Day 4 of Simbang Gabi: 19 December

Sense of mission

Luke 1:5-25

In the fourth day of our preparation for the coming of Christ in our lives, we are being prepared for a life-long mission which needs our total and unwavering commitment.

Like Samson and John, all of us have a mission here on earth.  Let us imagine our guardian angels talking to our parents, "You shall bear a son / daughter. He/ she shall be great in the sight of God and filled with the Holy Spirit.  He / she has a mission to fulfill."

The sense of mission actually makes us a persons.  We are meant for a particular mission.  Archbishop Emeritus Cardinal Rosales said, "A priest without a mission is a traitor."  That is what touched my heart.  I have to fulfill a mission; this is the very reason why God made me.  Our mission defines who we are.

I know of a couple whose relationship turned sour the moment the husband lost his job and their comforts in life.  The reason why the husband lost direction is that he thought that success and money define him as a person.  He thought his wife doesn't love him.  That is not our ultimate reason.

Take it from Samson.  His mission is to redeem / save Israel from the Philistines.  Whatever our mission is, it should lead to saving people from sin.

Take it from John the Baptist.  His mission is to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, the disobedient back to wisdom, and to prepare for the way of the Lord.  Our mission should lead people to know the true and living God in Jesus Christ.

Third, take it from the disbelief of Zechariah.  Disbelief turns us into mute people, unable to give witness to God simply because we are not attached to him.  All we see is ourselves.  To pursue the Lord is my primary mission on earth.

Like all missionaries, may we be Spirit-filled; everything should come from the Holy Spirit.  The fruits of the Holy Spirit are peace, joy, goodness among all others.  This is the fruit of doing a life-long mission on earth.

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