Three Qualities of a Missionary

"He said to them, 

'Take nothing for the journey, 

neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, 

and let no one take a second tunic.'" 

- Luke 9: 3

Last Wednesday, Fr. Ruper Solis, SVD celebrated the Holy Eucharist at the Couples For Christ Global Mission Center. I memorized the homily he said because it was something very useful to us missionaries. The homily was in line with the Gospel which was taken from Luke 9:1-6.

Being a missionary priest in Argentina for the last 7 years, Fr. Ruper has so much to share about how to really be a missionary.

Fr. Ruper Solis

"Do not take anything with you"

In the homily, he shared with us the Three Qualities of a Missionary.

Number 1: You are a messenger.

Fr. Ruper reminded us that as missionaries, we do not send ourselves but it is the Lord who sends us. Sometimes, when we go to a place, we tend to be arrogant and think "I will save these people." But not really.

He reminded us to remember that it is Christ who sent us. We are merely bearers of the message and servants ready to do His will. We are there not to do what we want but to open ourselves to do exactly what God wants for the people through our presence.

We are but instruments.

Number 2: You should Live Simply.

Before Fr. Ruper went to Argentina, he carried with him 2 large suitcases of personal belongings enough for the 7-year trip. When he got back to the Philippines after 7 years, he also brought back 2 large suitcases with him. That was all he had.

He found it funny that his entire possessions fit in only 2 large suitcases. But that story reminded me of how we are but nomads in this life. Earth is not our final destination but Heaven.

We came here on earth with nothing and we will leave with nothing.

As missionaries, we are to live simply and be ready to surrender much material wealth for the call of the Lord.

Number 3: You must be a Positive thinker.

Being a positive thinker is one of the most necessary 'skills' of a missionary. According to Fr. Ruper, being a missionary is not a walk in the park. There are times when you will face rejection, persecution, disillusionment, and hopelessness in your journey. It is best to think positive and focus on God despite the many oppressions that come your way.

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Those are my notes from his homily and I hope these will inspire you in your journey as a missionary for Christ.

God bless you!!! 

Love, 

The Catholic Chic

You are Light

I was browsing on the internet for tips to eating healthy when I came across this post. I was immediately reminded of the passage Salt and Light from Matthew 5: 13-15 which says,

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house."

Have you gone through some serious soul searching when you asked the heavens, what is my purpose in life? Well, I did. And I believe this Bible passage is telling me much about that. 

You are salt and you are light. Without salt, eating would probably be dreadful. Without the sun, earth would be left an icy wasteland.

Personally, I think the passage is telling me to become a blessing to others. Like salt, I should help make the ordinary things become extraordinary. I should make this journey through life become less burdensome for the people traveling with me. In being light, we are made to guide each other in seeing the truth and seeing God in our journey.

Have an awesome week!

365 Days of Love Notes for God (Week 1)

I came across a blog challenge from Story of a Rose to create Love Notes every Sunday. The Love Notes challenge is somewhat similar to the 100 Happy days challenge many are doing in social media, except this one is somehow addressed to God. 

My Sundays are often slow so I decided to accept the challenge. In my Love Notes posts, I plan to reflect on the presence of God in my work week and enumerate the most striking blessing to me per day. Cheers!

Day 1:

Dear God,

Thank you for giving me this day to work from home and to have a pseudo-household with some young YFC/SFC friends from Singapore.

Day 2:

Dear God,

Thank you for giving us this day to be inspired by Fr. Benedict Lagarde at the Holy Eucharist. Thank you for all the uplifting messages he said for us missionaries in his homily.

Message for missionaries, from the homily of Fr. Benedict:

"You will see the best in the Church in moments of persecution."

"Like the saints, we have to be faithful and consistent."

"The moment we become comfortable, we become complacent at best."

"God calls the gifted."

"Great miracles will happen in your life. One day, you will cry tears of joy as you look back. God has a promise for us. Don't you ever doubt your vocation. The only reason you're here is because God loves you and you want to give it out to the world. He will take care of your families." 

Day 3:

Dear God,

Thank you for giving me my salary and for teaching me to live within my means. 


Day 4:

Dear God,

Thank you for allowing us to have a fellowship night with my workmates. We watched a free movie from the Italian film fest! Thank you Lord for giving me good friends.

Day 5:

Dear God,

Thank you for sending us Fr. Augustine to teach us how to become better missionaries for you.

Message for missionaries, from the homily of Fr. Augustine:

"Do mission and speak if necessary."

"What I cannot practice, I should not preach. What you speak in private, you should be able to speak in public."

"A good missionary has a rosary in his pocket and prays the rosary."

"Go and show who you are, instead of telling what you want to. They will believe not what you tell but what you do. Show them how you experienced Jesus in your life so that they may also see Jesus in you. When they see Jesus in you, then you may talk about him so they will hear. They need to see before they could listen."
 
After I did this exercise, I realized that I have so much to be thankful for. There are times when I'm focused too much on my problems that I fail to appreciate my life. I realized that I should make a conscious effort to recall all the good things about my journey and how God has blessed me. I also believe we are all blessed and I would absolutely appreciate it if you could share with me your daily blessings.

If you would like to join us in creating Love Notes for God on your blog or any Social Media site, please include the hashtag #365DaysOfLoveNotes. You may also link my blog if you wish.

God bless you!