Throughout the season of Lent, we’re featuring the Millennial Lenten Reflection Series co-sponsored by Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Franciscan Mission Service. Each small reflection will be written by a young person, focusing on that day’s Mass reading. You can sign up for the series here.

I can’t remember when I realized I wanted to go on mission.  I think it’s always been a part of me, but the two mission trips I went on in college propelled me to pursue mission long-term.  After two months on mission in Guatemala, I’m reassured everyday that this is where I’m called to be.  I wake up daily with a full heart for the people I’m meeting, the experiences I’m having, and the challenges I’m facing. But these feelings didn’t magically appear.

In today’s Gospel Jesus tells us, “For everyone who asks, receives.” Being on mission makes me question how I can receive that grace.  For me, the answer comes through the Prayer of Saint Francis. The line “For it is in giving that we receive” helped me realized that I receive God’s grace through giving. Giving of myself—my love and my heart.

Lent is about taking what we have received from God and sharing that with others, in service to them. Mission has given me the opportunity to take the grace I’ve received from God and share it with all those I encounter this Lent.

Amanda Ceraldi, originally from Pasadena, Maryland is a recent graduate of The Catholic University of America, where she studied Theology and Peace and Justice Studies.  She is currently serving at Valley of the Angels Orphanage in Guatemala with Franciscan Mission Service.