Being Missionaries of Faith

By Judith Ayo

As member of the Parish Pastoral Council, I am exposed to many retreats and formation
activities in our parish and diocese. These activities lead me to have a meaningful and
better understanding about missionaries of the faith.

When Jesus told the apostles, “Come and follow Me,” this gave signal to the
commissioning of the first missionaries of Christ. Imbued with the power and gifts of
the Holy Spirit, the apostles and disciples were made confident in proclaiming the
Word of God leading to the birth of Christ’s Church all over the world.

Strengthening and maintaining the Christian faith is everybody’s mission and this
entails commitment and responsibility. Christ’s followers must be the “MESSAGE” of
the faith he professes. “Many are called but few are chosen,” states a mantra. This
describes a religious who enters a congregation but has not been truly commissioned. It
does not mean however, that he cannot serve the Lord anymore.

Being a missionary is a highly personalized relationship with God and this can be lived
out in many ways. The lay faithful for example, must only have a clear idea of their
calling to the sacred task. “Bloom where you are planted,” a saying goes.

In the gospel, Christ asks Peter, “Do you love me?” and Peter answers, “Yes, Lord, I
love you.” As missionaries, Peter’s answer must be ours, too - a response straight from
the heart.