Faith Without Action Is Dead

by Guest Contributor

It was just another Sunday. The only difference was that the church had just re-opened the week before, after a long lockdown because of the pandemic. That Sunday was the celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi. As usual I was looking forward to seeing new faces in my Parish. (Actually it is not a parish; it is much more of a community.) I always hope that the Church will be full of the children of GOD and to see His chosen ones come back to worship Him, to praise Him, to seek His face, and to pray to Him.

My Parish always makes an announcement after the end of the mass. We ask the parishioners to raise their hands if it’s their first time here and we will welcome and invite them to join in the fellowship with the rest of group as we would like to get to know them, because everyone matters.

That Sunday, after the mass, everyone was busy catching up after such a long lockdown, and some were talking to the new comers. But I saw a young man who was just about to leave quietly. So I approached him because I wanted him to feel that he is part of the community. I always like having conversations with anyone. Nobody is insignificant and we belong to one another.

I like talking to strangers and welcoming them with good intention. I want to let them know they are most welcome in the church and that they are part of our big family in Christ.

I am a Lay Missionary of the St Columban’s Mission Society. And I believe this is a calling, a purpose specifically designed by God for me to fulfill.

Pope Francis once said, we must reach out. Faith without action is dead. So I do what I can to please the LORD. As the Lord says, extend hospitality to strangers (Romans 12:13), and the alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you. He also says you shall love the alien as yourself for you were aliens in the land of Egypt (Leviticus 19:34). And in 3 John 1:5, the Lord says, “Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you.”

What I have been doing is quite simple – I pass on the love I have received from the good Lord and try to make the world a better place by showing the love of GOD.  I always want to be faithful to GOD and to do what he says as I walk together with my companions.

Prayer for Missionaries

Lord our God,
loving Father,
we humbly pray to you
for our beloved missionaries,
heralds of the Gospel.

May our prayers
reach their hearts
that they may feel our love,
our strength,
our faith.

May our prayers
reach their hearts
that they continue
with your zeal
the mission
you entrust them with.

May their presence
in their community
be a reminder
of your presence among us.

Amen.

Thanks to our friends in the USA for this prayer.

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