I finally have time to reflect a little on my year, and what has been apparent is that I have been schooled these months in what it
means to have a missionary heart.
I have always thought of missionaries as an intrepid, rare breed of people who went to distant places and suffered much hardship to bring about the salvation of people. Certainly not someone like me - full of faults and fears, not verbally articulate, nor socially adept.
However, this year has given me fresh insight: if one has the heart to share the joy of intimately knowing Christ, and one lives and moves according to where the Spirit leads, then it is possible to be missionary, wherever one is. This is what I've learnt.
JESUS FIRST & ALWAYS
I have always thought of missionaries as an intrepid, rare breed of people who went to distant places and suffered much hardship to bring about the salvation of people. Certainly not someone like me - full of faults and fears, not verbally articulate, nor socially adept.
However, this year has given me fresh insight: if one has the heart to share the joy of intimately knowing Christ, and one lives and moves according to where the Spirit leads, then it is possible to be missionary, wherever one is. This is what I've learnt.
JESUS FIRST & ALWAYS
If one must have tunnel vision, then let the focus be on Jesus, for only
He is perfect in wisdom, knowledge and love, and thus steers with unerring
precision. He alone leads me to be in union with God, who is the source and
destiny of my being.
Listening well and listening frequently to Him is necessary. Whether it was preparing for my exams or being on vacation, when I took the time to pray and thank the Lord for every moment of joy, frustration, despair or anger, He would gift me with insight, hope or strength, encouraging and affirming me.
As an imperfect and broken vessel, my power to move mountains is largely non-existent. But when I deny my self, my prejudice and my pride, and I follow His lead, mountains become speed bumps that merely slow me down.
I have recently begun to pray the Jesus Prayer* as well as a mantra taken from John 3:30 - Increase in me that I may decrease. These two are my bite-sized prayers on the go. Try them, they really work.
JOURNEYING WELL
Listening well and listening frequently to Him is necessary. Whether it was preparing for my exams or being on vacation, when I took the time to pray and thank the Lord for every moment of joy, frustration, despair or anger, He would gift me with insight, hope or strength, encouraging and affirming me.
As an imperfect and broken vessel, my power to move mountains is largely non-existent. But when I deny my self, my prejudice and my pride, and I follow His lead, mountains become speed bumps that merely slow me down.
I have recently begun to pray the Jesus Prayer* as well as a mantra taken from John 3:30 - Increase in me that I may decrease. These two are my bite-sized prayers on the go. Try them, they really work.
JOURNEYING WELL
I got to travel to many places this year. Interestingly enough, none
were my choice of destination, save one, and that was my recent trip. One thing stuck out whether I was abroad or at home, that life is an
on-going flow of events filled with constant change and uncertainty, and I could
choose to meet and respond to God in the flow only if I recognized that each
moment was pregnant with potential grace.
The funny thing about these grace-filled moments is you need to respond in a life-giving manner in order to experience its full effect. In other words, I had to walk the talk of my faith authentically, at times against my own inclinations, and in so doing, I then allowed ordinary circumstances to be transformed into burning bush encounters.
What surprised me, especially on vacation, were the many opportunities to speak a word of life-giving truth, facilitate healing in some way, or demonstrate God's love through compassion and forbearance. I realized there is no time off from doing good works.
As Pope Paul VI put it, we are called to be saints of daily life. Every day we are called to holiness and the mission of bearing good fruit. Every day the journey takes a turn that can lead us either closer or farther away from Him and His precepts.
To journey well requires being ready at all times, like a wise bridesmaid, or vigilant servant. With an open heart and attentive ear, ready to do the Lord's bidding, to say: Speak, Lord, your servant is listening (1 Samuel 3:10).
JOY ABOUNDING
The funny thing about these grace-filled moments is you need to respond in a life-giving manner in order to experience its full effect. In other words, I had to walk the talk of my faith authentically, at times against my own inclinations, and in so doing, I then allowed ordinary circumstances to be transformed into burning bush encounters.
What surprised me, especially on vacation, were the many opportunities to speak a word of life-giving truth, facilitate healing in some way, or demonstrate God's love through compassion and forbearance. I realized there is no time off from doing good works.
As Pope Paul VI put it, we are called to be saints of daily life. Every day we are called to holiness and the mission of bearing good fruit. Every day the journey takes a turn that can lead us either closer or farther away from Him and His precepts.
To journey well requires being ready at all times, like a wise bridesmaid, or vigilant servant. With an open heart and attentive ear, ready to do the Lord's bidding, to say: Speak, Lord, your servant is listening (1 Samuel 3:10).
JOY ABOUNDING
No matter how disastrous a situation, no matter how badly we fail in
life, no matter how life knocks us down, the one truth holds: Nothing can
separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35), for His love and grace are
sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9).
He was, is and will always be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). His love is unconditional, infinite, abundant, and most of all, gentle - a gift for everyone, for all eternity.
In accepting such an undeserved gift of pure love, I cannot help but feel joy, the joy of the Good News, the Gospel, that evil can never triumph. For Jesus came and He conquered sin and death out of love for you and me.
So as Christians, we are called to experience and express joy even in adversity, for we can see the bigger picture, the infinite glory of salvation history. And we are called to weave our own stories into this rich tapestry of faith, to sing in unison the chorus of joy as we welcome our Saviour into our hearts daily.
As Pope Francis wrote in Evangelii Gaudium, our lives must not be Lent without Easter. He shared a powerful quote from Pope Benedict XVI:
Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.
Pope Francis goes on to elucidate it is in this encounter with God’s love, which blossoms into an enriching friendship, and we are liberated from our narrowness and self-absorption. We become fully human when we become more than human, when we let God bring us beyond ourselves in order to attain the fullest truth of our being. Here we find the source and inspiration of all our efforts at evangelization. For if we have received the love which restores meaning to our lives, how can we fail to share that love with others? Evangelii Gaudium, 8
I began this year wanting to bring light to others. I am not sure how much I have succeeded given my natural disposition. However, if I do as Esther suggested during reverse carolling, to model Mother Mary in bringing the Christ child to others, then, like Mary, I may not know what the future portends, but as long as I agree to bear Baby Jesus within me, that is all that is needed for His glory to shine forth and bring joy into others' hearts.
He was, is and will always be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). His love is unconditional, infinite, abundant, and most of all, gentle - a gift for everyone, for all eternity.
In accepting such an undeserved gift of pure love, I cannot help but feel joy, the joy of the Good News, the Gospel, that evil can never triumph. For Jesus came and He conquered sin and death out of love for you and me.
So as Christians, we are called to experience and express joy even in adversity, for we can see the bigger picture, the infinite glory of salvation history. And we are called to weave our own stories into this rich tapestry of faith, to sing in unison the chorus of joy as we welcome our Saviour into our hearts daily.
As Pope Francis wrote in Evangelii Gaudium, our lives must not be Lent without Easter. He shared a powerful quote from Pope Benedict XVI:
Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.
Pope Francis goes on to elucidate it is in this encounter with God’s love, which blossoms into an enriching friendship, and we are liberated from our narrowness and self-absorption. We become fully human when we become more than human, when we let God bring us beyond ourselves in order to attain the fullest truth of our being. Here we find the source and inspiration of all our efforts at evangelization. For if we have received the love which restores meaning to our lives, how can we fail to share that love with others? Evangelii Gaudium, 8
I began this year wanting to bring light to others. I am not sure how much I have succeeded given my natural disposition. However, if I do as Esther suggested during reverse carolling, to model Mother Mary in bringing the Christ child to others, then, like Mary, I may not know what the future portends, but as long as I agree to bear Baby Jesus within me, that is all that is needed for His glory to shine forth and bring joy into others' hearts.
NB: For this entry, I draw content from Anna Capello's talk on ICPE
missionary communities: an expression of lay spirituality.
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