common is that they practiced humility. They knew they had shortcomings and still gave themselves to God and to His service.
Even St. Paul tells us of his struggle in this world:
" Therefore, that I might not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated" (2 Cor 12:7)
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