We are almost finished with our last mission trip this summer to Haiti. It is bittersweet to think that I will be back to the comfort of “home” in a couple of days. I will be glad to be back and see everyone, but I will miss my “Haitian family.”
Today on our mission, we had a special grace to chat with Sister Mahima, MC, who was born in Michigan! She joined the Missionaries of Charity in 1981, and she gave us her curriculum vitae that had her on every continent (except Austrailia and Antartica!)
The question has arisen several times on this mission (and several times in my heart) about whether we are really doing anything for these people (especially after seeing the Tent City and the misery of the people there). Are we really making a difference? Do my two cents really matter? Sometimes it is difficult to see that any change is happening.
Sister Mahima told us that what makes a mission a success is not about what we do and what change we can bring about through our action. It is the simple fact that we are here that means the Church is here, the Kingdom is here, and that makes the difference. We come in the name of Christ and serve His poorest of the poor—loving Him in them and loving them in Him.
When Mother Theresa saw people who wanted to help with her mission, she was not worried about what they could do for the poor. It was enough for her that one person would be willing to volunteer his or her time, and if that one person was changed by the experience, then the Kingdom has come.
In Regnum Christi, we are all about the Kingdom…so much so that it is part of our name. If you are like me, perhaps you also have felt that you did not have a lot you could “contribute” to this Kingdom. But after hearing Sister Mahima’s words, I have been encouraged. It is not about what I do to bring the Kingdom. The Kingdom is within me.
