April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
PERSPECTIVE
Life as a lay missionary
Life as a lay missionary
As we marked World Mission Sunday Oct. 23 in this Year of Mercy, Pope Francis called us "to consider the mission 'ad gentes' [to the nations] as a great, immense work of mercy, both spiritual and material."
For many years, "mission" meant what a few special people did: going out to the far ends of the earth to bring the Gospel message. Now, we realize that mission can happen anywhere, and that there are people in need of the good news of God's love right in our own backyard.
It is, in fact, the very work of our Church -- meaning all of us -- to carry out this mission. We are all called to be missionaries, messengers of God's compassion, even in our families, communities, schools and workplaces.
On World Mission Sunday, the pope specifically invited us to "go out" and "proclaim mercy in every corner of the world," and to support the work of those who do this.
In his message for World Mission Sunday, Pope Francis particularly highlighted the role of women, lay and religious, and of families in the missionary world. He noted that women and families often place more emphasis on people rather than structures, and they work to build relationships in cooperation and solidarity, especially with the poor.
In my work as a Maryknoll Lay Missioner serving in El Salvador, I try to do just that. I live in a small town and work in the parish there with agricultural and environmental ministries, promoting sustainable food production and the care of our common home, the planet Earth.
We undertake community projects to grow crops organically; to raise pigs, chickens and tilapia fish; to implement soil conservation measures; to recycle; to grow tree seedlings for reforestation and to clean up toxic pesticide containers from the countryside.
But, mostly, I accompany the Salvadoran people on their journey through life. That's the part about building relationships to all Maryknoll Lay Missioners are fully committed.
I spend a lot of time just being with people: visiting the sick, encouraging parents worried about their teenagers, listening to stories of how they survived the civil war, admiring the antics of toddlers, mourning the dead and grieving with the sorrowing, sweating as we chop the weeds, reminding the aged that they have great gifts to share, cheering the successes of students and giving hope to those who fail, sharing breakfast under the trees after the first couple of hours of picking coffee beans, lamenting the lack of water (and conserving and sharing it) when the public water system fails, praying with those whose loved ones have emigrated in search of a better life, encouraging those who dream of a better government, trying again and again to make tortillas correctly and laughing with those who shake their heads at my attempts.
In all of these sacred moments, I try to bring God's love and mercy. By entering into their lives, I am in solidarity with them. In the midst of our daily living and the exchange of experiences and ideas, we are all transformed.
Mission isn't reserved for special people. I'm just another person who grew up in Stamford, a member of Sacred Heart parish there, right in the Albany Diocese. We are all called to bring God's love to someone and we all have the ability to do so.
As we look back on this World Mission Sunday, I pray that we may support and encourage each other in our efforts to carry out the mission Jesus gives us wherever it happens to be.[[In-content Ad]]
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