Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fi sh for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him (Mark 1:17, 18). In the summer of 1913, Fr. Edward Galvin, a man with a passion for mission and a vision for evangelizing in China who started the Missionary Society of St. Columban, began writing ten to twelve letters a day—some as long as fourteen pages—to individual priests, seminary rectors and anyone else who would read them, in an effort to recruit more priests. Fr. Galvin could see the harvest before him and, in spite of all his own labors, spent endless hours inviting others to come and share in this great effort to move forward the work of God’s Kingdom.
Almost one hundred years later, the Columban Fathers find themselves with a similar challenge. Today, however, the mission field is not simply China, or any one country. Rather, as Pope John Paul II said, “Today, all the world is one great mission land.” Economic and spiritual poverty in a world where injustice and suffering persist and often go ignored help to foment misunderstanding among religious, ethnic and political groups. War, natural disasters, failed economies and political oppression have forced millions to leave their homes and families to seek security and a better life in other lands. There are so many people in so many places whose hearts are longing to hear the Good News and it is still, frequently, the missionaries who will bring it.
The U.S. Region of the Society reorganized our vocations outreach this past year, creating a vocations committee and are joining hands across the country to extend this invitation to all we meet: “Come with me into the fi elds. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”,/p>
The Missionary Society of St. Columban, or the Columban Fathers as we’re known in the U.S., is a society of priests dedicated to serving the mission of Christ. Crossing boundaries of nation, language, culture and religion, we seek to preach the Good News to the poor and to challenge the unjust structures of society that exclude the hungry from the table and often force their most vulnerable members into dangerous migrations abroad. Columbans have helped local churches dialogue with other religions and created bridges between groups in conflict, seeking to bring understanding, mutual respect and peaceful resolutions. Columbans are known for their strong commitment to the people they serve, even when to continue to do so may put them at grave risk. Columban priests and Sisters have lost their lives in their willingness to follow faithfully in the footsteps of Jesus.
Our vocations plan for the U.S. Region embraces what we call a “culture of vocations” in which we try to integrate the invitation to mission into all of our ministries and outreach. We encourage every member of the Columban family, whether priest member, employee, benefactor, Affiliate or Companion in Mission, to share this spirit of invitation and boldly speak of this challenging option of following Jesus today as a Columban missionary priest.
The Columbans are a Society of Apostolic Life, meaning we are secular or diocesan priests who have banded together for a specific apostolate, which in this case is global, cross-cultural mission. Columbans may live alone or in community, be involved in parish ministry or religious dialogue, accompany migrants and workers, but their work is always in the context of crossing cultures and of being of service to the poorest of the poor. Not only is our mission cross-cultural but also our Society itself is comprised of members from Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific Rim. We are not a large community, but we have our niche in continuing the effort to move forward the work of God’s Kingdom today.
In order to share our invitation with young people, we are committed to creating a viable presence on the internet and to make use of social and other electronic media. By the time you read this article, Lord willing, we will have our vocation-specific website up and running and our Facebook page in place.
In December 2010, we hosted our first ever “vocations live chat” via the internet. We will continue to develop such chats, eventually in Spanish and Korean along with English, and with a variety of Columbans doing the hosting. In some way, reaching out to young people in the United States is, in and of itself, a kind of mission. We have to be open to learning new languages, such as the language of texting, and cultural expressions and be able to relate to different ways of viewing the world, society and the Church.
One dedicated vocations minister I know repeats that, “They’re out there. You just have to look for them and invite them in.” It is up to each group to decide, however, if we are going to “fish” for them or not. And, if so, are we willing to pay the price in terms of sacrifice, adaptation, openness to young people and the interruption of some areas of our lives? If we are willing to make the effort, invariably, we are going to blessed with the energy, enthusiasm, new ideas and many gifts this new generation will bring to mission. Fresh voices will help us articulate anew the vision of mission that has guided the Columbans to where we are today.
A friend of mine, who is an avid reader of Columban Mission magazine said, “You guys are a small group but so many stories tell of your members living with and serving the poorest of the poor, often under the most dire of circumstances. I can’t understand why you wouldn’t want to invite more young men to do that.”
Extending the invitation will help us renew our sense of gratitude for the privilege we have had of following Jesus in service of God’s Kingdom for nearly a century.
If you are one of those young men who are “out there” and discerning your life’s purpose and seeking a direction that gives meaning, not just to your life, but to the poorest of God’s people, please don’t hesitate to contact us at: www.columbanvocations.org.
Please pray for the Columbans and all those seeking to follow in the way of Jesus that God will send still more laborers into the harvest.
