Every morning in the seminary chapel, I watch young men sit with their Bibles open, reading the daily Mass readings before the Liturgy begins. Some read quickly, checking a spiritual box. Others linger, underlining passages, scribbling notes in margins. As a formator, I've learned that the difference between these two approaches often determines whether a seminarian will become just another priest or a true missionary disciple.

Today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, and the readings offer us a masterclass in recognizing God's missionary call hidden in plain sight within Scripture. Let me show you what I mean.

The Readings as a Mission Blueprint

The Church doesn't assign daily readings randomly. When you open today's Gospel (Luke 2:22-40), you encounter Simeon and Anna, two elderly prophets who spent their lives waiting in the Temple. They weren't bishops. They weren't ordained. They were simply faithful people who had trained their eyes to see what others missed.

This is the first principle of missionary discernment: God's call requires trained eyes.

In seminary formation, we teach our men to read Scripture with what the Church calls sensus fidei, the sense of faith. It's not about academic analysis alone. It's about asking: "What is the Holy Spirit revealing about the Church's mission in this passage?" When Simeon proclaims that this child will be "a light for revelation to the Gentiles," he's not making a poetic statement. He's articulating the fundamental missionary mandate that would eventually create the global Church.

From Temple to Territory

Here's what strikes me most about today's readings: Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple according to the Law of Moses, but Simeon's prophecy sent them beyond the Temple walls to the entire world.

This pattern repeats constantly in Scripture. God meets people in their religious observance, then sends them outward. Abraham was comfortable in Ur before God called him to journey. Moses was settled as a shepherd before the burning bush. The apostles were successful fishermen before Jesus invited them to fish for people.

The missionary call always disrupts comfort.

I tell my seminarians: if your reading of today's Scripture leaves you feeling settled and comfortable, you probably missed something. The Word of God should unsettle us, challenge us, and push us beyond our current boundaries. The Society of St. Peter the Apostle exists precisely because the Church recognized this pattern, that God calls local clergy to serve their own people, yes, but also to participate in the universal mission of the Church.

Three Questions I Ask Seminarians About Daily Readings

When I meet with seminarians for spiritual direction, I have them bring their reflection on the daily readings. Over the years, I've developed three questions that consistently unlock the missionary dimension of Scripture:

1. Who is excluded or invisible in this passage, and how does the Gospel address them?

In today's first reading from Malachi (3:1-4), the prophet speaks about the Lord suddenly coming to his temple. But notice who the passage focuses on: the Levites, the priests, those who serve. God's purification begins with his ministers. Before the Church can reach the margins, those at the center must be transformed.

This is why supporting seminary formation in mission territories matters so profoundly. When local priests are formed well, they become agents of transformation for their entire communities. They understand the cultural context, speak the language, and know the real spiritual needs of their people in ways that foreign missionaries: no matter how dedicated: simply cannot.

2. What does this passage reveal about God's expansive vision versus our limited vision?

Simeon and Anna had been waiting for "the consolation of Israel." They were thinking nationally, ethnically, locally. But God's plan was cosmic. "A light for revelation to the Gentiles AND glory for your people Israel." Both/and, not either/or.

I find that many seminarians: especially those from mission territories: initially think too small about their vocations. They see themselves as future parish priests in their home dioceses. That's good and necessary. But the missionary call asks them to see further: How will their priesthood participate in the Church's universal mission? How will they form future generations to think beyond their village, their region, their country?

3. What would change in my life today if I truly believed what this passage proclaims?

This is the question that separates devotional reading from transformative encounter. If you genuinely believe that Christ is "a light to the nations," then how you spend your time, resources, and energy must change. For seminarians in formation, it might mean taking their language studies more seriously, developing genuine interest in world missions, or cultivating hearts that break for places they've never seen.

For lay Catholics supporting mission work, it might mean moving from occasional donations to sustained partnership with organizations like The Society of St. Peter the Apostle that form local clergy in mission territories.

The Anna Principle: Persistence in Prayer

Let's not overlook Anna in today's Gospel. She was eighty-four years old, widowed after just seven years of marriage, and she "never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer."

The missionary vocation is sustained by contemplative prayer, not activist energy alone.

I've watched too many zealous seminarians burn out because they tried to run on missionary enthusiasm without the fuel of deep prayer. The USCCB's current mission directive for 2025-2028 emphasizes evangelization of the unaffiliated, especially young adults. This is urgent work. But urgency without contemplation produces frenzy, not fruit.

Anna's eight decades of faithful prayer prepared her for one moment of recognition and proclamation. She "spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem." Your daily reading of Scripture, your daily Mass, your daily Rosary: these aren't preparation for some future missionary work. They ARE the missionary work, forming you into someone who can recognize God's presence and proclaim it to others.

Making It Practical: A Daily Method

Here's the method I teach seminarians for reading the daily Mass readings with missionary eyes:

Morning (5 minutes): Read the first reading and Gospel slowly. Don't analyze yet: just read and notice what catches your attention.

Midday (3 minutes): Read the Responsorial Psalm. Ask: How does this psalm express the missionary heart of the Church? How does it speak to the joys and struggles of clergy in mission territories?

Evening (7 minutes): Reread all the readings. Write one sentence about how today's readings reveal something about God's mission. Write a second sentence about how you could participate in that mission tomorrow.

The goal isn't to become a Scripture scholar. The goal is to develop missionary eyes: to see how every passage of Scripture reveals something about God's desire to reach every person, in every place, with the Good News.

The Formation Formator's Secret

Here's what I rarely tell seminarians directly but model constantly: the formator must be formed daily by the same readings he teaches. I can't help young men find God's missionary call in Scripture if I'm not finding it myself.

This morning, before Mass, I sat with today's readings and asked myself: What is God revealing about mission to me, personally, today? And I heard in Simeon's words a reminder that my work as a formator isn't about producing successful priests. It's about helping young men become "a light for revelation": priests whose lives illuminate Christ for others.

That's the missionary call hidden in every day's readings. Not always loud. Not always obvious. But always there, waiting for eyes trained to see it.

Read today's readings again. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the missionary thread woven through them. And then ask: How is God inviting me: through these ancient words: to participate in the Church's mission today?

The answer might surprise you. It usually does.

– Fr. Deji