The word “mission” can sound like something reserved for priests, campus ministries, or plane tickets. We want to bring it back down to earth, starting where the Church already starts it every Sunday: the dismissal at Mass. After we receive Christ in the Word and the Eucharist, we are blessed and sent, and that sending is not optional. It is the shape of Catholic life.

We sit down with Father Joshua Mayer, vicar of clergy and director of vocations for the Diocese of Gallup, to unpack what “missionary discipleship” really means. He frames the Church’s mission as a continuation of Jesus Christ’s own mission as the One sent by the Father, and he explains the Great Commission through that lens. We also talk about mission territory in practical terms, including why a “home mission diocese” can exist in the United States for centuries, and why resources often mean people first: priests, sisters, catechists, and communities able to pass on the faith.

From there, the conversation turns personal and honest: a vocation story that leads a California “beach kid” to the New Mexico desert, the slow work of learning to love what God calls you to, and how suffering can be permitted yet transformed in God’s providence. We close with a challenge to choose solidarity over savior thinking in mission work, plus a reminder that real joy is often found on the other side of self-gift. If this helped you see your own calling more clearly, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show.