One day I walked out of church following Mass and I saw something like this next to the bright red EXIT sign:

Not “Have a Blessed Day,” or “Remember to sign up for the Fall Festival” or “Registration Open for our Catholic School,” but “YOU ARE NOW ENTERING YOUR MISSION FIELD.” (And thanks to Eugene Peretz for the great photo above!)

You would think we don’t need a reminder. We were told just three minutes prior to “Go and announce the gospel of the Lord,” or “Go, and glorify the Lord by your life.” Pretty direct commands, yes?. Yet that visual sign holds an impact that the well known liturgical dialogue doesn’t. Mission field? I’m on mission?

First, yes, we are all on mission! If you are baptized, you’ve been given a holy and joyful mission to share the good news. Some refer to The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19: “Go and make disciples of all nations….”), others remember Luke’s commission in Acts 1:8: “You will be my witnesses…,” and some encourage the first mission in the Gospel of Mark 5:19: “Go home to your own people and tell them what the Lord in his mercy has done for you.” They are all more similar than not–they all say go share God. He is too good, too life-changing, to keep to ourselves. And there are people who need his hope and healing.

That means you are on a mission–and it isn’t mission impossible. From the waters of your baptism, you are sent to be a herald of the gospel to others. You are called to share God in word and deed. And you are called to invite people to “come and see” that the Lord Jesus Christ is good, and has come to save.

So What’s a Mission Field?

This language may be unusual to us, but a “mission field” exists to encourage us to discern: who lives in our mission field? Who are we called to share the gospel with…and invite them to come and see that the Lord is good?

1. Your family is a mission field. If you are a parent–and even if you are not–you are called to be a witness to your family. Parents, your children learn what love is from you–and watch how you love God. Father, mother, brother, sister, child, grandparent or grandchild–you can share who God is in the most daily circumstances, and teach each other that Jesus is our Lord and our friend, the center of our lives. When we hurt each other, we forgive. We strive to be people of character together. We cherish life as a gift from God. 
2. Your workplace is a mission field.Some say “your life is the only Bible some people will read,” and that is true. Start with living with integrity and compassion for the vulnerable, and if it comes up, do not hide your Christian identity. Then, after prayer, invite your workplace to come and see–come to Mass, or come to a parish mission, or your home to share in life. 
3. Your parish neighborhood is a mission field. This neighborhood has been given to the baptized of your parish, and it is the reason your parish Church exists–to be a witness and invitation to God for the whole neighborhood. But that means more than shining the front sign and ringing the Church bells. It means literally finding ways to invite the neighborhood to consider Christ through his Church, and serving them in their need.

Your Church Is a M*A*S*H* Unit

One thing Pope Francis has called for repeatedly is that parishes must become “field hospitals.” We are called to run out to the wounded in our midst–the spiritually wounded, the emotionally hurt, the socially excluded–by doing exactly what many did in the gospels. They brought these people to Jesus. 

Life can be very hard, and the reality is we are people who both sin against others and suffer as the sinned against. The only one who can heal us fully is God himself, through his Son, Jesus Christ. The sacraments of our Church and the worship we share is a gifted source of immediate hope and joy–and we often take that for granted.

Someone you know needs the healing of spirit and mind and perhaps body that only God can give. That person, as you walk outside your parish, is your immediate mission field. And your mission is to offer God’s love to that person and invite him or her to come and see.