TODOS, TODOS, TODOS—these are the words spoken by Pope Francis at WYD in Portugal. In Tagalog, Sah in young la hat!”
These words continue to resonate with our current Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV as well!
I’d like to invite all of us to allow these words to resonate with all the Missionaries of the Precious Blood and our lay associates, around the world.
Because they proclaim a very simple truth: that all human life is precious in the sight of God, and that we’re all God’s children and worthy of human dignity, connection and respect and all are invited to be a part of the Kingdom of God, the Church.
Though our founder, St. Gaspar del Bufalo, is already enjoying the glories of Heaven, were he still on this earth today, I think he’d respond to those words— TODOS, TODOS, TODOS— in bold and creative ways in our ministries and missions worldwide.
What might he ask of us?
First, he’d want to make sure that we were grounded in the love of God for ourselves and for each person. — that we recognized the divine presence within each one.
Evidence of such love would be found in how we treat one another in and outside of community houses, our churches, our workplaces, and other ministerial settings.
Indeed, St Gaspar would want our actions as a community to embody a model of Christian living that would inspire and edify Christ’s faithful to act in a bond of charity toward one another as well.
He’d want us to be ready to forgive and to be forgiven and to not hold grudges or resentments. He’d want us to be ministers of Reconciliation 24/7.
He’d want us to be deeply committed to both personal and community prayer, taking the time to pray the liturgy of the hours and the Eucharist with love and devotion.
He’d also want us to be expert learners, always ready and willing and open to seeing the world through the lens of the latest theological, scientific, and pastoral insights and praxis.
St. Gaspar would want us to be up-to-date on the latest papal apostolic exhortations and encyclicals too, and to translate their messages into concrete actions of service and mission for Christ and our world.
He’d want us to be conscious and adaptable to the signs of the times and to be ready to respond to them, with the courage and conviction of the Gospel.
He’s want us to be ecumenically minded and to adapt the Lund Principle which states that “churches should act together in all matters, except when deep differences of conviction compel them to act separately.”
He’d want us to be environmentally conscious of our responsibility to advocate for faithful stewardship of our planet and all the life that calls this planet home.
St. Gaspar would want us to stand up to authoritarian regimes and would-be kings and to advocate for a synodal and respectful political process where differing viewpoints can be equally considered.
St. Gaspar would want us to never shy away from suffering or difficulties either, whether they be personal or communal, but rather, to embrace them as we would, the cross of Christ.
Solidarity and accompaniment of those who are suffering, would also be a faithful witness to the world that we are Pilgrims of Hope, journeying together to the Eternal Jerusalem.
St. Gaspar would want us to not be so focussed on numbers of members, but on a self-less commitment to daring, bold service in the name of the Blood of Christ, placing our congregation in the hands of Divine Providence.
He’d want us to make the connection between Christ’s love for us and his summons to us, to care for the suffering poor, symbolized in the Sacred Heart of Jesus’ burning love for all sinners.
Toward that end, St. Gaspar would ask us to consider what we can do to alleviate the seven kinds of poverty that Pope Leo XIV identifies in his latest apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te.
- those who lack material means of subsistence
- those who are socially marginalized and lack the means to give voice to their dignity and abilities (refers to the homeless and mentally ill)
- those suffering from moral poverty (refers to those who don’t know right from wrong)
- those suffering from spiritual poverty (refers to those who have grown skeptical of God or faith)
- those suffering from cultural poverty (the poor who themselves often play a significant role in perpetrating their impoverished condition across generations, so that dependency on others becomes a culture of living)
- the poverty of those who find themselves in a condition of personal or social weakness or fragility (refers to those who are terminally ill, and the unemployed)
- the poverty of those who have no rights, no space, no freedom. (refers to refugees)
Indeed, there is no shortage of needs that the Lord would have us address as Missionaries of the Precious Blood.
Added to these areas of outreach to the poor, St. Gaspar would challenge us to consider in our particular ministerial contexts….
Who is not welcome?
Who has been ignored or treated as if their lives were less valuable than another’s?
Who has been judged as unworthy of our society’s or our church’s time, care or attention?
Who has been deemed beyond redemption?
Whose life is considered expendable? What can we do to bring value to that life?
Do we profess a consistent ethic of life?
It’s our discernment of the answers to these questions that will help shape our future as Missionaries of the Precious Blood and as lay associates.
It’s our discernment of the answers to these questions that will help keep the vision of St. Gaspar del Bufalo alive in the 21st century.
It’s our discernment of our answers to these questions which will renew us, in this Jubilee Year of Hope, and attract others to join us in our vocation as Missionaries of the Precious Blood, in the service to God and TODOS, TODOS, TODOS. “Sah in young la hat.”