See What God is Growing

by Maryellen Harrington, Director of Lay Engagement

Sometimes a Gospel refuses to let go of you. Weeks after returning from a Mission Cooperative Appeal on behalf of the Midwest Augustinians, I still find myself reflecting on Jesus' parable of the wheat and the weeds.

At first glance, the field in Jesus' parable appears overrun with weeds. The servants are eager to pull them up immediately. Yet the master sees something they do not. He knows there is wheat growing too, and he patiently waits for the harvest.  It would be easy to focus only on the weeds when reflecting on the challenges faced by our friends in Peru.  To only see poverty, political instability, natural disasters, and the many challenges the people of northern Peru face. Those realities are real. But they are not the whole story.  The Gospel invites us to look for the wheat.

The wheat is found in children receiving an education grounded in faith. It is found in vibrant parish communities, dedicated catechists, families whose faith remains steadfast despite hardship, and young Peruvian men answering God's call to become Augustinians. God's Kingdom has been quietly growing there for more than sixty years, often in ways the world never notices.

That is the story we have the privilege of sharing when we go out to give Mission Cooperative Appeals.

The appeal certainly raises the financial resources that help sustain our ministries in Peru. Every gift makes it possible for the Augustinians to continue walking alongside the people of northern Peru through education, pastoral ministry, leadership formation, and the daily work of proclaiming the Gospel.

But the appeal is about more than financial support.  It is also an opportunity to introduce people to the Augustinian family—to share not only what we do, but who we are.

At the heart of our spirituality is the desire to live with one heart and one mind intent upon God. That vision shapes the way we minister, the way we accompany others, and the way we understand mission itself. We believe Christ draws people into communion, forms us in community, and sends us into the world together. Whether serving in Peru or in our own neighborhoods, our calling is the same: to help build a Church united in Christ.

Perhaps that is one of the quiet gifts of a Mission Cooperative Appeal. It not only strengthens our ministries in Peru but also gives us the opportunity to share the Augustinian charism with people who may never have encountered it before. Through the story of Peru, they also discover a community striving to live with one heart and one mind intent upon God.

The parable of the wheat and the weeds remind us that God's work is often quieter than we expect. Amid the struggles we readily see, God is patiently bringing forth a harvest. It was a privilege to share a few glimpses of that harvest in Peru and to invite others to become part of the story.

To learn more about the Midwest Augustinians' mission in northern Peru, visit www.midwestaugustinians.org/foreign-missions.