The life of a CFC Youth leader is certainly one of the most fulfilling vocations a young person can live at this stage of their life. It is without a doubt, accompanied with many heartaches, many trials, many tests; but even greater than these are the rewards that our God gives through His graces and countless blessings. This imperfect life that we choose to live is nothing short of beautiful! Why? Because a life that reflects the life of Christ is a life that illuminates. When we embody Christ, we act as a living lantern to the radiance of Christ’s light.
“No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
Mark 5:15-16, NRSV
How can we, as young missionaries, ensure that Christ’s light does not go dim? Well, the answer is in the our conditioning. As Catholics, sons of man and children of God, we are conditioned to love unconditionally. Our love is to transcend human nature. In fact, the love we are truly called to partake in is of divine nature: Agape. But because we are designed as flawed creatures, we tend to fail. We fail him when we forget to call our households. We fail him when we miss our meetings. We fail him when we are not being as excellent and as loving as we possibly could be.
In my many years in the community, I have made a lot of mistakes. And unfortunately, I will likely make more. Because we are a people that needs conditioning in order to improve, we, too, need nourishing. Within my recent prayer time, God has revealed to me this wonderful source of nourishment: The Joyful mysteries. I firmly believe that these particular mysteries were given to us to have a much deeper understanding to live a life as Christ’s servant
The Annunciation:
A life devoted to serving the Lord is truly wonderful. I tend to picture being in the exact situation Mary was in. I ask myself if I would have respond in the same Godly way Mary did: “Be it done unto me according to Thy Word”. Our “yes” must also be as resonating and submissive as Mother Mary’s. When God calls us, we must respond in full surrender! It’s never too late. Even in the midst of our journey, our posture of surrender turns in to a posture of doubt and unrest. The beauty is in his eternal embrace – we can always come back to him. In fact, he wants us to lay in his arms forever.
“Our hearts are restless until they rest in you”
St. Augustine
The Visitation:
Recently I’ve come to terms with this wonderful truth: Christ’s people are a joyful people. As my brother so eloquently put it, “We are the Easter people, not the Lenten people!”. So very profound. Sometimes we focus so much on the Passion of our Lord that we forget the joy of his Resurrection! If we live our lives according to the faith that believes He will come again, then there is no room for sadness, but only room for immense happiness!
The Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Hope – the virtue that people tend to forget behind faith, and of course, love. But what if I were to tell you that our service, without hope, is without meaning. The reason we do what we do is not simply because we are obligated by faith and love, but because we have the hope that this world will one day prostrate, like the Magi, to the coming of the Lord. Hope came to this world in an infant born in a manger. Though Christ did not yet start His ministry at the time, nor did He rise from the dead, it was in this very moment that this world was introduced to the hope that we would all be saved.
Presentation of Christ at the Temple:
In Jewish tradition, newly born sons are presented at the temple as an offering of their life to God. The presentation at the temple teaches us that serving the Lord requires great alms giving and sacrifice. We must recognize that the sacrifice of our time, treasure, and talents fulfills our obligation to live self-giving lives like Jesus Christ. When we give a part of ourselves to another person, we also give to Him. Because He sacrificed his only son, there is an indelible mark within our hearts to love our God and love one another. It is the ultimate exchange – our covenant with the Lord.
Finding of Jesus in Temple:
Personally, this is likely one of my most favorite stories in the New Testament. Here we are, Jesus Christ as a young person like you or me, preaching with such conviction and zeal leaving the scribes in such awe with his wisdom. This story is so telling because of it’s simple message to us young people that we, too, even out our young age, can inspire in the way he did if we let our lives be modeled after Christ and moved by the Holy Spirit. However, we, too, in our passion and conviction, must first and foremost recognize the anointing of our authority figures. Even though Christ was, in fact, the God-man and it was so evident that what he preaching was of divine nature, what completed his divinity was the his obedience to Joseph and Mary. It was because he learned to be obedient to them in his adolescence that in his adulthood he obeyed to God the Father to suffer and die for our sins.
“A person who has [joy] often reaches high summits. He or she is like a sun in a community.”
Blessed Mother Teresa
May we be a beacon of Christ’s light and may we find refuge and unending joy in the coming of the Lord.
Heavenly Hosts, Lamb of God, Almighty King and Father. Our lives are Yours. Allow us to love like you. Allow us the ability to find joy in these works. Allow us to be edified by this wonderful gift you gave us in the joyful mysteries. Father, may your wisdom guide us in all of our actions. May our footsteps intertwine with the steps you have already laid out for our lives. May your light continue to shine even in our suffering.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
Amen
cpm
