Texas Mission Council

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NEWSLETTER

October, 2003

The Texas Mission Council, a branch of the Texas Catholic Conference, exists to create mission awareness and support through the collaborative efforts of diocesan mission directors, representatives of mission organizations in Texas, and individuals and groups interested in mission.

“To say Church is to say Mission” (Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio)

What is Mission?

The traditional understanding of mission is of professional persons, generally clerics and religious, who have dedicated their lives to the work of evangelization, spreading the Gospel of Jesus, at home or abroad, either to those who have not heard it or whose faith is weak for lack of ministers.

Since Vatican Council II (1963-1965) and the pronouncements of Pope Paul VI and John Paul II, mission is understood in a much broader sense. As “the People of God”, we are all called to be missionaries, but not limited exclusively to the traditional form of missions. The idea of mission today encompasses various activities, which fall into different categories, namely: the Traditional, Corporal Works of Mercy, and Immersion.
1. The traditional view is of missionaries, Clerics, Religious and sometimes even Lay persons who are dedicated to spreading the Gospel by word and deed, either for life or for a fixed period of time, either at home or abroad. Missionary endeavors are their sole purpose in life during this period and their home communities generally support them.
2. Another view of mission is The People of God bringing material aid such as food or medicine to those in dire need, offering their time and resources in the corporal works of mercy.
3. A new vision of mission, growing out of Vatican Council II, is of the People of God who go primarily to the poor at home or abroad to simply accompany them and learn to understand an appreciate other cultures and values. Such activities, called, Mission Immersion Experience allow people to reach out to others as equals rather than as merely objects to be taught or helped as if they were little children.
* Parishes and diocese that go into an immersion experience do so to strengthen their own faith as they try to understand the nuances of how the faith is lived in other cultures. This is also a preparation for what often becomes a more formal mission relationship called Parish Twinning or Diocesan Twinning. Twinning means that the parishes or the dioceses on each side of the border share their faith and their gifts through a process of ongoing mutual exchange and celebration. Parishes in the Diocese of Houston have an active Twinning program with parishes in Mexico.

The term: “The People of God” is the formal definition of the Church as defined in the Vatican Council II documents.

Mission Stories

“God Has Just Begun Painting His Masterpiece In Piedras Negras, Mexico And in Our Souls”
These words, spoken by two young ladies, members of a group from Toronto, Canada after their Immersion Trip to Mexico, reflect the impact that an Immersion Trip can have on people of Faith who wish to share their lives and their Faith with their sisters and brothers of another culture. These young people raised their own funds in order to realize their dream. They went to Mexico with their eyes wide open for a new experience of life. These are their reflections as they returned from Mexico to their comfortable lives in Canada.
“The eleven of us set out on a journey that would unexpectedly change our lives. Our group experienced life and death situations, financial setbacks, physical exhaustion, emotional stress, unnaturally high temperatures and language barriers. Yet our spirits were always kindled and uplifted by the people we coexisted with for two weeks. We never imagined that complete strangers would touch and impact us so deeply with their strong faith, love, and unending generosity.”

“As I looked into the rising sun, I knew that my heart would forever be tied to the land and its People”.
These words from a young man coming out of a similar immersion experience summed up his understanding of the impact on his life that such a trip can have.
“I remembered Juan Manuel, Sara, Fermin, and Padre Juan. They taught me so much about giving of one’s self and not counting the cost. Padre Juan drove us anywhere we needed to be. The truck was a symbol of their selfless love. They gave us everything we needed and in turn taught us that to empty one’s self is to make room for the grace of God”.

Local Mission Projects

The Salesian Sisters of San Antonio prepared eight young missionaries this year in their annual training program in Asherton, Texas. These young missionaries will serve in Salesian missions at home and abroad.
For information on this program, Call 210-432-8011

The Sisters of the Incarnate Word of San Antonio, in the Incarnate Word Mission Program, accepted four candidates for their missions at home and in Mexico.
For information, Call 210-828-2224

The San Antonio Archdiocesan Mission Office, using a grant from the Lilly Foundation, sponsored an Immersion Trip to the Diocese of Piedras Negras for college students. Students from Our Lady of the Lake University’s Social Work school, from UTSA Campus Ministry, and from the Oblate School of Theology, “Lay Ministry Institute”, participated. With guidance from religious and lay persons on the border and in Mexico, the students visited and interacted with children from four different “Centers for Children” as well as spending time in a “Food Distribution Center”.
For information, Call 210-734-2620 #144

On a lighter note, Maryknoll missionaries tell their stories.

Emanuell, a poor farmer, came to our door at the rectory of Isenye village in Tanzania, where my husband and I work as Maryknoll lay missioners and administered the local parish. Assuming that he was selling the five-pound bucket of sorghum grain that he had in his hands, I asked the price. He replied, “I’m not selling anything. This is from my field and I bring it as a gift to God in thanksgiving for my harvest”.
Margo Cambier, MMAF

We did not have a church or anyplace to worship in our parish in Siberia, (Russia), so we invited the small number of Roman Catholics in the city of Khabarovsk to our apartment. Just as everyone arrived, a local government official knocked on the door. Seeing all the people, he whispered, “In order to have such a large gathering, the doorway must be a certain width, and this one may be too narrow”. We stood in silence for a moment, until I asked, “who determines that?” He replied, “I’m the one, and I say it’s wide enough. Goodbye.” Robert Reiley, MM

The next Texas Mission Council Newsletter will come out on December 1, 2003. If our readers know of short, mission stories, please send them to - Awanda Whitworth, mklawandaw at aol.com.