Daily Devotion

“Indeed if I had had but two or three comrades to aid me 'tis possible that the Emperor Cham would have been baptized by this time! I ask then for such brethren to come, if any are willing to come, such I mean as will make it their great business to lead exemplary lives. . . . I have myself grown old and grey, more with toil and trouble than with years; for I am not more than fifty-eight.”

John of Montecorvino · Letter from Cambalec (Khanbaliq), 8 January 1305, tr. H. Yule, Cathay and the Way Thither, vol. III (1914)

Scripture

1 Corinthians 3:6-7 I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow. So the one who plants is nothing, nor the one who waters is nothing, but God who makes it grow.

Reflection

In the desolate city of Dadu, Montecorvino toiled alone for years until he was grey before sixty, yet, unconcerned with personal gain or the passing of time, he simply asked for brethren of exemplary life to come and join the work. In the hustle and bustle of modern life, we often worry about whether our efforts will be rewarded or whether the outcome will be perfect. This passage reminds me that my responsibility is to act with love, and as for future achievements and the arrangement of time, I should humbly leave them to God with a heart of obedience and surrender.