“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."
After an intense week of Missions in several Regnum Christi localities in Mexico and the United States, the brothers returned to the Center of Humanities in Cheshire, CT, with great apostolic zeal, many experiences to share, and hearts full of joy.
The first group of brothers to return were the brothers from Philadelphia, who returned very happy for having lived a Holy Week full of beautiful stories and intense mission experience.
Br. Alejandro Medina, LC, tells us a story: “I was with two other missionaries having a cross walking in a small town and we were knocking at the doors and literally at the first door we knocked an old man came out and we spent two hours listening to him. After that, he was teaching us lessons for life and I thought about Pope Francis’ teaching to listen to older people because they have a lot of experiences to share with us. Finally, the old man looked at me and said, “If you are going to become a priest, become a good priest.”
Then the brothers who went to Atlanta arrived full of apostolic zeal. Br. Jose Padilla, LC, describes his missions in this way: “God always ends up winning us in generosity. I had in mind to give my testimony of life, my vocation as a Legionary. But with the testimony of the missionaries of going out of themselves to give themselves to others and to find God through these young missionaries. It really helped me to realize that one always ends up receiving more than one gives. The Holy Thursday foot washing that I had with my team had a great impact on me and has been one of the best experiences I have ever had in my life”.
“Br. Juan Pablo Alarcon, LC, shares another story from Dallas. “During these Holy Week Missions, I worked as a team responsible for High Schoolers. It was the first time I did this as a religious. I had no idea what to expect. The first thing I learned is that they were my souls. Dealing with high schoolers, one knows that it implies fun, some disaster, a great desire for transcendence, etc. They might have some imperfections, but being with them, I realized that I didn’t want them to be perfect, I wanted them to be themselves. In being themselves, each of them showed to be a treasure for the Church. I understood that something similar happens in our relationship with God. He does not want us to be free of any defect but wants us to give our best, and He will take the treasure that He himself has put in our hearts”.
After a long flight from the West Coast to the East Coast of the United States, Br. Francisco Piedad, LC, highlights his experience in San Jose. “It was a far more secular environment than I expected, but God’s grace continues to work wherever there are Christians united to his will. Our Regnum Christi family in San Jose is small but powerful and Spirit-filled, so it was a real joy and privilege to accompany them for Holy Week. Whether walking around Cupertino, Stanford, San Francisco, or San Jose; preaching to the faithful; or spending time with the homeless, our mission was to be present and visible signs of God’s love to a culture that has largely lost sight of Him. While we did speak through our words, reflections, and actions, I am confident that the Holy Spirit worked just as much, if not more through our just being there and praying for all the souls we met. As the saying goes, ‘Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words when necessary”.
When the brothers returning from Louisiana arrived, they shared with the community many stories; Br. Enrique Mouret, LC, tells us one of them, “During Holy Thursday, we did missions outside the New Orleans Cathedral. My team and I were adoring the Blessed Sacrament, while other teams were outside inviting people to join. It was dark, the fire from the candles dancing with the shadows and the adoration music inviting people to worship our Lord. At one point, it’s our turn to lead people who have already entered the cathedral to the front to light candles and pray. I greet a man, a woman, and their child, and the man tells me he has never really been inside the cathedral before. He had always seen it from the outside but had never come in. I invite them to pray for a while. After some time, while I was doing something else, the man went up to me to thank me by my name very sincerely for allowing them to have this experience. I will probably never see them again, but I’m sure that the Lord Jesus was present that night and was lovingly reaching out to the people that were coming in, in the silence of his Eucharistic Presence”.
Finally, the brothers who went to Mexico City also visited many of the apostolic institutions of Regnum Christi and lived at the epicenter of the Holy Week missions. Br. Juan Diego Leon, LC, shares his experience with us: “It was like living the lifestyle of the apostles, going to a village and evangelizing in the name of God, and the joy of being with Christ”.
Some brothers had the opportunity to cross borders: The brothers who went to Monterrey, after having visited many of the apostolic works of Regnum Christi in Monterrey and doing missions, had this experience, Br. Marcelo Castro, LC, tells us: “I went to Cuatro Cienegas, Coahuila for Holy Week missions. There were around 80 families. I would describe this mission as a constant search for Christ and a deep desire to be with him, to accompany him. My main focus during the missions was the youth. A personal highlight was that I was able to share Holy Week missions together with Markus Klinger. He is currently a boy in the Apostolic School of Germany, in his 3rd year of high school. He flew all the way to Mexico to be able to go on missions. I first met him 3 years ago when I was a novice in Germany, it was impossible for me to know that this experience was going to be our reencounter.”
While the second-year brothers were in Holy Week Missions, the First-year brothers also went to New York City to evangelize there. Br. Pedro Pegas, LC, shared with us his experience: “I was sure that doing missions in New York would be a challenge. I thought nobody would spend precious minutes in the world’s busiest city to hear someone talking about Jesus’ Love for each of us through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. My experience was about trying to share with people three significant points about our lives: You are lovable, you are loved, and you can love, and even if you have not experienced this as a Catholic, as a Christian, Christ is just waiting for an opportunity to make you experience His incredible and Merciful Love. These three points are very clear in Jesus’s Passion: He died for me because I’m worthy of being loved by Him. He died for me because He freely loves me. He died for me because, through this Love, I can love others. Every single message was just a seed, but by faith, we know that God is watering them with His own blood, and He will make it happen at the right time”.
The Legionaries of Christ Novitiate and College of Humanities in Cheshire, CT is now full of joy, apostolic zeal, and memories of these fantastic Holy Week experiences. We thank all who made these Missions possible, and above all, we thank Christ for working through us to bring Him to many people and to share in his fullness of life.
