When I first joined the Catholic Church, at the Easter Vigil of 2004, I went through a period of culture shock. Sometimes, perhaps because I'm only four years "in", I still get "shocked" at the differences between Evangelical and Catholic culture. Evangelicals are much more into world missions and evangelization than are Catholics. Those of us who were into missions as Evangelicals were in somewhat of a minority, but it wasn't too hard to find other like-minded individuals. As a Catholic, the only people I have found who are into missions, other than Intentional Disciples (and many thanks be to God for them!), are the individual priests who visit our parishes on World Missions Sunday, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, and the guys I spent a "come-and-see" weekend with at the Society of the Divine Word in March of 2005. I'm not in contact with any Catholic lay persons in the Detroit-metro area who are interested in world missions.
Another difference between Catholic and Evangelical cultures: when I mention to my Evangelical friends and family that I want to be a missionary, they immediately picture me preaching the Gospel to people who have never heard it. When I mention to my co-workers who are Catholic that I want to be a missionary, they immediately ask me, "Why don't you be a missionary here? There are so many people to feed!" They just don't get that I want to tell people about Christ: proclaim His life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and second coming and what these things mean for us. I want to take care of people's physical needs, of course ("Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me."), but I don't want them to miss out on the blessings that God's grace has given us through Jesus Christ, either!
Worldwide, there are 1,600 people groups with a population of 10,000 or more who are effectively unreached with the Gospel. That is, some individuals in some of these groups may have heard the Gospel and believed in and accepted it, but the vast majority of their people haven't even had the chance to hear it; and in some of these people groups, not even a single individual has ever heard the Gospel and they don’t have a chance to hear it unless someone intentionally goes to them to share the message! There are many groups with much smaller populations than this who are in the same boat!
Our Evangelical brothers and sisters have formed organizations to send missionaries to these unreached peoples. They've developed many resources, like Operation World which is listed in my links (please visit it!) to help individuals and groups pray for the nations of the world. There are missions think-tanks; missions bookstores; missions conventions; an entire course one can take on the Bible, missions, cross-cultural studies, and other issues; etc., etc., etc. And it seems we Catholics barely acknowledge that Christ ever gave us a Commission.
I'm a small voice on the web, visited by very few individuals, but I urge those of you who do read my blog, to commit to praying for God to raise up Catholic missionaries to take the Gospel to those who've never heard it; commit to giving to Catholic missionary societies, particularly those who try to meet both people's spiritual* and physical needs; commit to praying for those Catholic societies who have strayed from the truth to come back to it; read the great missionary documents of the Church (Ad Gentes, Evangelii Nuntiandi, Dominus Iesus, etc.), encourage Catholic young people to seriously pray for and learn about world missions and to consider becoming a missionary; and consider perhaps that you and your family might go as missionaries to some land where the Gospel has never been preached, or perhaps somewhere where it has been preached but the local Church is in need of the support of your personal presence.
And pray very much for a re-unification of the entire broken mystical Body of Christ into one visible Church again! We need the Orthodox, the Protestants, the Coptics, the Armenians, the Evangelicals, the Baptists, and all the rest, and the world needs the united ministry and witness of all Christians!
And if you know any Catholic lay persons in the Detroit-metro area who are into missions, please tell them about my page and to e-mail me!
*by witnessing to the truth about Christ and His Church, accurately teaching what His Church teaches.
6 comments:
Bless you for saying all this, Woodrow.
Not to discourage your efforts, but I suspect that the renewal in missions may follow the renewal in Church life closer to home. One can't teach what one hasn't learned, and we know that catechesis is still recovering from post-V2 chaos. Though I have to admit that even among the devout orthodox Catholics I know, I hardly hear anything about missions per se. Dunno.
Woodrow, I don't know why it made me anonymous right after telling me I was logged in as the sheepcat, but please delete the previous comment and edit out this remark.
Bless you for saying all this, Woodrow.
Not to discourage your efforts, but I suspect that the renewal in missions may follow the renewal in Church life closer to home. One can't teach what one hasn't learned, and we know that catechesis is still recovering from post-V2 chaos. Though I have to admit that even among the devout orthodox Catholics I know, I hardly hear anything about missions per se. Dunno.
Alan, thanks. Yes, I agree, the home Church needs renewal and this renewal will lead to a greater interest in missions and evangelization.
Regarding your comments: I don;t know how to edit them, so, until I learn, they stand as is. Sorry.
You know...you may have a Dominican Vocation...which includes a lay vocation. I myself am currently seeking membership as a Lay Dominican (which is going to involve forming a chapter in our area). I'm not sure where you are, but you may want to look into the possibility.
Here's a site that explains it:
http://www.3op.org/
I also want to share the faith, to spread it, to serve God and live a life of prayer. And so joining a "Third Order" (as they are commonly called), is a next step.
And if the Dominican charism isn't for you, there may be other opportunities in your area with Carmelites or Franciscans.
Just something to consider...that missionary zeal is something I feel, too. And I was born Catholic, and after my own return to my faith, the desire to live for Christ has not quit burning in me. I think you know what I mean.
God bless!
woodrow,
i just found your blog. one of my friends sent it to me after a night of talking about the negative unintended consequences of the reformation. I am a worship leader in an evangelical church and have recently begun a journey into catholic literature. Merton, Chesterton and Nouwen are all i have read as yet. i think you are right on when you talk about the unification of all christians. My name is adam. I don't have a blogging name
Adam, welcome to my blog, and thanks for your comments. A word about my blog: I hope you and everyone who reads it get some measure of "happiness" out of it, but the best part about my blog is all the links I have to other web sites and other people's blogs!
Also, if you ever have any questions about the Catholic faith, I'll be happy to answer them as best I can and to point you to resources that can answer them better than I can.
Post a Comment