[Ambassadors] for Christ

When I was an undergrad at Fordham University, I was honored to be part of a group called the Rose Hill Society. Made up of 100 or so undergraduates, we volunteered for the Admissions Office -- giving campus tours, running information sessions, sometimes travelling with admissions counselors to different states to talk about the University, chatting up prospective students, and generally just busting at the seams to talk about how much we truly and genuinely loved Fordham University. We were called RHS Ambassadors, and that is truly what we were -- we were messengers, we were servants, we were campus leaders, and we were proud to drive forth the message of the University.

So what does this have to do with Lent?

Well, this past Wednesday, instead of taking my lunch break, I drove over to Villanova and participated in their 12:05 Mass. The place was PACKED! I'm talking shoulder-to-shoulder in the pews, doorways overflowing with bodies, people sitting in the aisles kind of full. It was a beautiful sight. And I wasn't even a little bit annoyed that I had to stand in the back with all the other latecomers. It was truly beautiful to see the Church teeming with people. And it really put it me in the right space and mindset to fully enter into the celebration of the liturgy with my whole heart and my entire being (which has been somewhat of a rarity this year).

The second reading was from Corinthians 5:20-6:2... I think it is worthwhile to include the entirety of the text here:

A Reading from the second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians
Brothers and Sisters: We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says: / In an acceptable time I heard you, / and on the day of salvation I helped you. / Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
The Word of the Lord.

From the moment these words were proclaimed from the ambo, I was immediately drawn to the phrase "ambassadors for Christ," and my mind was simultaneously reminded of the only other context where the word "ambassador" has meant so much to me -- as an RHS Ambassador at Fordham. Isn't it funny how your mind makes connections? Or rather, isn't it funny how God actively draws us to make these connections? I used to say that these were coincidences. But recently, my friend Fr. Tom Marciniak, SJ reminded me of what they truly are: "There are no coincidences in life, Roxanne... There are definitely no coincidences in the Life of the Spirit!" FT (Fr. Tom) calls these moments "God Winks" -- moments when our God grants us little tidbits of information (aka grace) that help us to see things or experience things more clearly. If you've read The Hunger Games, then you can also view them like I do: as little gift-wrapped packages floating down from the sky via parachute and holding something you desperately need. In my case, I desperately needed to make this connection...

To me, being an Ambassador at Fordham was a big deal. It was something I was incredibly proud of, and it was something that I was never scared to proclaim. I represented an institution that I not only respected, but also valued deeply and called my home. I wanted to speak continuously about my love for the Jesuits, for Ignatian traditions, for the Bronx, for faith & justice, for being "men and women for others." I wanted to boast about my amazing friends and the incredible faculty & staff that had become such important and influential parts of my life. I wanted to go on and on about the University Band, Campus Ministry, Global Outreach, the Center for Service & Justice, the Rose Hill Society, intramurals, CLCs, and all the other clubs and organizations that made Fordham what it was. You couldn't stop me from being an Ambassador for Fordham, and after a while, I became an Ambassador for the University beyond my campus duties, but in all my actions, words, thoughts, and commitments. Ambassador had fully permeated my being.

How much more, then, can I be a true Ambassador for Christ? Because I know and believe that my love for God and my pride in being a Christian go far beyond my love for and pride in Fordham. But have my actions truly shown that to be so? Has being an Ambassador for Christ fully permeated my being?

This is my prayer, especially for this Lent: to be a true Ambassador for Christ in all of my words, deeds, actions, thoughts, choices, and commitments. May I have the strength to proclaim my faith proudly, and to live the Gospel daily. Let me speak continuously of my love for Jesus, for the Liturgy, for the good and holy people who have graced my life. I want to boast of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, the Jesuits, the Sisters of St. Joseph, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Dominicans, the Franciscans, the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Missionaries of Charity, the Saints I hold dear, the Campus Ministers, and the holy lay men and women who have brought so much joy to my life and have given me such wonderful examples of lived faith. I want to go on and on about being a lay missioner, about feeling called to serve internationally, about my vocation in Campus Ministry. I want to speak proudly about my friends who struggle with their spirituality daily, who are studying theology, who lead CLCs, who worship at mosques, temples, and churches, who advocate for peace & justice, who work with the poor and the maginalized, who want to know God better. I want to be an Ambassador for Christ in the way that I live my life, in the ways that I love my family and friends, in the ways that I treat my neighbors and my enemies.

Let me be your Ambassador, O God.... Let me serve you as you deserve...
Amen.

"Live as though those who know you, but do not know God, come to know God because they know you."
-Anonymous