One of Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is to “Begin with the End in Mind.” The end in mind proposed by Jesus was the Reign of God- the realization that God’s love, grace, and justice has preeminence and dominion over our existence and experience.

All indicators of our mission should point towards God’s Reign. It is part of imagination, our story, our prayer, and our expectations. It fuels an optimism and a confidence within our lives. Most especially, it engenders an attitude of gratitude for each moment of grace experienced that hints towards God’s presence and reign within our lives.

The work of disciple-ing young people is a work of the Holy Spirit. We merely aspire to be collaborators with God in this process. We should not be about this mission alone. The National Directory for Catechesis reminds that “All members of the community of believers in Jesus Christ participate in the Church’s catechetical mission. (NDC, #53) If we are to disciple young people into faithful communities, then we must be involved in this work, not only as individuals, but it is essential that we do this as part of a faithful community ourselves.