ARGENTINA, Juan Francisco Miguel – missionary of GM 20 •
I do not know if it was an invention, if we imitated it from somewhere or if the desire was stronger. What I can say is that what is happening with the young missionaries over 25 years of age is strong and it is making its own mark in Schoenstatt as well as in the Church. —
Many believe that at a certain age one can no longer go on mission. Thus, a kind of “retirement” arises that no one decreed, but that is there…implicitly, making ages uncomfortable.
Perhaps it has to do with the fact that in the past there were couples who got married well before the age of thirty and became part of the marriage team or that suddenly the professional stage shortens our time and sometimes makes us slaves of our obligations. The fact is that today, due to life circumstances, the reality is different. The generational gap that arises after our studies (or in the middle of our first job) is so big that those who still want to take the gospel to the peripheries have created a mission that is coupled to the university missions: the mission of professionals.
The mission of professionals
The apostolic sending forth, a grace of our Shrine, impels us to rekindle the missionary flame and invites us to commit ourselves from another place, less days, but with the missionary fire that characterizes us. Men and women psychologists, doctors, lawyers, social communicators, teachers, engineers, architects, designers and different professions or trades, we gather once again around a shrine improvised inside a school and we prepare our hearts to go out to meet a people who are waiting for us to share the faith.
Some people think we are crazy
The Gaudium Mariae mission number 20 offers us a space to slow down, to pray, to meet again with a God who becomes a child in a manger and gathers us in the city of Arroyito, Córdoba, so that we can contemplate him together. The result? Surprising. There were people who could not believe that we were still investing our time in this way, sacrificing the family table and the parties with friends that usually take place between December 31 and January 1 to share a mate or a soda in their homes.
In the mission we met people from different provinces: Córdoba, San Luis, Mendoza, Buenos Aires and Entre Ríos. Some people judge us as crazy, but we prefer to say that we are faithful to the covenant of love because we are moved by this love for the Blessed Mother. We want to take the joy of the Gospel to others because it has changed our way of seeing life and of directing our dreams. For us, the celebration revolves around welcoming a new year that begins by giving a message of faith, hope and charity to those who need it most.
We will continue on this new path contributing from where we can each one and convinced that the Pilgrim Mother is our great ally in these times.
Source: www.schoenstatt.org.ar – with permission
Original: Spanish. Translation: Maria Fischer @schoenstatt.org
