2017 USCCB Convocation Participants Guidebook and Journal | Page 29

The Call to Missionary Discipleship stand in need of repentance and healing. What biases and blind spots, within each of us, remain unexplored, hidden, or mysteri- ous, perhaps due to various obstacles, sins, or wounds? For example, the Church must attend to the wounds rendered by racism in our country; we must listen to those affected by it and be open to healing and conversion in our own hearts and local com- munities. 28 Another example could be fear, anxiety, insecurity, or a past rejection that lingers in the heart and keeps us from sharing and acting upon a desire or calling that is experienced in prayer. The Convocation is a good time to reflect on these imperfections and to explore them with Christ. As Pope Francis says, “What is needed is the ability to cultivate an interior space which can give a Christian meaning to commitment and activity. Without prolonged moments of adoration, of prayerful encounter with the word, of sincere conversation with the Lord, our work easily becomes mean- ingless; we lose energy as a result of weariness and difficulties, and our fervor dies out.” 29 Begin this process of self-reflection: Where might the Lord be calling you to conversion? What areas of your own heart, and the heart of your community, are wounded and in need of Christ’s healing? The Convocation will feature several key moments of prayer and reflection for participants to engage these areas of the heart in order to be renewed so as to go forth and reach those on the peripheries. The Role of the Leader in the Mission Territory Today All the participants at the Convocation have been identified as Catholic leaders. Many people are considered Catholic lead- ers simply by virtue of their employment or position in the Church, such as pastors or lay ecclesial ministers. Others are leaders due to their role in the community. Still others have been invited as emerging leaders: young people who possess leader- ship gifts and have a unique perspective or others who may not be in formal positions of leadership. No matter what brought 24