SPIRITUAL LIFE COMMITTEE 

MISSIONARY SERVANTS OF THE most HOLY TRINITY

Monthly Reflection: February 2003

TO BE MISSIONARIES…TODAY

Fr. Francisco J. Gomez, ST

As experienced at the General Assembly at Eufaula, Alabama, as Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity we find ourselves at a distinct moment in our history.  The voice of our Missionary Cenacle Family has different intonations and is pronounced by brothers and sisters who carry in their souls a prayer that reaches the throne of God because it touched the farthest bounds of God's creation and mourned in every human misery and rejoiced in God's goodness.

We are also at a distinct moment in our history because today's world is so very different.  Today's world is so different that the Church is challenged as never before to be a credible witness to the Gospel.  As Cenacle Family and very clearly, as Religious, this is a challenge that belongs to us.  Perhaps better said, this is a personal invitation that Our Lord places before each member of the Family and not just those who provide a ministry of authority or a select few.

Don Pedro Casaldáliga tells us in his poetic fashion that it is the "dark hour of a new dawn.  God is within sight.  This is the sight of a New Humanity.. that dares to shout the Gospel with all the vigor of one's own life."  Fr. Judge would agree.  He claimed for us an  apostolic spirit, a rare spirit, a priceless spirit, because it makes precious in the sight of God the death of those who possess and persevere in it.  It is a spirit high above that of those who are ordinarily devout.  It is a spirit so ardent, so interior, so exhaustive of self that those weak in virtue, or enslaved by attachments, think of it with dread.

With the wonderful freedom and grace of the Holy Spirit we are privileged participants in the welcoming of something new, it is the moment for "new wine skins".  No longer may we give exclusive rights to "managerial and administrative models" where order and predictability based on rational thinking considered intuition and feelings as pure distractions.  Rational agreement and logically presented decisions fit well in macroeconomic decision making of the IMF but may not be allowed to hamper the inscrutable movement of the Holy Spirit. We may also no longer give exclusive rights to rampant individualism where the partiality of an individual's perspective or need fulfillment has precedence over the absolute claim of the Reign of God.  It is time to give welcome in a committed way to a "relational interdependence".  What takes place in one part of society affects another; if there is a brother or sister who hungers then I will also be hungry; what takes place in one Cenacle affects all other Cenacles. We need to welcome "participative decision-making," a select number of individuals would never be able to provide the insights into reality, creativity and change that are most necessary today.

The General Assembly affirmed that "The gift which the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity share with the world and the church is a special relationship with the laity - The People of God. A relationship, which is unique to us because it flows from our roots: the experience of being part of the Missionary Cenacle Family. As the focus of this relationship, we choose to serve the marginated peoples of our society, fostering co-leadership in extending the reign of God and for the transformation of society in the local areas where we minister."

In the immediate horizon we quickly find ourselves in the holy season of Lent.  It is too often very easy to escape into busyness and avoid prayer, sharing of faith and the call to conversion.  Instead we would like to invite everyone not to run away but to:

-        Take time away, to be alone. 

-        Take time to be with members of the Cenacle Family, especially Missionary Servants and dare to speak about the encounter between real life and real faith.

-        Consider alone and with others the birth pains that are as close to home as your present mission assignment.

-        Consider alone and with others the spiritual heritage which you bear and how such gifts may be better placed to the service of the Lord's Reign.

-        Find encouragement in the depths of your soul and in the sharing with others, such that you might be willing to pay the price of real conversion.