The Formation Of The Co-Workers Of The Missionaries Of Christ’s Charity

The Formation Of The Co-Workers Of The Missionaries Of Christ’s Charity

The Formation Of The Co-Workers

Of The Missionaries Of Christ’s Charity

 12.1    INTRODUCTION

            Over the years, men and women all over the world have felt inspired to join Mother Teresa and her sisters of the Missionaries of Charity in their amazing works of charity among the poorest of the poor. On a smaller scale, the works of the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity among the poorest of the poor in Saigon, Vietnam have yielded the same inspiration among the laity. Many people have voluntarily offered wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor while remaining faithful to their vocation in life. The cooperation of the co-workers enables the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity to flourish in their works of charity among the poorest of the poor. This short chapter will expound on the forming of the network of co-workers of the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity to support the sisters through our talent with prayer, our treasure with financial support, and our time by visiting the missions.

12.2    THE CO-WORKERS’ PRIMARY PURPOSE IS TO SHARE THE GIFT OF TALENT THROUGH PRAYER

Many people wish they could have met Mother Teresa but Mother Teresa would be the first to say that meeting Jesus is an even greater privilege. This explains why she spent every waking moments in Christ’s presence whether in the Eucharist, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament or minister to the poor. Following the example of Mother Teresa whose life and work depended totally on the power of prayer, the co-workers of the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity’s primary focus is one of prayer. Le Joly illustrates Mother Teresa’s sentiment and feeling about those who pray for her, “That they prayed for her work delighted Mother’s heart.”[1] Just as Mother Teresa began her day with the Eucharist where Christ gave her the strength, courage, joy and love to touch Him in the poor, the co-workers of the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity must have a personal devotion to the daily Eucharist so that Christ might be visibly seen in every person especially in the poorest of the poor. In 1973, Mother Teresa began having a daily Holy Hour of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, she testified, “From the time we started having Adoration every day adoring the Blessed Sacrament everyday our love for Jesus has become more intimate, our love for each other more understanding, our love for the poor more compassionate.”[2] The members of the confraternity of the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity must spend quiet time in the presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. It is here that a fractured human family hopes to be made whole again. Daily personal prayer is also a wonderful way to maintain full communion with God and spiritually united to the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity and the people they serve.   

12.3    THE CO-WORKERS’ SECONDARY PURPOSE IS TO SHARE THE GIFT OF TREASURE

            Besides supporting the sisters in spirit through prayer, the members of the co-workers of the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity if possible should give from this blessed treasure to ensure the success of the works of charity among the poorest of the poor. We cannot help but wonder where Mother Teresa got her funds in order to feed and care for the hundreds and thousands poorest of the poor. Since the Missionaries of Charity offer free service to the poorest of the poor and accept no payment from the government, she had to receive financial help from somewhere. “Increasingly Mother Teresa stressed that fund-raising for her work was contrary to her wishes, and she declined the offers of regular income that were beginning to arise: ‘I don’t want the work to become a business but to remain a work of love. I want you to have that complete confidence that God won’t let us down. Take him at his word and seek first the kingdom of heaven, and all else will be added on. Joy, peace and unity are more important than money.’”[3] Money is not important to Mother Teresa but the giving of oneself is what really impressed her. Mother Teresa recounted, “In Calcutta, a beggar came to me and said, ‘Mother Teresa, everybody is giving you something. I also want to give you something. I have just this ten-paise coin, will you accept it?’ Mother was in a dilemma. She said, ‘I knew if I accepted the money, he would go hungry and if I did not he would be hurt, so I put out my hand and took his gift.’ For Mother Teresa the beggar’s mite was greater than the ‘Oslo gift’ – the Nobel Prize – because she said, ‘He gave all that he had,’ and she saw, ‘the joy of giving in his face.’”[4] The Missionaries of Christ’s Charity do not have fundraisers except for donations from generous people. They simply trust in God’s providence that He will provide for the works He wants to be done. The Missionaries of Christ’s Charity in Saigon, Vietnam is not as well known as Mother Teresa; thus, they have to work for what they need by teaching poor children in Montessori. With this measly paid, they not only have to sustain their lives but the lives of countless poorest of the poor as well. A little gift of oneself can go a long way since $1 in U.S. equals 15,000 Vietnamese yen which is the normal daily wage for an unskilled worker. With the necessary aids and assistance from the co-workers, the sisters of the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity can dedicate their works among the poorest of the poor instead of having to make a living to feed themselves and others.   

 12.4   THE CO-WORKERS’ THIRD PURPOSE IS TO SHARE TIME IN THE MISSIONARIES FIELDS

            For Mother Teresa, money is not enough for she can always get money. It is time that she wanted, “The poor need our hands to serve them; they need our hearts to love them.”[5] She wanted us to climb down from our comfort and luxury, to make little sacrifices through fasting and abstaining and to become detached from our possessions and do without the comforts of life. Her demand seems harsh at first and causes some people to say that Mother Teresa perpetuated and fed the cycle of poverty. They claimed that her work is only a bandage, not a cure. But those who take Mother Teresa’s demand to heart find wisdom hidden within. “One day an Australian man came and made a substantial donation. But as he did this he said, ‘This is something external. Now I want to give something of myself.’ He now comes regularly to the house of the dying to shave the sick men and to converse with them. This man gives not only his money but also his time. He could have spent it on himself, but what he wants is to give of himself.”[6] What Mother Teresa desired was the presence of the donors. So they could touch those whom they gave to, smile at them and pay attention to them. The co-workers of the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity should seriously consider making frequent visits to the supported missions to encourage not only the poor and needy but also the missionaries who are presently labored in the Missionaries fields.

12.5    CONCLUSION

            Drawn to the loving works of charity among the poorest of the poor done by Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity and the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity in Vietnam, many good-hearted people would like to join in this works of mercy. At the same time, they want to remain faithful in their vocations which they are presently living. The forming of the co-workers of the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity is the ideal solution to those who have the desire to help in the Missionaries fields while wanting to remain faithful to their vocations. The Church’s teaching about tithing on time, talent and treasure can be applied to the co-workers. They can use their talent in prayer such as daily mass, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and daily devotion to pray for the success of the mission. They can offer sacrifice from their treasure to support the missionaries and the poor and needy alike. Finally, they can give time in the gift of self to make frequent visits to the Missionaries fields where they can meet and share their life with the people in the missions. These types of participation by the co-workers are always encouraged and welcomed by Missionaries of Christ’s Charity.

Conclusion

CONCLUSION 

In obedience to the Lord’s command, “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it,”[7] human beings who were created in God’s image have steadily increased in population and the people who inhabit the earth have exerted their dominion and authority over the earth and all that is in it. Although the world’s population is in the billions and continues to climb, the earth is more than capable of producing enough food and resources to sustain its inhabitants. It is the inability of the leaders to disperse the world’s resources that leads to many poor people being malnourished especially among the poor in the developing countries. This is most unfortunate. We can look at the plight of the hungry and suffering poor as a brutal curse or we can look at it as a blessing in disguise. Indeed, we will always have the poor with us as Jesus prophesied, “The poor you will always have with you but you will not always have me.”[8] We cannot help but feel a sense of helplessness in the midst of so many tragedies and afflictions suffered by the poor. There might never be enough money to relieve and ease the plight of the poor in the world but it does not stop good and generous people from trying to help and assist them. There are many secular charitable organizations formed for the sole purpose of easing the poor’s burden. But these charitable organizations have high overhead; thus, when it is all said and done, very little of the necessary funds reach the poor. Giving in any form is precious and praiseworthy but it might not be sufficient if it focuses only to the physical aspect of the person while neglecting the soul for a human person is created with both body and soul.

Mother Teresa whose life was deeply rooted in prayer had a clear revelation when she read the first chapter of St. John, “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”[9] From this verse, Mother Teresa felt the one and only way of ministering to the poorest of the poor was to become one like them in order to minister both to their bodies and souls. Her method proves to be more effective and preferable. Being a spiritual person whose works depended solely on prayer, Mother Teresa put her prayer into action among the poorest of the poor first in Calcutta and then to the whole world including Vietnam. Even though her stay in Vietnam was brief due to the government’s refusal to grant her a visa but her numerous visits planted seeds that eventually took roots among the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity in Saigon, Vietnam. With the blessing of Mother Teresa and the late Archbishop of Saigon Paul Binh, the sisters of the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity bravely and courageously went about serving the poorest of the poor in Saigon in the persons of the pregnant teenagers, orphans, HIV/AIDS victims and abandoned elderly. Through helping and serving the poorest of the poor, the sisters experienced many blessed increases in the numbers of religious vocations from the original 20 to 134 within the span of 10 years and from a couple of missions to 20 missions within the same time span. The most amazing result is the lives changed and transformed among the poorest of the poor where once they were stripped of everything including their human dignity. Now, they are confident people and their dignity is fully restored. Once they felt as burdens to society and were treated as so, now they are proud contributing members of society through their vocations as engineers and candidates to the religious life and priesthood.

            The wonderful work of the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity is something that most people with loving hearts would like to participate in but are unable to do so due to their own vocations in life. Granted all of us have our own vocations to live and be faithful to but love should be our primary vocation for we are created by God out of love. As Jesus reminds his apostles, their love for each other is the sure sign people will know that they are His disciples. We can share our love with the sisters in the mission fields through the formation of the co-workers of the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity. As members of the co-workers of the missionaries, we can remain and live out our present vocations; at the same time we can offer our talent by praying, treasure by sharing and time by visiting to ensure the success of the missions and show our solidarity with the poorest of the poor.

Recalling the story of the last judgment when Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least of my brothers of mine, you did it for me.”[10] Jesus was referring to the blessed for giving food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, shelter for the homeless, visitation to the imprisoned. Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Christ’s Charity take to heart Jesus’ command to love and live it out through their works. Mother Teresa further added to the story of the last judgment, “God will not ask us how many books we have read; how many miracles we have worked; but He will ask us if we have done our best, for the love of Him.”[11]After a life of dedicated service to the poorest of the poor, Mother Teresa departed from this life and was welcomed into the loving embrace of Jesus. On October 23, 2003, Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta at St. Peter’s square in Rome amidst hundreds of thousands of people in attendance.  May we live our lives in loving service to the poor so that we too may hear the sweet words of Jesus saying to us, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcome me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.”[12] Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to serve you in the persons of the poorest of the poor.