Inspiring and enriching - Sr. Michelle McHale
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
From a very young age I have been deeply inspired by the Columban missionaries. The monthly Far East came regularly to my home and my own missionary vocation was inspired by reading this magazine. In my younger days I knew of a few Columbans and felt inspired by their vocation in leaving all to spread the Gospel.
Since coming to Pakistan I have come to know the Columbans more deeply. These are ordinary individuals called to live a frontier missionary way of life. They have a great spirit of hospitality expressed in their genuine interest in people, have a gift for relating cross culturally, have the ability to risk and are ready to adapt to further their mission. I have watched them take on missionary ventures to develop the local Church and people through education projects, lay leadership training programmes and faith development. Once a parish is developed with good lay leadership they move on to another parish on the margins of the diocese.
They take on issues the local Church in general may not be concerned with such as inter-religious dialogue, inculturation, women’s issues, spirituality, Third World debt and the current issue, “The Patenting of Life”.
The Columbans as frontier missionaries are continually inspired by the Gospel, and the Churches where they work are certainly richer because of the charism they share with the people. May they continue to enrich our world.
Sr. Michelle McHale SJG
