PARAGUAY, Lala Rivarola. “As a baptized person, I have become an apostle, a witness of Christ, and that is the reason that I want to give witness to Him among men/women. I have met Jesus, I have experienced his love, his presence and his work in my life, and I have been transformed by him. That is the reason that I cannot refrain from taking him to others. Christ has chosen me, and he has sent me forth. This reality speaks to us that the attitude and apostolic spirit should be natural in us. Let us hear what Saint Paul says: “If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it! If I do so willingly, I have a recompense, but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.” (1Cor. 9:16-17). This is what the manual of the Catholic Missions Ciudad del Este 2014 states, and it is what more than ninety youths experienced.
Many times, we sign up for the missions, and we set out without being aware that one simple visit can change much more than we think. We receive a call, and we give a response of YES, perhaps forgetting that this yes is for JESUS CHRIST, who truly sends us. It is he who needs missionaries and he who takes care of every detail.
A sending forth by Jesus
To go on mission is a sending forth of Jesus himself, and we go accompanied by the HOLY SPIRIT and by our great ally, our great MOTHER THRICE ADMIRABLE. Undoubtedly, this is confirmed before and during the CATHOLIC MISSIONS CIUDAD DEL ESTE – 2014.
We are the pampered ones of God, he loves us so much that he never abandons us, from the first moment, he was always steering the helm and calming all the storms, choosing his instruments and the mission tools, molding this apostolate according to his divine plan. During the month of May, we met to search for the motto that would motivate us this year, and we discovered that God dreamed with “For Christ, with Mary, ready for the mission.” We discovered that in these two towns, SANTA RITA and TAVAPY, Christ has sought to reign for a good while and Mary is using all her might to open the way; we discovered that it is our Queen who should arrive first in the hearts so that these can be conquered by her Son. We also discovered that this is no small task, and for this reason our immediate willingness is of great value; the task is not easy, and we can only go so far by the hand of our ally.
Walking, jumping, singing
August 13-17 arrived, ninety youths went walking, jumping, and singing. We arrived at two towns and we visited nine chapels: five in Santa Rita and four in Tayapy, and we missioned in three languages: Spanish, Guarani, and Portuguese. We met families, who were waiting for us, waiting to be missioned and waiting to receive God’s love.
During the mission’s days, we discovered beneath that family spirit God’s love that our founder, Father Joseph Kentenich gave us, we celebrated the Day of the Child, and we found that our small deeds were large in God’s hands.
For this reason and for much more, today I give thanks, thank you to everyone who lifted up their prayers to heaven, thank you to everyone who helped from near or far, thank you to the great family of Ciudad del Este for so much support, thank you to Father Pedro Kuehlcke and Sister Georgina for always accompanying us, thank you to the Rosary Campaign for the Pilgrim MTAs, which were entrusted to us, thank you to the leaders for giving so much love to this apostolate, thank you to the missionaries, who gave the courageous and victorious YES, thank you because you were encouraged to live this madness of love, and above all, thank you to Valdir for becoming a missionary and thank you to everyone who opened their doors to the Pilgrim Mother and the Little Child Jesus.
Thank you for the prayers
A few days ago, we asked everyone for prayers, and today, we can only thank you because the prayers reached heaven! And the graces arrived multiplied to us!
It is beautiful to know that one is chosen by God! Now we are no longer living in two schools, now we return to our routine and we have to go on mission every day everywhere; this mission has just begun, because Schoenstatt does not go on missions, Schoenstatt is a mission!
Mother, take everything from me and make me your instrument
“When I was invited to go on mission, I did not have the least idea of what I had to do or how to do it, but I was encouraged, I knew that if it came from our Queen, it was going to be a wonderful work, and in these missions, I was not only the Blessed Mother’s little feet, I was not only her instrument so that She could reach the families; but rather, I was also one more who was missioned. Not necessarily with words; but also with moments, moments that marked my life, that remain engraved in my heart: those smiles that the children gave for small things, those families who placed their confidence, not in me; but, in the Queen, those moments with my community. Every small detail that became infinite joys. Perhaps I will not find the exact words to describe what remained of those Missions in my life, but the eternal gratitude to Her, who allowed me to be Her instrument, will. “Mother, take everything from me and make me your instrument, who is a part of this living youth, whose heart burns,” – Jea Dominguez
To take hope and joy
“For me, to go on mission was to take hope and joy, her love and her peace to those people who needed Mary; it was to show them that the Blessed Mother loves them and She wants to reign in their hearts.” – Ángel Careaga
“I went on the CDE Missions for the first time in 2011, that time I was a leader. I truly felt very happy, because it was the first time that these youths were going to have their own missions, since I had always participated in the missions that the youth from Asunción organized. Now they are already in two towns, it is growing a little, and to participate after three years, filled me with great joy, to mission in areas where many Brazilians live was truly very different, to experience how the Church lives in the department of Alto Paraná was also different. A beautiful experience is lived in some missions, and I can say that of all the missions in which I have participated, these are the missions that I have liked the most,” – Javier Vera
Original: Spanish – Translation: Celina M. Garza, San Antonio, TX USA
