How FOCUS ruined my life! The Great Commission!

It's been quite a whirl wind since my Diaconate Ordination.  I have just recently settled into my summer assignment for this upcoming year at Notre Dame Parish in Clarendon Hills.  As an introduction to the parish, I was blessed to preach on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity at all the Masses.  The Gospel reading was the Great Commission that finishes the Gospel of Matthew!  "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Mt 28:19-20)

Of course, after being a missionary for 6 years with FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) I would say I'm quite familiar with the Great Commission, or at least I thought!  It wasn't until recently I had the opportunity to reflect on the verses prior to the Great Commission.  My reflection brought me new insight on how the Lord changed my life through FOCUS!  

"Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.  And when they all saw him, they worshiped him; but they DOUBTED!" (Mt 28:16-17 NAB translation)

Wait what?  They DOUBTED!!!  These are the same Apostles who saw all the miracles of the Lord in his public ministry, right?  Didn't they see the multiplication of the loaves, the healing of the sick?  What about the rebuking of demons and freeing people from demonic possessions?  Didn't they see Jesus walk on water and calm the waters amidst the storm?  Peter, James and John saw the transfiguration and now all the Apostles have seen Christ Resurrected and they still doubted?!?  

I soon saw connection! The Lord's answer to the Apostles doubt was the Great Commission! This is because our faith is a spiritual good.  Unlike a material good which is lost when given away, spiritual goods, like love and faith, our multiplied when they are given away!  These same Apostles who doubted, who when on mission with the Holy Spirit found their faith strengthened and these same Apostles would face persecution and eventually death. 

I've seen this in my own life through my mission work with FOCUS.  As I went out in mission the more my faith was strengthened and my doubts went away.  In my second year as a missionary I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  By God's grace, I had very little doubts in my diangosis because I knew I was where I was suppose to be. If the chemo was to work or not, it didn't matter because the Lord was with me.  I discovered however, this works the other way as well.  When I was not living a missionary life and stuck in my intellectual studies, my doubts and struggles returned.  And when I returned to mission involving discipleship, and evangelization my faith continued to bring forth great joy as my doubts were being wiped away.  It brings greater insight to St. Paul's statement in his letter to the Corinthians: "Woe to me if I do not preach."  It wasn't for the sake of others, which many benefitted from his preaching, but it was for his own sake!

It seems FOCUS has ruined my life, because it was in FOCUS that the organization gave me a "Vision for Life" (or at least some very old FOCUS missionaries might say).  It was in FOCUS that I discovered the Lord's Great Commission. It was in mission that I discovered my vocation and my Catholic faith!  If you find yourself struggling in your faith, don't only learn more about Christ, but share it with others!

Below are just few pictures of some of the men I have invested in over the years!  (From my time at the Air Force Academy, UMKC, UST, and a couple from CU)  It's quite a blessing to see how the Lord continues to move in the lives of these men!