Fr Ben Garren

Dear Siblings in Christ,

The Titanic was about to embark on its maiden voyage. The White Star Line wanted to make this a global event to be celebrated and talked about at every level of society. Something that knit into family stories so that generations of farmers and laborers would say our grandparents came to America on the Titanic. Setting standards in high society so that at the gala events for the next thirty years people would compare everything to parties on the Titanic.

They also wanted to engage crucial markets of regular ocean travelers, individuals who would often spend up to a month of any given year traveling by sea. One exceptionally solid, if not necessarily sizable, contingent was the Missionaries. So the White Star Line sent out their invitations to the major missionaries they knew to be in England who were slated to soon travel back to the United States. An all-expenses paid voyage on the Titanic, the promise to dine with some major potential donors, a marketing strategy to make Missionaries of the Gospel to be, at least upon occasion, evangelists for the White Star Line.

John Raleigh Mott had already gotten his ticket, shared accommodations with another missionary, on a much humbler liner. The White Star Line ended up offering both missionaries this once in a lifetime opportunity. The result was a conundrum… maintain their regular time of restoration, prayer, and study in basic accommodations with a company they travelled with often or go on an adventure on the cutting edge of innovation and culture.

Ultimately, they decided to pay their own way on the humbler liner and take the time to restore and prepare themselves for the next series of missionary work, and allow the opulence to enjoyed by others. When the two missionaries heard about the tragedy of the Titanic, their brush with death had them both commit themselves more to their work and took it as a sign that God had more work for them to do. John R Mott would go on to be one of the most traveled missionaries of his generation, and in 1946 would be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The true consequences of Mott’s decision to maintain his patterns of restoration, prayer, and study came as a shock to him. Obviously there could have been exceptional potential for him and his ministry if he had taken the opportunity offered by the White Star Line—if the Titanic had arrived safely to port. Amidst a life that involved yearly ventures into situations with much risk he knew that regular times of simplicity and calm were also needed, and that the opportunity offered on the Titanic was not an opportunity right for him.

This type of discernment, between what ventures in ministry we long to take up and which ones we need to let pass so we can renew ourselves and sustain the ministries we have, is a constant call to create and maintain boundaries we need at every point of our life. Let us meditate on it today as we commemorate John Raleigh Mott.

Pax,

—Ben