Finding our purpose in Christ

You’ve probably heard this old adage before: Each of us is created with a purpose. This saying had stuck around for centuries because it has rung true for people through the ages. And when we cooperate with God’s plan for our lives, marvelous things will happen.

Patrick Novecosky

There was a time in my life, however, when I didn’t know what my purpose was — or even how to go about discerning that purpose. Little did I know that all I had to do was ask (in prayer) and wait for the Lord to reveal it. After all, life is a journey not a destination.

My career path was quite clear to me ever since I was in high school writing for the student newspaper. My purpose, however, was not so clear — and I wasn’t much of a discerner in my teens and 20s. Now, as a 40-something husband and father of five, God has made my purpose very clear.

Part of that clarity came from five years of working for the Association of Marian Helpers and the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy. “Jesus I trust in you” is embedded in my DNA. A little more than 10 years ago, on the very day that St. John Paul II was laid to rest, my boss (at a small, secular company) called me into his office and gave me my walking papers. My wife was eight months pregnant with our second child and we were a single-income family.

My first thought was: Jesus I trust in you!

Prayer and persistence paid off when, two months later, a call came from Legatus headquarters. You see, I had dropped my resume at Legatus four years earlier but didn’t get a call back. This time, they came looking for me. After a few interviews, I became the new editor of Legatus magazine and happily relocated from Ann Arbor to Southwest Florida.

Our October magazine marks my 100th issue as editor. It’s been a remarkable journey, allowing me the great honor to tell the stories of hundreds of Legatus members. That’s a lot of paper and ink, and if God wills it, perhaps a few hundred more issues are ahead of me.

The truth is, though, that my real purpose is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. That’s where it all begins. It all flows from the power of God working in our lives for the good of His Kingdom.

Legatus is a remarkable vehicle for the Holy Spirit to reach men and women of influence, and if they have found their purpose in Him, amazing things will continue to happen in the Church and in the world.

PATRICK NOVECOSKY is Legatus magazine’s editor-in-chief.