November 22, 2008

I send out a heartfelt plea to everyone out there to consider taking the time to reflect on how you currently or in the future might be able to bring mission into your life.  There are so many hundreds and thousands of people out there who need our help. They may not have faces and they may not have names, but they are real people. They are just like you and I, and it’s up to us to speak and stand up for them. All it takes is one person to have his or her voice heard. Imagine if that one voice rang throughout the world and joined another voice and another . . .  How awesome would that be to give a chance to those who otherwise would have no chance at all? If we as individuals and as communities show the courage and compassion to help those in need, have our voices heard, and then have THEIR voices heard, together our world would be a much better place.  We would truly be “one family in mission.”

 For anyone out there who might be feeling down or who needs a bit of inspiration, I have a truly uplifting story to share with you.  I recently had the opportunity to attend a meeting with two incredible people who serve in the Archdiocese of St. Louism, Fr. Robert Menner, former missionary in the Latin America Apostolate, and Mr. Dan Buck, CEO of St. Patrick Center. Fr. Menner and Mr. Buck were guest speakers and they were both fabulous at this meeting! What do Fr. Menner and Mr. Buck have in common that they would both be presenting together, you might be wondering. Look no further than the title of this blog: One Family in Mission.Now, normally, this phrase brings to mind the motto of our Pontifical Mission Societies National Office in New York, a motto that refers to bringing all the international missions of the world together, as well as all the mission offices across the country. But as I listened to Fr. Menner and Mr. Buck speak that day, something hit me, and I realized that we are all “one family in mission,” a family of thousands that extends from right here in Saint Louis all the way to Bolivia and beyond. 

Mission in Bolivia

 Fr. Menner is one of our Saint Louis priest missionaries who has served in the Latin America Apostolate for nearly 30 years. He has served in Chile and Bolivia, and most recently, served at Maria Reina Parish in La Paz, Bolivia, the highest city in the world!  Fr. Menner has a great sense of humor that shines through anytime you see him, but he also has a wonderful soft-heartedness when it comes to the people of Bolivia. Since returning to Saint Louis this past summer, there have been many occasions in which Fr. Menner has described how he “walked with the people” of Bolivia. He experienced their pains and their sorrows, their joys and their triumphs, and everything in between. He lived and walked right beside them. Anybody that has heard Fr. Menner speak knows that he didn’t just talk the talk. He walked the walk. He knew how to relate to the people. Now he is able to share his first-hand experiences with us here in Saint Louis. He continually shows us how we are all children of God including all of those way up on the very highest mountaintops of Bolivia. 

Mission in Saint Louis

 

I never heard Mr. Dan Buck speak before. I had seen him on TV and knew that he did great work in the community, but it wasn’t until I saw him at this meeting that I saw the true passion and dedication that he has for St. Patrick Center.  

This amazing organization in downtown Saint Louis is such a bright light for so many of the homeless in our city, and it was an honor to hear Mr. Buck speak and share his experiences with us. Listening to his first-hand accounts of clients he has helped, as well as how other members of the Saint Louis community have reached out, was a true inspiration. It helped me to realize that there are so many people involved at St. Patrick Center – clients, volunteers, administration – where everyone has taken the dedicated step to helping others, including themselves. It’s pretty awesome. It certainly moved me to take action and help those right here in my own community. 

Two Worlds, One Family in Mission

 What did I learn from Fr. Menner and Mr. Buck? A LOT! Seeing the two of them together brought home the fact that we are all God’s children. We all live, breathe, eat, laugh, cry, and love. Not only do we all need and deserve the most basic necessities in life, but we also need and deserve love, care, compassion, and a chance at life itself.  The people of Bolivia are just like the people of Saint Louis.  Yes, our cultures may be different, and yes, we may speak different languages, but the basic needs are the same, and it is up to us to realize that we are all in this together. It is our responsibility to care for those who need our help, whether they are poor, homeless, sick, mentally ill, handicapped, tall, short, red, and blue, Saint Louisans, or Bolivians. We are all people, we are all family! 

Where Do I Go From Here?

 I believe that there are two paths that I can take: the path of ignorance or the path of hope. I will happily choose path #2, no doubt!  I think that many of us are fortunate to have the resources and abilities, or at least the basic care and concern, to follow this path and to know that we can make a difference in this world. However, even while traveling on this path myself, I have to admit that there has been a point where I have felt like I was at a fork in the road – I was sort of caught between Saint Louis and the world.  Each day in my job, I learn about all of the need that exists in this world, from Asia to Africa to Latin America. Sometimes I feel like I want to put on my cape and fly right over so that I can give help to everyone who needs it. At the same time, I know that there are people right here in Saint Louis that desperately need help, too. So – which path do I choose? Who do I help? After much reflection, I finally said to myself: I can do both.  I think this revelation (that’s the only word I can think of) developed over the course of the past few months, and it was finally solidified around the time that I heard Fr. Menner and Mr. Buck speak.  I literally saw that we can help people at home and around the world, and we don’t need to choose between the two.  There are things that we can do to help all of these people, from donating time or offering financial support, to lending a helping hand or a shoulder to lean on, to traveling into the missionary field – whether it is the inner-city right here in Saint Louis or the uppermost mountaintops of Bolivia. I realized that we each have something to offer in our own way, no matter how big or how small. So why hold back?I suppose that going from this point forward, then, my question really would be, “Where do I go from here?”  Where CAN I go from here?  The answer is simple: anywhere. Anywhere that there is a need for help, that is where I must go and that is where I am meant to be in my missionary role.