The Love of God Impels Us at the National Encounter of Asian and Pacific Island Catholics
By: Clarissa Martinez | Associate Director, Office for the Permanent Diaconate, Diocese of San Diego
I preface my reflection with a snapshot of my family’s faith journey. Twenty-seven years ago, my young parents in their 40s braved the move to America to face the unknown. It was not easy. Hope mixed with fear, determination amidst weariness and emotional fatigue – there was a sense of nearly overwhelming responsibility. I would imagine that as young parents, their choices required continual openness and perpetual mutual encouragement. And so, here I am.
On July 15-17, 2024, in Indianapolis, close to 350 Asian and Pacific Island Catholics, lay, clergy and religious gathered for three days to demonstrate an extraordinary and dynamic encounter in “Radiant Faith: The Witness of Asian and Pacific Island Catholics.” We experienced God through a community that welcomed, sustained, and challenged one another. We listened to many stories of our past, we dined together, and vulnerably shared harsh realities like racial prejudice. We laughed and cried about life’s successes and failures. We dared to speak of reconciliation between generations. We discovered in our togetherness the emerging pathways for the implementation of the U.S. Bishops’ pastoral statement, Encountering Christ in Harmony.
From the outside looking in, one would ask, what is the common thread of these lively and diverse expressions? There is a singular answer: Christ. Christ who sustains the union and distinctions of our presence. Without Christ, we are just competing for attention. In the three days of being together, the competition was unseen! Our Celebration of Cultures, our young-adult-led prayer experience that got us out of our seats and steered us to walk around the worship space, demonstrated that we can behold the body of Christ engaged with one another. We have given permission to the Holy Spirit to work among us, through us, and despite us.
The intricacies of generations also emerged in our conversations. Woven into our histories and current realities, i.e. political wars, pandemic, and even economic and educational prosperity, these are significant cultural shifts. The reality of a global village and global family is evident: many of us are still connected to our roots, either to pay homage to the ones who provided for us or an imminent reality of a new type of ‘broken family’, parents working overseas to provide better lives for their children left ‘at home’ (i.e. the mother country). Even so, I am part of a so-called ‘sandwich generation’ – I am both a parent of a 5-year-old son and a daughter of elderly aging parents, caring for both generations.
To embrace transformation is knowing that we don’t need to do it ourselves, because transformative faith is the release of the glory of God expressed in our own cultures. To undergo transformation is not to recreate, not to generate, not installing programs. It is unearthing and fostering the gift that is already within — hidden from ages and generations past. [Colossians 1:26-27]
We don’t have gifts – we are the gift! So, through conversations, we open new grounds and explore new pathways of conversion. On our own it’s not easy. Mothers know that bearing life in the womb is not easy. It’s not for the faint of heart! It involves full and active participation in the greater life-transformation that happens at every second! Attuned to the inner heartbeat, let us stay rooted with Christ within.
The Church is a new Bethlehem, where the child Jesus on a lowly manger was welcomed by the stranger. We are welcomed to live with a purpose. Our mission is to continually welcome sojourners. We did it in the three days we gathered, not just for ministry of presence – but to be REAL presence. We are manifestations of harmonious encounters and real presence of Christ. This is who we are as a synodal church.