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| Love Begins Here missionaries gather to help out in their local communities. Teen missionaries in Monona help out the Sisters of Mary Morning Star. (Contributed photo) |
MADISON — On the mission field this summer, wearing masks, and hearing Collatio talks over Zoom calls, Love Begins Here (LBH) Missionaries around the diocese entered deeper into the spirituality of their patroness St. Teresa of Calcutta and her mystical relationship with our Blessed Mother.
As St. Mother Teresa had prayed, “O Holy Mother of God, throw your mantle of purity over our souls, and present us to your divine Son Jesus, and give Jesus to us. Mary, our dearest Mother, we confidently turn to you, holiest Mother, we beg you lend us your heart so beautiful, so pure, so immaculate, your heart so full of love and humility that we may be able to receive and carry Jesus with the same sentiments with which you received and carried Him.”
We asked Mary to lend us her heart so that we could learn to love Jesus and our neighbors better, and our missionaries embraced this to the full.
Growing in faith and charity
Throughout the summer, missionaries shared that they were planning on taking home with them a greater devotion to the Rosary and reliance on Mary as our mother in heaven.
Jenny, a middle school missionary from Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Monona said, “I really think I also grew closer to God and Mary this week, and I am so excited to come back next year.”
Serving the local community
LBH missionaries this summer prayed, served, and spent time in community while staying at their own parishes this summer, rather than spending the whole week together in one location.
This created beautiful opportunities for parish groups to become closer than ever and even have more time with their own priests.
This was especially awesome for missionaries who got a chance to pray and spend time with their new priests late in the summer (like in Lodi and Dane) and when their priest took an interest in sharing his hobbies (like Fr. Brian Dulli in Cottage Grove teaching his teens how to play disc golf.)
While working on the mission field, Love Begins Here missionaries engaged in a wide variety of service projects.
Many parishes were able to tackle deep cleaning projects, others painted windows at local nursing homes for residents, and many, in a socially distant and safe manner, spent time serving individual parishioners in their homes or visiting in the midst of an otherwise pretty lonely summer.
A big impact
In a new way, working right in our own homes and neighborhoods made a big impact on those who served, in deepening our identity as missionary disciples, as Olivia from Sacred Heart Parish in Reedsburg said, “this year made me realize more what LBH is really about, and that’s helping those in need, helping the people who are our neighbors, and doing it with great love.”
Love Begins Here had a great impact not only on the communities we served but also on the missionaries who participated.
Carolyn from St. Maria Goretti Parish said, “This was my first time ever at LBH, and it’s been so much fun! The joy I’ve felt this week has been so amazing. I’ve laughed so much and enjoyed being able to serve.
“The people around me love me, and I can see it in the ways they’ve pushed me to be the best version of myself this week.”
All in all, our 650 missionaries gave nearly 10,000 hours of service to our neighbors in need throughout the Diocese of Madison, but even more importantly are the lessons learned by our missionaries in 2020: “Love doesn’t have to be an extraordinary, miraculous, world-changing thing. It is the small tasks close to home that can mean the most.”
Lindsay Finn is the coordinator of youth and youth adult formation for the Diocese of Madison and the mission director and founder of Love Begins Here.