We are called to be everyday missionaries
By Michelle Walsh, Youth Speak News
If you were to ask me two years ago what came to mind when I heard the word missionary, I would have probably said it was a person who dedicated their lives to going overseas and helping the poor while telling them about Jesus. This was not something that I could see myself doing, and I did not think I was a missionary, or could ever be one.That is, until the summer of 2009 when I was accepted to participate in Catholic Christian Outreach’s IMPACT mission in Saskatoon. During the mission, my view of a missionary changed as I learned that, through our baptism, we are called to be missionaries in our everyday lives.
“The Church on Earth is by her nature missionary since, according to the plan of the Father, she has as her origin the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit,” says the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We were encouraged to ask God for a missionary heart, longing for people who do not know Jesus or have fallen away from the Church to enter into a meaningful relationship with Him.
Since I have returned, I have been able to put my missionary heart into action. My friend and I started a Catholic Society on campus and we began to lead small group Bible studies. I began to build relationships with people, recognize where they were at in their spiritual lives and share my experience of God with them, one person at a time.
Through my experiences, I have come to realize the importance of missionary activity in the lives of youth today.
When faithful young Catholics reach out to their peers, they can have a significantly greater connection with them than anyone else. Pope John Paul II addressed the youth at World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto by saying, “Christ needs your youth and your generous enthusiasm to make His proclamation of joy resound in the new millennium.” As youth, we have a responsibility to bring the message of Christ to a generation that is searching for purpose in all the wrong places. We can do this through our actions, our defence of the faith and by sharing our experience of God’s love.
When we truly live out our missionary call, our faith is strengthened and flourishes in a way that is not possible when we don’t evangelize. When I make a conscious effort to reach out to those who don’t know Christ, my relationship with God becomes vibrant, dynamic and alive. When we evangelize, we must continually reaffirm our beliefs, clarify our knowledge about the faith, rely on the Holy Spirit and become convinced of our message if we are going to share it effectively.
St. Catherine of Siena said, “If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world ablaze.” If we begin to live our lives with boldness, zeal and a heart for the lost, who knows how great an impact we can have on the world.
(Walsh, 21, is a primary and elementary education student at Memorial University in St. John’s, Nfld.)
Please support The Catholic Register
Unlike many media companies, The Catholic Register has never charged readers for access to the news and information on our website. We want to keep our award-winning journalism as widely available as possible. But we need your help.
For more than 125 years, The Register has been a trusted source of faith-based journalism. By making even a small donation you help ensure our future as an important voice in the Catholic Church. If you support the mission of Catholic journalism, please donate today. Thank you.
DONATE