Holiness involves accepting the specific mission God assigns to each person

A reflection on the Gospel beatitude regarding those who inherit the earth notes that saints often find their mission in unexpected places. For Mother Cabrini, the promised land was America rather than her original goal of Asia. Pope Leo XIII instructed her to go west to New York instead of east, and she obeyed that direction to begin her mission.

Other saints encountered different paths than they initially planned. Don Bosco served youth in Turin through oratories, working with boys from prison or those causing disorder rather than the stable youth typically managed by other priests. Mother Teresa transitioned from being a teacher in a school to serving the poorest in India. Saint Francis also moved away from his bourgeois family background to find his mission in Assisi.