Happy Mission Sunday!

Greetings from Wau!! 

Today was ‘mission Sunday’ here in South Sudan (and I think everywhere else too)! It was a good day here in Wau… we had a special collection that would go to benefit the mission as well as a sort of fair after the Arabic mass. Many of the parish families came out to help support the mission and have fun winning prizes for games such as ring toss, knock the bottles off the stand and a soccer passing game (I don’t know if these games have real names… but they’re basically the same ones you would find in the US…) I won just 1 game, dropping a coin into a cup in water (reminded me of the ones that Taco Bell always used to have!! Taco Bell offered burritos or tacos, we offered biscuits… but now that I won it here, I’m ready to go back and win some burritos!!)

But the day made me think about missions in general. Even though my ‘job title’ would be Catholic missionary, or ‘Salesian Lay Missioner’ but I don’t think mission Sunday is really talking specifically about people in South Sudan, or even those people described (in the traditional sense) as ‘missionaries’ in the US. I think it is talking about every person who believes in Christ! Every human has a mission, and thus, every person is a missionary! It is extremely important to find your mission in life. Christ called us to serve… not necessarily overseas, or with an official organization, but He called us to serve our brothers and sisters and our community! It is tough to call ourselves Christians if we are not living and working for a mission to serve others and extend His kingdom in the place we are at.

Pray about your mission. If someone asks you what makes you a Christian, and your best answer is “Because I go to Church on Sunday” or “Because I believe in Jesus” …FIND YOUR MISSION! Those are both extremely important things. And yes, our unified belief in Jesus IS what makes us Christian… It is like asking, ‘What makes you American?’ and answering, ‘I was born there’ when there are infinitely many more answers (ill mention some of the cliché ones like ‘freedom’ or ‘loving baseball’ or ‘apple pie’). Our faith needs to be more than the technicalities! Our faith needs to be a lifelong passion or mission. Something that draws us AND others closer to Christ. Below is an amazing quote about love:

“Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, falling in love in a quite absolute final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you will read, who you know, what breaks your heart, what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decided everything.”

-Father Pedro Arrupe, S.J.

That love that Father Pedro is talking about will answer what your mission is!! Fall in love, and make that your mission. Your mission will be what you put your heart into. Yes, we will all need to work and most of us will have families, but we must also find our mission as Christians! How will we glorify God? How will we bring others closer to Christ? Saying you believe in Jesus and going to Church can’t answer these questions fully! (I must admit… I am a bit spoiled, my job is my mission… and even if I have bad days, I still have to live my mission! J)

So, on this fabulous mission Sunday… FIND YOUR MISSION, fall in love with it, and LIVE IT EVERYDAY!! J

Ps. An extra prayer for missionaries in South Sudan is also greatly appreciated today!! J