In a recent interview with Catholic News Service, Father Raymond Finch, former Superior General of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, remarked that one of Maryknoll's greatest contributions to Catholic mission has been "seeing and affirming the value and individual worth of all people and all cultures." In doing so, he adds, we missioners have been blessed by the people we serve, who are often those on the margins of society.
My own experience as a missioner in Tanzania and my recent travels to visit our missioners throughout the world certainly confirm my predecessor's words. We have learned much about the meaning of mission from our work with and on behalf of the poor of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
This issue offers insight into our "option for the poor," a theme various missioners will address in our spirituality series throughout the year. Father Robert Jalbert introduces the series by explaining how choosing to serve those most in need has transformed his life and ministry.
I invite you to read this issue for other examples. Find out how Father Mike Bassano lives his "gift of mission" by nurturing the sick and homeless in Tanzania, who respond with joy and gratitude. Learn how Father Thomas O'Brien witnesses to God's love in Vietnam by helping people with physical and mental handicaps. Discover how Lay Missioner Nancy Tyrolt is enriched as she gives a special needs child in El Salvador hope for a better life.
Our Maryknoll Sisters, who celebrate their centennial this year, are well aware of the cry of the poor. They have been tireless advocates for justice and development throughout the world. Mother Mary Joseph Rogers, founder of the Maryknoll Sisters, left a tremendous legacy of love for her congregation. We celebrate her spirit and add our congratulations to the Maryknoll Sisters' Congregation.
As we begin a new year, we must keep before us the needs of our brothers and sisters throughout our world who find themselves in difficult circumstances because of natural disasters, the greed of others and our inhumanity to each other. How is God calling us to serve them? They have much to teach us.
I wish each of you a holy and happy new year, and pray that our gracious God may show us the way to help heal our world.
In Kenya and Tanzania, all are welcomed with the Swahili greeting karibu. Soon after my initial arrival in Tanzania in September of 1976, I was struck by how children, women and men in their everyday lives were “the Gospel coming alive” before my very eyes. Most Kenyans and Tanzanians have no choice but to live very much in the present day, and their palpable joy with every moment of life demonstrates that all is received and welcomed as a gift and blessing from God. Hospitality, living the present moment to its fullest, and acknowledging God as the source and center of one’s life are cornerstone values in East African societies.
