God is not obsessed with your sins, He is obsessed with you.
1 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Love keeps no records of wrong.” His love looks at our goodness and beauty more than our anything else. He is not obsessed at keeping lists of our sins but remembering all the good things we have done. Are we obsessed with what others have done wrong or what others have done right?
Prayers can be good reminders. When we pray, we are reminded of the things we value and the people we love. We are also reminded of the good things we should do and the bad things we should not do. A prayer by Saint Ignatius of Loyola better reflect on this:
Lord, teach me to be generous;
Teach me to serve you as you deserve;
To give and not to count the cost;
To fight and not to heed the wounds;
To toil, and not to seek for rest;
To labor, and not to ask for reward –
except to know that I am doing your will.
Am I generous and self-giving? Am I courageous and diligent? Am I focused and humble? Lord, grant us the grace to be like Jesus. Amen.
I am now in the Maritimes, with plans to have visits and conduct CLP whenever, wherever and whoever is available. We planned to cover 3 areas, PEI, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. We almost got left out by the plane, because we never heard that they changed gate and our names were already broadcasted 🙂 …from Halifax we drove to Prince Edward Island and right away started a CLP. The CLP went well for the weekend and while we were attending mass just before dedication of the new members, we manage to met some young adults in the church and we talked about CFC and its Christian Life Program and they were interested, they agreed to have the CLP. So right after we finished the CLP dedication ceremony, we drove to another place for more or less an hour to start another CLP. We finished the second CLP early evening yesterday and praise God, the first and second CLP was victoriously finished with inspired new members for CFC, HOLD and SFC.
We have born again participants who after hearing all the talks shared that they wanted to go back to the catholic church already. And when we conducted the other CLP, we found out that our participants were actually at time finding it difficult attending masses because of distance and they have no car (these are migrant workers). We shared with the Bishop when we had a courtesy call to him and added that others are actually inclined to go to other denominations because there leaders pick them up. The good bishop said right away that he needs the addresses of this places and he will inform the priests and asks some Catholics to pick them up to go to church. The bishop further said, “CFC is a blessing to the diocese, share CFC to all parishes!”
Now, we are going to conduct Household Leaders Trainings. It’s funny because we can actually do it since everyone has no work now because there is a snow storm, so yes the storm becomes a blessing in times like these!
If there’s one reaffirmation of this trip so far, it is that, when it comes to mission we should seize every moment and opportunity that we can share Christ’s love. When we had the 2 CLPs, most of them shared how they were thirsty and hungry for Gods message. We can never wait for another day to conduct CLP, have one on ones, and assemblies because there are always people in need and one delay and one cancellation can have eternal consequences.
Tomorrow we will head to Halifax and so far this mission has been crazy beautiful because of a Crazy Beautiful God! 🙂
A message from the Lord that might be of good use for reflection:
“My child, everyone must take a reasonable care for himself. In time of temptation arouse yourself, Â warn yourself, guard yourself and avoid idleness. No matter how much you do for others, do not neglect yourself altogether. Beware of too much talking. Whenever possible, try to be alone with Me. Take advantage of My presence. YOU POSSESS HIM WHOM THE WHOLE WORLD CANNOT TAKE FROM YOU. I am worth more than everything else put together.” p.64 “My Daily Bread”
Thank you Jesus. Amen.
Our call demands union with God, because if it is God who calls us, union in Him is the way to know Him whom we are proclaiming or else we are proclaiming someone we do not know. Union with God means detachment from everything that prevents it otherwise.
Saint John of the Cross once said, “The soul that is attached to anything however much good there may be in it, will not arrive at the liberty of divine union. For whether it be a strong wire rope or a slender and delicate thread that holds the bird, it matters not, if it really holds it fast; for, until the cord be broken the bird cannot fly.”
There is always the danger of easily getting impatient in mission, impatient on the growth either area or leaders, impatient in mission assignments and impatient on oneself. Mission had been defined as a tasked or a special and specific assignment given by someone. For Christians, it is an answer to the call of Jesus to spread the gospel of love. Therefore when we put ourselves in mission, we put ourselves in the one who sends us. This means we don’t have control over our assignments; we go wherever He sends us, even last minute. Planning is good for mission, however it can also hinder the spontaneity of the Spirit when one becomes so rigid about it. What is important is we are available when opportunity for mission comes.
I think that’s the beauty of mission, we trust in the goodness of the one who sends us, knowing fully well that it will be for the greater good of the mission of Christ. (Take note: not even thinking for our own good.)
Denying oneself, once emotions and feelings, even personal choices will be of big help, if we want to stay sane in mission. After all, that is what Christ had practiced and we ought to follow. More attachments mean more things to let go and the less objective we can be in mission. Less attachments means fewer things to let go and more objective we can be in mission.
This year we are celebrating 20 years of CFC Youth and SFC. It is truly a year to celebrate and give thanks to God who had been faithful to us all these years. I was asked one time what’s my dream for the community for the next 20 years, to which I replied, “My dream is for each member of our community to have culture of mission. Every member will go on at least 2 year mission once in their life.”
For CFC Canada my dream is for us to become a factory of missionaries, graduate from being a mission receiver and become a full pledge mission sender.
Dreams do come true, before there was no “true north” now we are true north, before there was no MVs now we have MVs, and before there was less FTPW applicants now we have a surplus of recommended missionaries for FTPW training. Formation track is fully implemented and is making a difference in the lives of our members. We are in the midst of breakthroughs in true north mission! Our challenge is to pass on the right culture, mission and vision down to personal level so each of us can make it our own.