Missionary Servants 100th. celebration. This coming Monday at 7:00 pm Fr. Michael Barth, S.T. will be joining us through zoom (meeting ID: 986-3267-7956). The question we are asking him is quite simply, “what does it mean for Missionary Servants to celebrate a 100-year history?” I am certain that he will have an important perspective to share with all of us. He is our current Major Superior, or in the language of our Congregation, he is our Custodian. He has the bird’s eye view of not just the Congregation but also a Church-wide perspective.
From my limited perspective, a 100-year history brings to mind several code words. The first is thanksgiving. Our founder, Fr. Thomas Augustine Judge, a Vincentian priest, suffered through many a difficult moment, but the burning in his heart, the gift of the Holy Spirit for mission, would not allow him to give up. What made the difference was the support of so many women and men who were also touched by this burning of the Spirit. It made it possible to become even more zealous in the doing of the work of God. My thanksgiving, therefore, is directed at Fr. Judge and his courage, but most important, Missionary Servants need to be very grateful for all the women and men who journeyed with him. The mission of the Lord can never be the work of one individual, it needs to be the goal of the community.
The second is renewal. One hundred years is a long time. We need to take our pulse and check our vitals. Is there life in us for mission? Is a transfusion necessary? The answer to both questions is yes. There is life for mission in the Missionary Servants. We may be a small group, but it is darn impossible for us to give up! However, a transfusion is always necessary. We need the nourishment that comes from prayer, from the discernment that keeps us focused on what the Lord is asking, specifically of us as Missionary Servants. We also need to be attentive to the signs of the times as revealed by the many with whom we share our mission. We will not be “relevant” if we are not attentive to you, women and men, that God has placed on the same path as ourselves. I dare say that it’s a win-win for all of us. By becoming a community, we support one another’s vocation, born of Baptism, and together do God’s will.
The third is prophetic. This is also embedded in all of us as Church by way of our Baptism. Because we are disciples of Christ, it is essential that the entire Church be prophetic in its way of life. This has to do with all of us, Our Lady of Soledad, Valley Missionary Program, and Missionary Servants. Our way of life needs to be more than “ordinarily devout”. In our way of life, there needs to be clarity in what we say yes to and by extension, what we say no to. We say yes to the worship of our Triune God in the beauty of a human family that bears God’s image and likeness. We say no to idolatry, especially the worship of fear, power and, possessions. We say yes to the humble reality that we will be loved first in order to be able to love others. We say no to meritocracy that dictates that only those who merit are worthy of the love of God. We say yes to a sense of community that is courageous. We say no to that “worldly” tendency to divide ourselves between “them and us” and to the pursuit of entitlement. We are not here to be served but to serve.
Father Francisco Gómez, S.T.