issionary
is defined as “a person sent on a mission, specifically, a person sent out
by his church to preach and teach in a foreign country,…” Most of
us will probably not be called to a vocation which involves abandoning our
families and traveling far from our homeland. Yet, certainly, by our very Baptism, each of us is sent on a
mission by our Church. The
preaching and teaching that we are called to do can be done in our everyday
lives.
Each day we are confronted with controversial issues such as abortion, prejudice, inequality, homelessness, hunger, poverty and pornography. Our nation is plagued with violence and a hedonistic attitude. Here are obviously many who still need to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.
I am a missionary – you are a missionary – each of us is a missionary. With this vocation comes serious responsibilities. We must confront situations and not shrink back from them because we’re afraid of being uncomfortable or unpopular. We must speak up when we see an injustice and take a pro-active stance, even if it’s a simple thing like an uncharitable attitude toward a classmate.
Missionary work is not easy. Surely we can support the work of missionaries far from home, but we also cannot neglect what is happening right around us. We will probably never be subjected to severe tortures such as running a gauntlet like Fr. Isaac Jogues. However, there will be more subtle forms of the gauntlet for us if we take on the yoke of a missionary. The tide of popular opinion often turns against those whose views are counter cultural. Jesus, the first missionary, encountered that exact problem, and following Christ was never guaranteed to be an easy task.
As missionaries before us brought rays of light to darkened areas of Africa and Asia, so must we be beacons in a society often darkened by hatred and godlessness!
(From Xaverian Mission Newsletter)