Some Definite Service: Meditation of St. John Henry Newman
In this famous meditation, St. John Henry Newman reflects that God has created each person for a particular purpose that no one else can fulfill. It comes from his Meditations and Devotions, published in 1893, three years after his death. Its central line, "God has created me to do Him some definite service," has encouraged countless people who wonder whether their life matters.
Pray it when discerning a vocation or career, during sickness or disappointment, when you feel useless or overlooked, or at graduations and new beginnings. Newman reminds us that even sickness, perplexity, and sorrow can serve God's purposes when we trust Him.
The Prayer
God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connexion between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling. Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends, He may throw me among strangers, He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide the future from me; still He knows what He is about.
Sources: John Henry Newman, Meditations and Devotions (1893), "Hope in God, Creator," excerpt, public domain.
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