Being a missionary

Being a missionary

Who is a missionary? A missionary is a person who gives his 100% for the kingdom of God, to spread the Good news. The word missionary in today’s world is a noble idea many say we want to go, but no one gets up to go. When the thought of being a missionary passes our mind the first thing we must keep in mind is the parable of the window who put two coins in the donation box and that’s all she had, she gave her everything we to should be able to give our everything.

Teresa of Child Jesus never went to the missions than why is she the patron of missionaries? There is difference between being and having a missionary sprit. Though Teresa did not go to the missions she spent her whole life in praying for missionaries and she had a special place for the missions in her heart. A good example of being a missionary is our very own saint Francis Xavier. He was a man who spent his whole life in spreading the Good news and baptizing many. We all have the spirit of a missionary through our baptism. As the pope says our catholic church is a missionary church. It’s high time now that we become missionaries. This call of becoming a missionary is not only for priests and religious but for all people of God. There are so many young and old alike who zealously spread the good news in faraway places where people have not known Christ.

There are so many people in our localities that have not received Christ, so why go far and wide? It’s a very valid point it’s true that there are people around us who do not know Christ. Imagine if early Christians or apostles had restricted themselves only to Jerusalem till they converted every Jew, would there be Christianity in India? St. Thomas the apostle would have never reached our culturally rich India.

Can I become a missionary? Yes! All of us are called to be missionaries but there are a few qualities which help in making of a good missionary. A missionary primarily needs to be committed, sacrificing and needs to be a self-giving person(generous). But what if I fail? It’s better to try and fail rather than not to try at all. We are afraid of failing and making fun of ourselves therefore we don’t try out in the bargain we don’t grow. Its better people laugh at us because we try and fail rather than we sit and cry because we have not done something we wanted or had the desire to do. As someone said “missionary is a person whose heart is bigger than him”.

I have the desire of becoming a missionary but I am not confident, so how do I prepare myself? Following are few points suggested to me by a man of experience and above all a man of God. I don’t want to keep these rich thoughts as my personal treasure.

First, you need to discern a missionary vocation very carefully.  There are some qualities that you need to ensure before making such a choice.  Immediately, a few of them would be:

·         That you are strong in your vocation and that your religious life is firmly based on faith motives - not on emotional enthusiasm or human motives such as feeling good, enjoyable community life, security, etc.  To be missionary is to be able to withstand lots of struggles - the same as for all of us, except that as missionary it is in a foreign country!

·         That you are open minded and able to adjust and immerse yourself in a culture (language, food habits, values, mentalities) that is different from your own.

·         Generosity in offering yourself for a people that are not your own!

·         Ability for much sacrifice as such a vocation takes you away from family and friends.

These are some of the factors on the basis of which I would base my decision for choosing a missionary vocation.