Ostium Catholic

The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity. This is the divine name - not just what God does but who God is. Moses hears it and bows immediately. The theology of the Trinity begins here: the name proclaimed on Sinai is the same name into which the eleven are told to baptize all nations.

Some doubted. On the mountain, having seen the risen Jesus, some of the eleven doubted. The commission is not given to the ones who have resolved all their doubts. It is given to the whole company - worshipers and doubters together. I am with you always means: to you too, the one who is not sure.

In your twenties, the faith that goes includes doubt. The going is not the reward for resolving the doubt. The going is what addresses it. The disciple-making mission does not wait for certainty. It is the means by which certainty grows - the always-with experienced in the actual going rather than in the theoretical preparation for it.

Go and make disciples. Name one person this week for whom you can be the one who makes the move toward discipleship - a conversation, an invitation, a presence. Don't wait until you feel certain. The doubters received the commission too.

Lord, all power in heaven and earth is yours. Go with me - come along in my stiff-necked company. I am with you always. Let me live from that in ordinary time. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in you. Amen.