CALLED TO FOLLOW JESUS by Chris Wiltrakis, MSBT

We are to have a personal love of God our Father, of his Son Jesus, and of the Holy Spirit who abides with us. In a particular way, we cherish in our prayer and labor the naked and abandoned Jesus on Calvary.  We express our love through personal service to his poor and abandoned members.  Rule of Life # 10
 
The essence of the vowed life is the person of Jesus.  It is not an ideology or an  idea or a cultural phenomenon. Our consecrated lives are not a “career,” some  activity we do. Rather, our lives are a mystery, a fantastic adventure of life in  which we seek and find and seek again the One whom our hearts most truly  desire. This fervent pursuit of Jesus is the only thing that will measure the  “success” of our lives.” (See Galatians 2:20) Day Seven of Missionary Cenacle Spiritual Exercises: Called to Follow Jesus

I was a Hospice volunteer visiting with a diocesan priest who was dying of AIDS. This was in the 1980’s when there were still so many suspicions surrounding this illness. It was a time when caregivers feared the disease could be caught by airborne contagion. It was also a time of much secrecy and shame for the patient.

For this priest, let us call him “Fr. Neil,” the shame was almost unbearable. His parents, once so proud to have a priest in the family, did not come to visit. Fortunately, a community of priests and Brothers took him into their home and ministered to him with great concern. It was in this context that Fr. Neil experienced a relationship with Jesus unlike any he had throughout his lifetime.

He confided to me that only now did he experience what he had been preaching to others for years. Fr. Neil had often ministered to the naked, abandoned Jesus in people undergoing many distresses – even if these words of our charism may not have been his own.  The difference now was that Fr. Neil had become the naked, abandoned Jesus.  He could identify with Jesus in his mental and physical suffering. Fr. Neil experienced Jesus’ unconditional acceptance, forgiveness and healing in the midst of his anguish. He finally had a deep, personal relationship with Christ.

In her later years, Mother Mary Sebastian gathered my class together when we were in formation. She begged us to ask Jesus for a personal relationship with him. She gave witness of the difference in her own life between the burdens of duty and responsibility versus “the fire Jesus desired to cast upon the earth” in following his call. The difference was in the gift of a very personal relationship with Jesus.

There is a quote by Colleen Green, former General Custodian of the MCA, that has challenged me for years in following the call of Jesus:

At some point in life, the missionary comes to realize that the most profound and wonderful miracle that has happened in the history of  the world is Jesus Christ. That day is a personal Pentecost. In the fire of the Holy Spirit, timidity, procrastination, fear, personal ambition and
all worldly cares begin to burn to ashes and from those ashes a desire to spread the message of Jesus Christ arises. With great passion, Jesus becomes the focus of life.  Colleen Green, MCA

I often ask: “Have I reached this point in my life?” I hope I am living into the answer.

Questions for reflection:
Have you come to identify with the naked, abandoned Jesus through your own experiences of weakness, sin or failure? Has that led you to know unconditional love, forgiveness and healing? Does this help you in your ministry to others?

Do you have a sense of being called to follow Jesus anew each day?