I came to the parish of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton exactly one year ago. That first Sunday I expressed my thankfulness to almighty God and to Bishop Zarama for having sent me to serve at this parish. I will always be thankful for this privilege. On that first Sunday I also asked for your prayers and understanding. Today I would like to humbly ask you for continued understanding and prayers for me.   

Reflecting this week on the hospitality that the woman from the Second Book of Kings offered to the prophet Elisha, I recalled the common sight of regularly having guests in my parents’ house. The guests were both relatives and non-relatives. Perhaps the just reward for my mother’s goodness was not only seen during her lifetime but it may still be seen in her children. Perhaps some of my blessings are part of it.  

In today’s gospel, Saint Matthew tells us that, during a long talk that the Lord holds with the apostles, he gives them instructions before sending them on a mission and he discusses the subject of the reward for hospitality. Today is the third Sunday in a row that we reflect on this talk. The Church pairs today’s gospel with the story of the prophet Elisha and the childless woman, presenting us with an example of the reward of a prophet.

In the Church many people hear about the missionary activity and think that such thing is something that only concerns bishops, priests, and religious people. The truth is that the missionary activity of the Church belongs to all the baptized. We are all missionaries. The missionary activity of the Church is important because it is the way the Church takes the Lord and the heavenly Father to other people. As the Lord says in the gospel, “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me” (Matthew 10, 40).

The Lord calls disciples for the sake of the mission. I believe that mission is the lenses which we need to see through to understand the Lord’s words in today’s gospel. The Lord says, “Whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10, 37b). Nothing or no one should be the object of our greatest love except the Lord. Nothing and no one should prevent us from wholeheartedly participating in the missionary activity of the Church. The Lord and the mission come first.

Our participation in the missionary activity of the Church is also part of the cross we must bear. The Lord says, “Whoever does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10, 38). Each one of us has his/her own tailor-made cross. Additionally, the sufferings that would come from our participation in the missionary activity of the Church are also part of the cross we should embrace in this life out of love for the Lord. Saint Paul is one of the best examples to understand this dynamic.

The Lord says, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10, 39). Some people may freely say “no” to the Lord’s invitation to participate in the missionary activity of the Church. I would argue that the person who does that is the one who chooses to find his/her life, and who at the end accomplishes the opposite, which is losing his/her life in the perspective of God. On the other hand, the person who loses his/her life for the Lord’s sake, is the one who finds his/her life, again, in the perspective of God. Any success we may have in our personal and professional life becomes meaningless if the Lord and the missionary activity is left out of the equation.   

We all can be missionaries, even the sick and homebound. It is believed that Saint Katharine Drexel, the American religious sister, and foundress of the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, did much more with her prayers and sacrifices for her congregation and the missions during the last years of her life when she was sick and homebound than during her active ministry.    

The way we live our lives, which needs to be exceedingly holy, should be the primary way for us to be missionaries. This was the style of Saint Francis of Assisi. One simple way to be missionaries is to invite back a Catholic family who has not yet returned to the Church.

Let us humbly ask the Lord to grant us his grace to play an active role in the missionary activity of the Church.