Matthew 6: 2 --> 'So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.'
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
I have many Protestant friends. Many, if not all, have told me about mission trips they've been on or are planning. Growing up in an older community, Catholic kids and teens don't always see the giving and caring done by the Catholic Church. For a while, I asked myself: "Why doesn't the Catholic Church have mission trips?" Well, for one thing, we do... there is even a website (http://www.catholicmissiontrips.net/home/) that has upcoming missions trips in Texas, New Mexico, New Orleans, Belize and Honduras.
The thing about the Catholic Church is that we are present in so many places around the world. My youth director mentioned last Sunday that some people commented on how the Church never arrived on scene in any of the recent disasters around the world (Chile, Haiti, Japan...) For those who have said this, let me make this clear. The Church was there. The church was the first to arrive in Haiti (probably because its a dominant part of Haitian culture) and it is STILL there- even when other organizations have left the country for bigger disaster zones. Not to mention Japan, Chile and other disaster zones that are still being helped by the Catholic Church.
Catholic missionaries, although they are also found in common people like you and me, are found in the nuns. Like I mentioned yesterday, nuns often play the role of missionaries. One of the priests at my church funds an orphanage in Uganda. My point? People may not see the Church because they are expecting teenage boys and girls building houses like so many of my Protestant friends are. But that's not all the church does. There is Operation Rice Bowl, for example, that builds irrigation systems for Ethiopian farmers (http://crs-blog.org/catholics-help-farmers-in-ethiopia-via-operation-rice-bowl/.)
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
The Bible verse at the top sums up my view on Catholic mission trips. We may not see them, but they are there. The next verse (Matthew 6:3) says "do not let your left hand know what the right is doing..." Is that maybe why I had never heard of Catholic mission trips until the past couple of years? Or is it that we do not "sound a trumpet," as Matthew puts it?
No comments:
Post a Comment