Social Mission Reflections from the Chair
I am often surprised when through an experience, whether planned or stumbled upon, God sneaks in and leads me to a more profound understanding of what it means to live the mission of Christ. Two such experiences come to mind as I reflect on the theme of this newsletter.
Solidarity
Three years ago, I had the privilege of being selected for Called to Witness, a program sponsored by Catholic Relief Services in collaboration with the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry. Called to Witness hosts a group of youth ministry leaders to visit a developing country in order to promote a deeper understanding of solidarity and experience firsthand the work of CRS.
I had participated in several mission trips to Mexico and believed I had a solid understanding of solidarity. The mission trips provided opportunities of encountering the struggles of and building relationships with local families, and doing something to better their situation. I considered solidarity to be both embracing a people and working to change the oppressive structure within which they lived, both doing and being.
Called to Witness helped me see how limited my understanding was.
Called to Witness
In September of 2003, I journeyed to Rwanda with five other youth ministry leaders and our CRS and NFCYM hosts. After a one-day orientation with the Rwandan CRS staff, we were sent in pairs to live the next four days in a parish community.
We were given what seemed to be simple instructions regarding our parish stays. We were to listen, to witness the life of the parish community, and to see how CRS was working with the local communities. Most importantly, we were to do nothing (not give money, not give suggestions). In essence, we were to be; to be the Mary at the foot of our teacher Jesus in the presence of the Rwandan people.
I was frustrated at the end of the first day. After listening to the stories and struggles people had shared, I wanted to offer help, suggestions, anything besides just listening and being. By the middle of the second day, I found I was emotionally disengaging. It was too difficult to listen and not do. During our midday personal time, I prayed for the strength not to back down, back away, but to stay present.
That afternoon, I began to notice not the despair and struggle as before, but the hope, the perseverance and the determination of the people we met. They were not looking for me to do anything, they were happy I was just there…there to hear their story and then later be able to share it with others. They did not want me to “fix” their problems. They wanted partners to share with in order to have the best information from which to determine their own solutions.
I was deeply humbled by my experience with Called to Witness. I realized that I held an unconscious and misinformed world view: to be in solidarity—we in the first world needed to be in relationship and know the third world so we could best utilize our resources to help them.
Called to Witness showed me there is no us and them in solidarity, there is only we: coming together as equals to learn from and grow with one another; offering one another insights and understandings; finding the best course of action for each of us, in our own situations, in order to build a just and peaceful world.
Human Dignity
My other experience was stumbled upon. I have often done volunteer work with the homeless in the local communities where I have lived. Through my actions, I tried to show the homeless respect and an appreciation for who they are.
This sometimes is trickier when I encounter homeless people on the street, but I still try to be respectful and kind. There is one homeless woman who begs in the local Safeway shopping center. I often walk to the store and only carry my debit card for my shopping. After several trips when I needed to say to the woman, “Sorry I don’t have any change.” I began altering my path in order to avoid her.
The Body of Christ
One recent Sunday morning at Mass, as I stood singing the Communion song, waiting my turn to come forward and receive the body of Christ, I spotted this woman in line. I watched her come forward and receive Communion.
At that moment, tears welled in my eyes. I was overcome by sadness and remorse. I had not only avoided my sister in faith when I had altered my path, I had avoided and ignored an encounter with Christ.
For me, watching this woman receive Communion was the definition of human dignity in action. Since this experience, it has been food for my prayer and reflection; I realize accepting the teaching on human dignity goes beyond knowing it; my every action needs to honestly reflect it.
Yes, God does have a way of sneaking up on us.
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