True North Missionaries Journal

Historically I’ve been a person with a crazy schedule who would be out of the house all day every single day. This type of lifestyle exposed me to many types of situations in which the Lord would reveal a portion of His beautiful creation, that is essentially existence itself, to me through a seemingly infinite number of ways.

He would reveal to me amazing scenes witnessed in coffee shops.
He would reveal to me breathtaking views as I would stroll around the city.
He would reveal to me the preciousness and value in each living thing through an interaction with an elderly customer.

Lately I’ve been on a strict budget so I’ve been finding myself staying in more often than not. My view of the world has then been limited to my house and what my eyes can reach by looking out through any of my windows.

This is my current circumstance.

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It’s important for me to believe that any individual, no matter what their circumstance is, can be a witness to an infinite number of alluring scenes in which they are able to experience God’s greatness.

Tomorrow after work I’ll head home and stay in, trusting that God will reveal Himself to me just by staring at the decidedly unremarkable dynamic range of the whites found on my ceiling.

Jesse R.
“I Am, and We are Missionaries”

I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. – Joshua 1:9

Being part of God’s family inherently makes us soldiers of His army. Each soldier has a specific role in the army. Some soldiers are in the front line, others are air dispatchers, some are medics, while a handful are drivers. But each soldier must carry out his or her responsibilities to the best of their abilities in order for the army to succeed.

The community is also an army for the Lord. Each ministry has a specific task. The soldiers of that ministry carry out their roles and effectively build up the Church of the home and build up the Church of the poor.

Let us be strong and courageous in our mission area. As a chapter head, cluster head, program head, household head or member of another ministry, may we always be engaged in the mission so that God’s will may be accomplished through us.

 

Just came from another weekend away from home, in the last 5 weekends, I’ve been out of town for 4 weekends and for the remaining weekend, it was a full packed weekend, that it seemed I was away for the weekend anyway. The truth is, service can be draining and we need time to recharge and refocus on who  are doing this for.

 
It just hit me that I haven’t been able to visit the Blessed Sacrament in Adoration as much as I should in the last 5 weeks. The busy schedule has likewise taken the front seat from a quality prayer time. The Lord’s message to me just now is: STOP serving me for now, LOOK at My Eyes and LISTEN to what I have to say to you.

 
And early in the morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there. ( Mark 1:35)

And immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the multitude away. And after bidding them farewell, he departed to the mountain to pray. (Mark 6:45-46)

And they came to a place called Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.” And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground, and began praying. ( Mark 14:32-34)

And when day came, He departed to a lonely place; and the multitudes were searching for Him, and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from going away from them. ( Luke 4:42)

But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. ( Luke 5:16)
And it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. ( Luke 6:12)

Just reflecting on the weekend, it seems like I’ve been getting glimpses or signs rather on people that I really can be thankful for that I’ve been able to come across in this community.

So, this is Nathan Guevara. East Cluster Music Ministry for the Pacific, normally playing in the band for every big event, THIS TIME, leading our Holy Families in the community together in prayer with the Holy Family in heaven.

Praise God.

I remember specifically being there to help with my usual YCOM duties, but this time no camera, so I was just on the side helping when I could. But during him leading the worship, I was very drawn to how genuine he was in prayer.

It was a beautiful reminder that worship involves the mind AND body that Christ has given us, and his posture reminded me, whenever, where ever, our Lord deserves our all. I’m sure it was beautiful even to the parents who aren’t  a part of the community yet.

Praise God for Nathan and the counter part he serves, and the community he serves, and his family he serves etc etc.. Being able to serve with him in the past and see him grow, is really affirming to the simple gestures of our yes’.

Beautiful event. Praise God for the community reaching out to everyone and to everything.

Your spirit is so strong here in the Pacific, Lord.

Deo Gloria

I’ve recently been thinking a lot about the family… my family now, the family I will have in the future (God-willing, of course)… and the families I know now… How does God manifest in our families? How does He fill our homes?

As I walked up towards the Altar to receive the Holy Eucharist, I could not help but smile at what I saw. Jacob, the son of one of the leaders in the Community, was walking in line on his own (because his parents were singing in the choir) just to receive a blessing from the Priest. What possesses a child of only 5 or 6 years to know when to go up to receive the blessing in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist?

Then there’s Francis, the son of our Area CFC Youth CC’s, who subconsciously begins to sing LIVELOUD songs as soon as he hears them. And when we worship, he sings the songs with us, or hums it like a record on repeat afterwards.

It is all the works of the Holy Spirit! This is why the mission in CFC truly affirms me! “Families in the Holy Spirit renewing the face of the earth.” Our families don’t need to stay broken. In the Holy Spirit, we mend the brokenness in the love of Christ. Children (even all children of God) learn by example, and the children of our leaders truly reveal this. It is through moments like this that I am given hope – hope in the mission, and hope that such holiness can grow so deeply in a family… And it is in moments like this that I can see that there is no limit to holiness.

There is no limit to how holy someone can be…
There is no limit to where that holiness grows and roots itself…
There is no limit on how old one needs to be to be holy…

I can even see this in my family. It began with worshipping together as a family prayer, and now we’re praying the Rosary every night, and sometimes, we go on “Adoration dates” together, no matter how late it is! And I hope all of this is something I can bring into a bigger family – the Community of CFC Youth… and maybe my own family one day!

In time… in His time…

All I know is that from the moment we came into existence, there began a similar call in each and every one of us… a call to holiness, and it is in this holiness that faith, hope, and love grows. Thank you, Lord… for a Community that shows us that all of this is possible…

Thank you, Lord… for hope.. in holiness…

I live in a world that is so deeply rooted in social media. If I look at one corner, someone’s on their smartphone, and when I look another way, someone’s on their laptop (often times on a Mac… PC for the win!) If I turn around, chances are, the person next to me is checking Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Instagram, or some other form of social media. Although I am not exactly tech savy or up-to-date with all social media, I have been exposed to enough to make me reflect…

We need to be aware of how we portray ourselves. I have to admit, there were times in the past where I have posted useless things or slightly inappropriate comments thinking, “It’s just for jokes anyways,” or “people know how I’m like anyways!” What I choose to expose in one moment, a couple seconds, a few minutes, or one picture (or more), one post or a status becomes a piece of my life. Once it’s up on social media, it’s exposed for all to see, and that includes people I don’t know. For some, it would be an update, and to others, it would be a first impression… Regardless, it’s an exposure of my interests and my life.

 

Life isn’t selfie. It is not something we can capture in one moment and pass it off the next. It can’t be edited, nor can it be copied, pasted, cropped, erased, or designed by human hands. It isn’t Photoshop. I may not know much about social media, but I do know that life is about living. And as a missionary… as a Catholic… as a daughter of God, I must be as aware of what I post and how I portray myself as delicately as I make myself aware of life. Life is beautiful… it is delicate… it is fragile, and if I am to expose a piece of this fragility with one shot, I want – wholeheartedly – to do so with God in mind.

Carrying this in mind, I now catch myself thinking, “Am I portraying God? Am I portraying the real me? Or am I portraying a joke?”… “WHAT DO OTHERS SEE IN ME? WHAT DOES GOD WANT TO SEE IN ME?” And when I think about this, I find myself becoming more aware and being more careful with myself. A picture can be edited, but a picture is not alive. I am. And God is alive in me.

“I AM WHO I AM.”
(This is what God said to Moses as He anointed him to deliver His people from bondage)

If we are made in the image and likeness of God, then we should use all that we are – all that we say, all that we do – in ALL AREAS OF OUR LIVES to be like Christ… To be YOUNG PEOPLE BEING AND BRINGING CHRIST WHEREVER WE ARE. WE SHOULD BE WHO WE ARE. If I am made in the image and likeness of God, then I must portray the image and likeness of God in Everything, with Everything, and for Everything.

If God was a Photographer, Videographer, Blogger, Vlogger, or some media/ social media expert, would He be happy with the shots He takes of me, including the candids?

Lord, may You be my strength and guide me as You fervourously mold me more and more in Your image and likeness. May You be the strength of all humanity in persevering through all our hardships, downfalls, and failures so that through them, we may find You more and more in each “shot” and in each day… in every living moment. 

Come Holy Spirit, fill us as You will…
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us…