Missionary Message for the 11th of the month of January 2021
General Councillor for Missions
RMG, 10 January 2021 -- We often hear the saying ‘get out of your comfort zone’ but what is it? Our ‘comfort zone’ is that area of our life in which we do not feel any stress and anxiety because we feel familiar with and in control of our environment. Anything outside our comfort zone is always very challenging for us. But there is also that little voice in the back of our head which readily comes up with a thousand reasons why our new idea or new way of doing will fail, is dangerous, should not be repeated, should be avoided…
We will always be stuck in our comfort zone, never moving forward and never growing. It does not allow us to discover what we are capable of. Thus, we continue doing things we have always done without realising that we have actually become blind to the fact that it is not producing results anymore.
We need to challenge ourselves to move out of our comfort zones by taking small steps like learning to understand and appreciate the way others see things which is different from my own point of view. Learning to eat food from another culture or learning another foreign language is another small step. So is living in another culture, another country. Indeed, it is only in taking small steps, but many of them, that we will be able to break through our comfort zone and move forward.
A ship is meant to sail the high seas, not to be safe in the harbour. We too are designed to set out into the deep, to push the boundaries of what we can achieve and unlock our potentials as ‘missionary disciples’. Thus, Pope Francis insisted that “following Jesus is not a polite etiquette to be observed, but a journey to be undertaken.” Indeed, if we ourselves want to find Jesus, “we have to overcome our fear of taking risks, our self-satisfaction and our indolent refusal to ask anything more of life” (Homily, January 6, 2018).
For Reflection and Sharing
- What is my comfort zone?
- What are the fears that paralyze me?
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Dear Father Alfred, I have just finished reading your latest letter about the comfort zone. It has eally touched me. But I must be honest and tell you that I was born in Amsterdam, Holland,in 1927, and in November 1950 arrived in Melbourne Australia with two companions to be a missionary in Australia. I am too old to get out of my comfort zone but do remember to pray the rosary three times a day for the missions . I cannot do more as my health is beginning to play up. Yours sincerely, Tony Moester SDB.