No Formal Allegiance Needed

This is the time of year when I used to go on missionary trips during my late teenage years and early twenties. These missions were organized by the Legionaries of Christ network. Trips to poor and tiny rural towns in the state of Chihuahua.

We would visit them to do two things: evangelize them or spread the teachings of the Catholic Church, and help them in different ways, such as building something they needed, donating money, or bringing basic supplies.

We would camp inside an empty school, meet with the locals, cook meals for them, or sometimes we were invited to dine in their homes. We would organize a daily mass and reenact Jesus’ crucifixion. We would play games with little kids, walk around the forest, and have bonfires every night. It was fun.

The least fun part was evangelizing. We would go out in groups of 2 or 3, each with a route covering a section of the small town, and we would go knocking on doors. Most people were kind and welcomed us in because they were already Catholic. Others just asked us to stay away.

By that time, I was already doubting Catholic teachings; they didn’t make sense to me. And here I was, putting a smile on my face, preaching the word of the Lord, trying to make sense of what I said, and deep down just wanting to be out of there, done with the preaching, and on to the games, food, or helping.