Even if everyone says 'no'

Day 63 of IMPACT | July 5, 2015

Living in community with six other brothers in Christ is an incredible experience: among all of these amazing reasons, one is getting so much inspiration and motivation from watching and experiencing their lives and hearing their stories. Seeing all my brothers living such authentic and joyful Catholic lives is so beautiful to me and so inspiring to me. It gives me role models to follow, brothers to walk with on the journey, and fuels in me a great hope for the future of the Church.

It is from one of these brothers I live with that the following reflection comes from: in the face of desolation and spiritual attack, it is wonderful to have companions that can speak God's word to me and life me up in desolation.

Last Friday, we participated our second Nightfever adoration event - a time when the doors of the Church are opened and we invite and encourage people passing by to come in and offer a candle and prayer for someone they love or someone that is in their heart. It is a very beautiful, non-intimidating way to expose people to the beauty of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and allow Jesus to continue to work in their lives through the Source and Summit of our faith - the Eucharist.

Being on street team is an incredibly humbling experience for me - especially since many people who we talk to on the street don't agree to come in and most walk by without even making eye contact. It's a sad exposure to where we are in our current society, where human interaction is often replaced by a preference to online and virtual interactions - even when there are real people around us.

However, my brothers have helped me to see how incredible an experience this is. A lot of the times, we honestly don't see the fruits of our labour - it is not something God allows all the time (and thank God for that - it keeps me humble). It is so easy during those times, to lose track of what we're doing and be entirely focused on seeing results, on seeing people walk into the Church, to see our words affect others.

Ultimately, it's the Holy Spirit that moves in us. And even if that person says no, we need to still believe that the Holy Spirit is still planting seeds and moving within them. I think especially me, I am so focused on that desire that I could 'convert' someone or help someone come back to the Church, and see them experience the same joy I've experienced. But honestly, that is not a gift for me to have, at least most of the time. It's an incredible blessing from God if we do see that - but most of the time, it's not for us to experience.

But just because we don't see results doesn't mean we stop fighting, that we stop sharing, that we stop having that heart for the lost. Sometimes we (I) need to be reminded that results don't matter. Because the results are up to God. I will fight the good fight. And let the Spirit do the rest.

"All that matters is that Jesus be proclaimed, that is what brings me joy." - Philippians 1:18

Veni Sancte Spiritus.