| What is a Missionary |
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 A missionary is someone who has had a profound experience of Jesus Christ and who feels called to share Christ in a extraordinary way. It is a person who feels the need to be conformed more and more to Christ in order to be Christ to others; to be a bearer of the Good News that Jesus Christ proclaimed, as well as to bring about either the first knowledge of Christ to the ignorant, or to deepen the already present relationship with Christ to the whole world, either in other countries, the jungle, or in your very state, town and even own home.
Jesus Christ himself gave the COMMAND "GO out into the whole world, andpreach the good news," and he also said "Freely you have received,Freely, you also, must give". A missionary feels this call as a deepdesire that is unquenched by anything else other than missionary work.As St Augustine said "My heart is restless until it rests in you myGod" . In Jeremiah 15:16 it says "When your words came, I consumedthem; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, OLord God Almighty". A A missionary is balanced emotionally speaking, practices catholic religous principles and devotions, lives a good moral life and lives in a spirit of mercy. They also have a spirit of humility and simplicity. It is a person who feels the need to be conformed more and more to Christ in order to be Christ to others. They are a good member of their family, a good christian, and a good citizen who cares and serves their own community and parish so that they can go on to serve communities throughout the world.
Who CAN'T BE a missionary?
Someone who has not had a profound experience of Jesus Christ, and does not have a "personal relationship" with Him. The reason why is that at some moment in ministry they would loose the battle of humility and simplicity,thus, making way for selfishness, egotism and pride. What a missionary is NOT... It does not mean to go out and solve the worlds problems. It does not mean to end hunger, poverty, violence, greed, apathy, atheism, or any other social or moral ill. It means to be a bearer of not only the Good News that Jesus Christ proclaimed, but to bring about either the first knowledge of Christ to the ignorat, or to deepen the already present realtionship with Christ to the whole world, either in other countries, the jungle, or in your very state, town and home.
A NOTE FROM MARIO about being a missionary and the quote "FIND a NEED FILL a NEED" To me, on top of what the fundamentals of being a missionary are, it is about, as the movie "Robots" says, "Find a need, fill a need". This is basically the motto I observe in my missionary capacity. It is not a mission dedicated soley to the poorest of the poor, or to preaching the gospel as an evangelist, or bringing medical or physical healing to the ailing as a health practitioner, nor is solely about youth outreach and ministry, outreach to the elderly or just to marriages and families, or about being a non-payed worker on Hollywood films or a logistics coordinator of large Christian events, or being a pilgrimage tour guide to religous sites such as Rome Lourdes, or events with the Pope such as World Youth day, neither is it a whole dedication to being in a hermitage in fasting, prayer, and silence.
Its..."Find a Need, Fill a Need"! It is the marriage and balance of all these areas. I fill the missionary role in all the areas just mentioned throughout the year. It is a blend of outreach to the poor; the elderly and infirmed; evangelizing by speaking to large crowds; service work to families who need an "extra hand" around the house and with the kids; using my medical training to help people with all sorts of pain from back pain to migraines etc.; being a for-hire logistics coordinator/bi-lingual liason and producer for movies around the world; working as a fun pilgrimage tour guide to youth and teens worldwide; and keeping it all together with an intense hermitage experience with nothing but solitude, fasting and prayer; all of this together with frequenting the sacraments, frequent spiritual direction with a priest, and a radical Christian lifestyle!!
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