Hello friends! It is so good to be with you today, on this Wednesday, April 29, 2026. If you’re checking the liturgical calendar, you’ll know we are celebrating the feast of St. Catherine of Siena: a woman whose heart was truly on fire for the Church and for the mission of Christ.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how easy it is to treat our spiritual lives like a checklist. We check off our morning prayers, we check off our "to-do" lists, and sometimes, we even check off the Daily Readings from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) website without letting the words actually sink in. But the Word of God isn't a task; it’s a living encounter. For those of us who care deeply about the missions: specifically the work we do here at the Pontifical Mission Societies and the Society of St. Peter the Apostle: the daily readings are actually the primary training ground for a missionary heart.

If we want to support our seminarians and young clergy in mission territories, we have to first be rooted in the same Word that calls them to service. So, I want to share with you five simple, personal steps on how to approach the USCCB daily readings to truly grow your missionary spirit.

1. Create a "Missionary Space" for Silence

Before you even click that bookmark for the USCCB website or open your daily email subscription, you have to prepare the soil. In the missions, our priests often travel miles through rugged terrain just to find a quiet place to pray before Mass. We have the luxury of the internet at our fingertips, but that convenience can sometimes make us superficial.

I suggest creating a "missionary space" in your home or office. It doesn’t have to be a cathedral; it just needs to be a place where you intentionally put away the "noise" of the world. Before you read, take two minutes of absolute silence. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the needs of the global Church. Remember that as you sit down to read, a seminarian in Malawi or a novice in Thailand is likely reflecting on these exact same texts. You are entering into a global conversation. This silence connects your local reality to the universal mission of the Church.

2. Identify the "Sent" Character in the Text

The word "mission" literally means "to be sent." As you read through the First Reading, the Psalm, and the Gospel on the USCCB site, ask yourself: Who is being sent here, and what is their mission?

Sometimes it’s obvious: like St. Paul embarking on a journey to Macedonia. Other times, it’s more subtle, like a person being sent to show mercy to a neighbor or a prophet being sent to speak a hard truth. When we read with a "missionary lens," we stop seeing the Bible as ancient history and start seeing it as a manual for action.

At the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, we focus heavily on the formation of local clergy. When you read about the Apostles being sent out two by two, think about the thousands of young men in mission seminaries today. They are the modern-day "sent ones." By identifying the missionary call in the scripture, you begin to see how your own life: and your support for the missions: is a continuation of that biblical narrative.

3. Pray for the "Future Peters" of the Church

This is where our work at the Society of St. Peter the Apostle (SPA) becomes very personal. As you may know, the SPA was founded by Stephanie and Jeanne Bigard in the late 19th century because they realized that for the Church to truly flourish in mission lands, it needed its own local priests: leaders who knew the language, the culture, and the hearts of their own people.

As you go through the daily readings, I invite you to pick one verse that stands out to you and "offer" it for a seminarian in a mission territory. If the Gospel is about the Good Shepherd, pray that a young man in a seminary in Nigeria or Vietnam develops the heart of a shepherd. If the reading is about the multiplication of the loaves, pray for the financial resources needed to feed and educate these future priests.

By linking the USCCB readings to the specific needs of local clergy formation, your daily prayer becomes an act of spiritual adoption. You aren't just reading for your own "growth"; you are standing in the gap for those who will one day preach these very words to their own communities.

4. Connect the Word to the "Universal" Context

One of the beautiful things about the USCCB daily readings is that they are universal. The same readings I read here in New York are being read in Rome, in Nairobi, and in Tokyo. This is the "Catholic" (universal) nature of our faith.

To grow your missionary spirit, try to look at the readings from a perspective other than your own. If the reading mentions poverty, don't just think about your own "spiritual poverty." Think about the physical poverty faced by mission churches that lack basic infrastructure. If the reading mentions "the ends of the earth," take a moment to look at a map of a mission territory.

Educational growth is part of the mission. When we read the Word, we should be prompted to learn more about the world. Use the readings as a springboard to learn about a different mission diocese each week. When we understand the global context of the Word, our missionary spirit expands from a small spark into a flame that encompasses the whole world.

5. Transition from "Amen" to "Action"

The final step in reading the USCCB daily readings is the transition. We often finish the readings, say "Thanks be to God," and then immediately go back to scrolling through news or social media. But a missionary heart is a heart in motion.

Ask yourself: How does this reading call me to support the Society of St. Peter the Apostle today?

Maybe the reading on the widow’s mite inspires you to make a small donation to help pay for a seminarian's tuition. Maybe the reading on the Great Commission inspires you to share this blog post with a friend to teach them about the importance of local clergy in mission lands. Action is the fruit of contemplation.

In the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, we believe that every local community deserves a priest who can bring them the Sacraments. By reading the daily scriptures and then taking one concrete action: whether it’s a prayer, a donation, or an act of witness: you are directly participating in the building of the Body of Christ across the globe.

A Final Reflection for St. Catherine’s Feast

St. Catherine of Siena famously said, "Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire." She wasn't just talking about personal self-actualization; she was talking about mission. She knew that our identity is found in our call to serve Christ and His Church.

As you navigate the USCCB website tomorrow morning, I hope you don't just see black text on a white screen. I hope you see a bridge. A bridge that connects your quiet room to a bustling mission station in the South Pacific or a remote village in the Andes.

Our seminarians are studying hard today. They are praying these same psalms. They are looking to us: their brothers and sisters in the faith: to support them as they prepare to give their entire lives to the Gospel. Let’s make our daily reading a moment of true solidarity with them.

Thank you for all you do for the Pontifical Mission Societies. Your prayers and your generosity are the lifeblood of the missions.

God bless you, and keep the fire of the mission alive!

– Fr. Deji