“Like good stewards of the varied graces of God, use whatever
gift each one of you has received to serve one another”.
1 Peter 4 :10
These brave and saintly words from Saint Peter were meant
to encourage Christians scattered across Asia Minor. Encouraging them to use
their God given gifts in service to one another, even if that meant being
persecuted, and I pray they will do the same for you, as they have for me in
such a real way today.
Today as I reach the 52nd year of life, I really needed these
words to be honest, I needed to just sit in these words which I did most of the
morning. To be honest relishing in what it means to be a good steward of the
graces God has given me and recognizing them has given me a lot of hope during a period of immense
obstacles that I seem to be in at the moment and perhaps it is something that can
be encouragement for all.
Though there are so many obstacles when it comes to stewardship
in the world we must see beyond what lies at the surface, and embrace what the Mother Church calls us to become which is faithful stewards of every grace — whether charism, virtue, or gift, we must use them for God’s glory and the good of others.
In a world where in
the secular culture encourages one another to focus on oneself and one’s
personal needs and personal desires are taking care of first, is far
from what God had designed for us. Others can even become obstacles of good
stewardship as they doubt and discourage others from becoming good stewards.
This was indeed the case I personally experienced in
2017 when I was discerning mission life, a person questioned what gifts I had
to offer to the poor. And to be honest with you at that time I had no answer
for them and possibly even questioned myself about what gifts, I as a single mother
had to offer the poor. I am not sure I fully understood how to answer this until
experiencing the foreign mission field. However, after living and serving the poor here
in Peru for almost 9 years now, perhaps I have a better answer to what gifts I
have to offer to others. Though I am poor myself and there is an immense poverty I find myself in, somehow, I still have the gifts He bestowed on me to offer to others. I have been blessed with the Charism of administration, The virtue and gift of fortitude and the Grace to desire and embrace suffering with a salvific
joy. I really honestly do not have any other special qualities or gifts or a fountain of wealth of the material kind, yet I feel that
these qualities are more than sufficient and allow me to serve the poor and allows
me to put up a fight against the devil who seems to be very eager to when me
for himself.
And speaking of the devil, there’s no doubt he likes to play
his tricks with me and the mission here, placing obstacles along the way,
making simple daily life tasks difficult in hopes to detour me so I will throw
in the white towel and run back to a more secure and comfortable life. To say
the least Satan really has no bounds, and he has made a mess of a lot of aspects
here just in the last month. From locking up and freezing our bank account, to
shrinking our monthly financial support in an alarming rate (in the last month
we have lost 4 benefactors who have supported the mission here). He has wreaked
havoc on our mission vehicle, making us have unexpected costly repairs. He has
even made sure that any Peruvian bureaucracy and red tape we need to cut
through for a special upcoming mission here has stood still in its tracks for
more than a month with no advancement or approval from government offices, with
a very important deadline Fastly approaching. And perhaps one of the most significant
blows was finding out that for the 1st time since becoming a foreign missionary
I will owe the IRS over 2 thousand dollars instead of getting back a large
refund, which we have historically used to offset the deficit in our mission
fund. There is no doubt that after the month
that we have had here, no one would bat an eye if we decided to throw in the white
towel and give in to our own desires and our own basic physical and emotional needs.
However, that would not be a good steward of our gifts.
Though the graces and the gifts that God has bestowed on
me are far from elegant and useful to many, somehow, they are just enough for
the poor I live among and serve. And I am grateful for my hidden life among them
and the countless opportunities to be a good Christian steward. Please do not get me wrong, I am far
from perfecting the mission of dying to self, I try so hard to be a mirror of Jesus’s
mercy to the poor and as Pope Leo says, “Leaving behind the solitude” of my own “selfishness”,
somehow has been the substance of my very existence and has brought great joy,
gratitude and satisfaction for me. - Pope Leo XIV, Angelus Prayer, 21
September 2025
I must also say, though this morning I am reflecting on myself in great detail, please know
that each one of you maintain a special place in my heart, as you have become a source of life and hope not only for the poor but for me as well. I am forever grateful for those of you who
have shared your gifts of prayers, and financial gifts for the Lord’s mission
here among the poor, as each one of you are indeed to be called good Christian
stewards who have responded in a particular way according to the gifts God has
bestowed upon you. It is hard not to honor your partnership in His mission
here, together we have made many concrete ways in which the poor here have
access to the Catholic faith, hope, love, mercy and the sacraments. Though there are many
obstacles that the modern world presents to us despite our desire to be good
stewards, I am so grateful that that together we have made every special effort
to understand the true meaning of stewardship and to live accordingly to
Jesus’s teaching in this way.
Today reflecting on the meaning of life and what it means
to become a true gift of self to another; it is so very apparent what can be
achieve when we desire to be good stewards of our gifts, as I see it with my own eyes. And I do not believe that
it is a mere coincidence that today the community of Santa Clara celebrates
their 1st Mass in their new chapel, that was made possible from the gifts and
talents that each one of you have received, as good stewards you have shared them
with this poor community that had no other means to build a new chapel for themselves,
and our Lord could not be more pleased with you and your desire to share your
gifts to the poor. To be a witness to this today, I feel is the best birthday
gift that I could have ever received.
Pope Leo reminds us "how we administer the most
precious goods of all, our very life” truly matters as he reflects on the
parable of the unjust steward, the Pope explained that this is an image that
tells us, “we are not the masters of our lives or of the goods we enjoy,” but
that all we possess is gift from God, who entrusts these gifts “to our care,
our freedom, and our responsibility.” Pope Leo urges us to “Use God’s gifts to create
a more just and equitable world” and you are absolutely doing just that, here
among the poor by making the concerns and the needs of the poor your own.! -
Pope Leo XIV, Angelus Prayer, 21 September 2025.
I honor each one of you for your good stewardship and
your desire to build up concrete ways for others to encounter and experience God’s
mercy and love, which you have done through your actions and your true concern
for the needs of the poor.
With an immense confidence in your desire to continue to
partner with us I would like to invite you to consider the following
opportunities for sharing your gifts and talents with the poor. And even more confidence in the Lord's mercy for the poor I am on my knees in prayer for their needs. The following are the needs that our monthly
donations do not cover.
Annual Priest Retreat
The 1st week of August we are hosting the Annual Priest
retreat, and we have historically over the last 4 years have spent $5,000.00 USD
for lodging for 28 priests, meals, snacks, and for a guest speaker to guide our
priest. Please prayerfully consider helping us make this retreat possible again
this year. Our deposit for lodging and meals is due at the end of June.
This year we are excited to announce that we have gained
1 more priest to that number as Padre Robinson was just ordained a few weeks
ago and we will also host our new deacon who was ordained along with Padre
Robinson, Deacon Miguel.
Constructing a roof for a small all girl’s Catholic
school
A small all girls Catholic school located in Chachapoyas
is in need of help, and the sisters have asked for our help. This is a large
ask, but I am going to remain confident that if it is Gods will than he will
make it happen for these sweet Sisters, as they pour out their heart and souls
into their work with the girls and have no other way to pay for the roof.
The roof will serve a 3-fold mission, it will allow the
girls to have an area that they can play under in the raining seasons, it will also
serve as a gym for their physical education and sports and lastly it will serve as an auditorium for
parent meetings and masses.
Jose the same young man that helps leads all of our
construction projects has estimated the cost of the roof to be between $18,000.00
and $22,000.00 US dollars. And of course, he would be the one who would be leading
the construction of the roof.
To make
a donation please follow the link below and be sure to comment on which project
you would like to sponsor in the comment section on the donation page.
Mission Post:
Casa de
Santa María Magdalena:
Caserio Santa Clara, Amazonas, Peru
Follow the link below to
learn more about Santa Maria Magdalena´s home, its mission, and how to partner
with us.https://www.familymissionscompany.com/santa-maria.../
I have attached a few more photos of from today! So, you can see the holy work God is doing here through each one of you.
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| Gabriel the best mission partner |
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| Baby Mateo was baptized today! The 1st in the new chapel!!!!! |
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| Offering of fruit coffee and oranges |
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| I love this picture of the offerings of the poor |
