Who is a missionary disciple?

Who is a missionary disciple? Lessons I learned from missionary disciples in the Amazonia

As I concluded my time at the Vicariate Apostolico de San Jose de Amazonas, I had the joyful opportunity to gather with other Vicariate missionaries for a time of prayer, fellowship, and workshops. At the invitation of Bishop Jose Javier Travieso Martin C.M.F and his vicar general Fr. Cesar Luis, nearly 60 missionaries gathered for a 4-day gathering at the heart of the Amazon. The witness of these missionaries from different parts of the world, who have significantly impacted the Amazon, will stay in my heart.  To give a context, there are only 15 priests in the diocese, most of whom are missionaries from abroad. (They have two transitional deacons in formation and one seminarian for the diocese). There are around 25 religious sisters and around 20 lay missionaries. These missionaries of all different ages have spent years working in the Amazon to bring the joy of the gospel to others. From my experience with them and my time in the Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose de Amazonas, I wanted to share what I learned about who a missionary disciple is.^[1]

A missionary disciple is one chosen by God not for something but for someone.^[2]

It was abundantly clear from my interactions with the missionaries that they did not choose or decide to come to the Amazonia to be missionaries. Instead, they knew God chose them, took the first step to find, love them, and invite them to the Amazonia region. Their humility in accepting God's call was evident in numerous stories of missionaries searching for meaning and purpose through various initiatives but ultimately finding their fulfillment in Christ. Paraphrasing one of the missionaries who told me, “Christianity is not my search for God but God’s search for me.”  

              

It was also very evident that their identity and mission were not necessarily for something but for someone. The missionaries in the Amazonia did not see what they did in their different mission sites as some work they did. So many of them are involved in various inspirational pastoral initiatives like working for the rights of Indigenous people, fighting against childhood and sexual abuse, preserving the Amazon forest, working in the Ministry of Health, and numerous others. But in all this, they do not see their “work” as something they do; rather, it’s what naturally comes out as being set apart for someone – Christ. It is their love for Christ that animates them to bring the Joy of the Gospel to others, which has many different forms and shapes. Their work is not just a task but a transformative force that brings the Joy of the Gospel to others.

A life of self-gift^[3]

The famous John Paul II thought, echoed in the 2nd Vatican Council document, Gaudium et Spes,” Man cannot find himself except through a sincere gift of himself to others,” was palpable in the life of the missionaries. I met many missionaries who have spent 30+ years in the Amazon, giving their lives entirely to Christ and his people without expecting anything in return. Quietly, these missionaries lived among the people in harsh conditions, without electricity and with no access to a wide range of foods, but they lived among the people as the people. Their resilience in these conditions is truly admirable. I recall fondly talking to one religious sister who has been in the Amazonia for over 30 years and how she felt after 30 years when she shared, “I don’t think I have changed anything here, but my time here has changed me, allowing me to grow closer to the love of Christ!” This is who a missionary disciple is: one who makes a gift of his/her life and thus finds who he/she is.

It’s not an option but an integral part of the Christian identity^[4] ­

The Amazonia missionaries saw their calling to missionary discipleship not as an option but as an integral part of who they were. They had no other option than to respond to their call. I met numerous people who started in Amazonia with a couple of years of commitment but then realized this is where they are meant to be and have been there for 10+ years. This commitment does not come out of a bold show of fortitude but instead comes from a conviction placed in the heart of the missionary disciple that he is one called by Christ to live out the joy of the gospel in a particular way.

Filled with joy and gratitude^[5]

In listening to the sharing of some missionaries who have been there for so many years, the joy they encountered in being with the people of Amazonia, the joy of being together as one body of Christ was evident. Our gathering was filled with laughter, music, and dance. Various individuals shared beautiful stories of how joyful and grateful they were for being with the people of Amazonia. There was never a moment of moaning about the situation they were in. Instead, it was stories of how much each individual's heart was moved, how much they learned, and how much they received. It was never about them but always about the other.

Enlivened by the Holy Spirit^[6]

A missionary disciple is one who, in each moment, comes in front of the Lord and asks the Lord – what am I called to do? This is one realization I had during my time at Amazon. It's not about what I want to do, but instead, I come in front of the Lord with all my desires, challenges, hopes, and dreams and ask God, what am I called to do? Through the workings of the Holy Spirit in my heart, I then move forward to begin my journey, constantly coming back to God and moving forward with the Holy Spirit. This is also the adventure of missionary discipleship, the adventure of not knowing what's in front of you but trusting in what God has in store for you. The missionaries of the Amazon are ones who, every day in their lives, come before the Lord with all that’s in their heart and ask the Holy Spirit to lead them. This animation by the Holy Spirit allows the Church to flourish in the Amazon, to bring about creativity amid the challenges they live in, and to share the joy of the gospel in the most beautiful ways.

In my time in the Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose de Amazonas in Santa Clotilde and other places I visited, the people I was with and the missionaries I encountered all showed me the heart of Christ, the joy of the gospel, and what it means to live out a life of missionary discipleship.

^[1] Before I had gone to the Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose de Amazonas, Fr. Isaia Birollo CS (a Scalabrini priest and former superior general of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo) suggested reading the “Aparecida document” to understand better the church in Latin America and the Amazon. The 5^th General Conference of Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, which took place in Aparecida, Brazil, was opened by Pope Benedict XVI. The final document was published by Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (Pope Francis) as Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires and Cardinal Manuel Fernandez, Archbishop of La Plata (Now Prefect for the Doctrine of the Dicastery of Faith). One can see the inspiration for the landmark Apostolic exhortation, the Joy of the Gospel, Evangelii Gaudium, in the “Aparecida” document. https://www.celam.org/aparecida/Ingles.pdf

 

^[2] Aparecida Document, Chapter 4, the vocation of missionary disciple to holiness.

^[3] Aparecida Document, Chapter 4, the vocation of missionary disciple to holiness.

^[4] Ibid    

^[5] ibid

^[6] ibid