fter hearing about the ordination of my brother Faustino, many people say that I must come from a very religious family! Little do they know that, beside my brother who is already in Congo, I have my cousin Fr. Sandro who is a Xaverian Missionary in Japan, and our Uncle Fr. Louis who has just celebrated 50 years of priesthood as a diocesan priest in Italy. And do we want to know more? On my mother’s side, there are two aunts who joined a congregation of sisters!
And so, in our small way, the Turco family tries to share the Good News, and show the love of Christ to the people we meet, and remember the blessings we have all received in our lives, and join the community of the Church on Sunday to praise God.
Is this what it means to be a “very” religious family? I don’t see too much difference between the families I normally meet in my ministry here, and my own personal family. Families struggle… we do too. Brothers and sisters fight, and parents are heart-broken when our choices don’t follow the values we believe in… we do too. Often, they find a corner of the house for prayer or personal reflection… we do too.
I felt like telling my brother: “Watch out on what you are promising, because the ride won’t be that smooth.” But then, I looked over to my uncle, a priest for 50 years, and his tears told me how all of this is worthwhile, “after all these years.”
Being able to attend the Priesthood Ordination of my brother Faustino into the Xaverian family was a true blessing from above, and brought some tears of joy, not only in my parents’ eyes, but also in mine. It gave me a chance to reflect on my own promises taken some 10 years ago, when I said that “Yes” in the hands of the ordaining Bishop. I felt like telling my brother: “Watch out on what you are promising, because the ride won’t be that smooth.” But then, I looked over to my uncle, a priest for 50 years, and his tears told me how all of this is worthwhile, “after all these years.”
I could read thoughts of awe and uncertainty in the faces of the people attending the ordination ceremony. My mother’s heart filled with emotions, and my dad singing loudly to cover up his inner nervousness. My brother John and his wife missed most of the celebration because of their two young children. My brother Lawrence and his wife holding hands while their two little daughters asked them lots of questions. My sister Pierangela and her husband being supportive in prayer, with their growing children.
In this stilled picture framed in my heart, I see the “religious” aspect of my family. It’s not based on the number of religious vocations in our family, or the throngs of baptisms we do each year. It is rather being able to support each other in prayer, to lean on God in good times and rough times, to trust that God knows our journey, and that we can respond to the call of God by living fully our life vocations, whether it be priest, married person, sister, or single person.
How can we be “very” religious families? It depends on how well we share what we have received with others, and therefore, become missionaries of the Good News. Whatever you love, you share — by words, by actions, by example.
Everyone, in fact, is called by Jesus to act with a missionary spirit. “Go… make disciples… baptize… teach… I am with you always.” (Matthew 28:19-20) When we act in such ways, we are “very” religious, we act as missionaries: preaching Jesus, being Jesus.
(From Xaverian Mission Newsletter)