We Are God’s Co-workers

Today’s First Reading is a powerful one! It says a lot about how we Catholics need to approach evangelization.

When learning and understanding the Catholic faith, we all need to walk before we can run, or have milk before solid food, as St. Paul says.

And evangelization really happens through God, not humans. We humans are the tools, and God is the divine gardener.

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 – A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians

We are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Brothers and sisters, I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people, as infants in Christ. I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it. Indeed, you are still not able, even now, for you are still of the flesh. While there is jealousy and rivalry among you, are you not of the flesh, and walking according to the manner of man? Whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely men?

What is Apollos, after all, and what is Paul? Ministers through whom you became believers, just as the Lord assigned each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor. For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

What Should Twenty-First Century Catholics Look Like?

The following is an excerpt from Rev. Thomas J. Donaghy in the “New Parishioner Handbook” (Catholic Book Publishing Corp., 2000).

1. Men and women with a firm belief in Jesus and a willingness to share His mission in the world.
2. Men and women of prayer, integrity, and generosity of spirit.
3. Men and women concerned for justice for all segments of society.
4. Men and women who live the forgiveness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
5. Men and women concerned for the poor, the sick, the disabled, the elderly, the disenfranchised, the unborn, and the weak.
6. Men and women of peace.
7. Men and women outstanding in their allegiance to and their work with the poor.
8. Men and women assuming the responsibility for vibrant parish communities, top-notch Catholic, value-oriented schools, and parish-wide catechesis.
9. Men and women generous with their God-given talents for the benefit of the Kingdom here and hereafter.
10. Men and women striving for perfection in the Lord and leading others to eternal salvation.