Bringing Good News to the Poor

The Miles Jesu Domus vocation is a beautiful and exciting vocation indeed. It is the consecrated life; the striving to know, follow, imitate, and belong to Jesus Christ in a very deep and special way made available to a lay person. It has been raised up by the Holy Spirit to answer the needs of our times; to evangelize our secular and neo-paganistic society, to reach out to millions of unchurched people and fallen away faithful, and to teach the faithful how to live out and deepen their Christian lay vocation. The Domus members live in community and find their strength and energy in a life of prayer centered around the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Love, Jesus Christ. All the members of Miles Jesu have the same purpose, to instill Catholic ideals and goals in the world furthering the kingdom of Christ, making Him the center of all human life, starting with our very own. However, the way in which each member carries out this purpose varies.

Some of our members work as professionals in secular companies. Some are studying at university to obtain a profession or for the priesthood. Some are propagating the Faith in various countries, and some, like myself are using their professions, education, talents and skills in the missions to serve the poor and needy. By the grace of God i have been a Miles Jesu missionary for over 8 years now and i am very grateful to God for allowing me to be little part of His great work. Prior to working as a missionary in third world countries i can honestly say that i took the education, formation and skills that i learned at home, at work, in school and at university for granted. It wasn't until after living and working in mission countries that i recognized their value and usefulness. Many times i observed local and traditional ways of doing things that seemed backward or over-complicated. I often witnessed situations where one would expect someone to find a simple solution to a particular problem or find a more practical and efficient way of doing something. I then realized just how important it is to have members of Miles Jesu using their talents, education, and skills as missionaries to help people in poor countries.

Without missionaries people might otherwise be condemned to their state of poverty. The poor around the world desperately need Miles Jesu Domus missionaries to educate, care for, and lift them up from their state and teach them how to improve their quality of life and standard of living. We educate people how to make good use of the resources and foods available to them. One thing that made a lasting impression on me was the magnitude of the impact one missionary can have on a whole community when he shares the gifts and talents God has given him and works with genuine concern and generosity for his neighbor. I am always edified and impressed by my fellow Miles Jesu Domus brothers who are working as missionaries throughout the world and i want to highlight some of their inspiring examples to illustrate the ways we are active.

Joseph and raised in Enugu State, Nigeria has been a Domus member for over seven years. At the age of 16 he became an apprentice to a pharmacist where he learned about medicines, treatments, and first aid among other things in the field of health care. Later he began wholesaling and retailing pharmaceuticals in the largest market in West Africa which led him to a deeper education in stages of disease. After some time Joseph closed down shop and began working full time as a Miles Jesu missionary. Recently he completed training as a lab technician in hematology and bacteriology. He is the head of the Epiphany Medical Mission clinic in Nigeria. I asked Joseph of the importance of the clinic and medical mission here. He said, 'The need for it is essential. So many people are sick with easily manageable diseases, but they have no money and fear going to hospitals for a variety of reasons. People are just suffering the disease and dying unnecessarily. The villages need it the most. People are afraid to open up about their ailments, but when they know you're a missionary it relaxes them and they easily open up about their problems which are most of the time easily solvable.'

Although Joseph is not an official doctor, many people consider him so and even better than the local and hospital doctors. He explained, 'When people go to the hospital, the doctors are typically rough and uncompassionate with the patients. It seems they are only concerned about the money. Many times if you don't pay up front, no matter how bad of shape you're in, they won't treat you. I know people who have died because they didn't have the funds to pay the doctor for a life threatening surgery, and the doctor just left the hospital.' People come from many villages to Joseph with trust and confidence. He takes his time and is patient with them. He has helped many people get through and recover from simple as well as serious illnesses. Joseph is also looking after the health care needs of all our children in the Boys' and Girls' Towns in Nigeria.

Another bold example is Sean, an optometrist from Northern Ireland, who is currently working in Eastern Europe at our Orphans of Alcoholism Center. Sean is not only using his profession as an optometrist to treat people in our recently built medical clinic, but is also mustering up all his abilities and talents to build up a great project that looks after the welfare of street children. He is leading a team of missionaries to accomplish a great vision of saving thousands of children from a life of danger and tragedy. His clear thinking, good foresight of needs for development, and professionalism in presentation and management are all skills that he obtained throughout his life's experiences and is now infusing them dynamically into a mission of great importance. He is bringing hope to children who are on the fringe of hopelessness, and let me tell you from my own experience, where Sean is working, it's no easy task. Sean has endured many slights, slanders, and even been spit upon by those we are helping only to show patience and tolerance in a great degree. One thing he mentioned to me was how he loves to use his musical education to entertain and inspire the street kids. He remarked, 'The children really enjoy when I play the piano for them and always ask me to teach them how to play something. It is a very positive tool for them. It stimulates them in a positive way.' Sean's insight into the needs of the children and his conviction and dedication to rescue as many of those children as he can is surely one of the reasons of the expansion and success of that project.

Another wonderful example of a Domus missionary is Ruslan from Ukraine. Ruslan spent two years in the military before he joined Miles Jesu. He is currently the Director of the Boys' Town in Bortniky, Ukraine, and is also pursuing a university degree in psychology. His education in psychology will come in handy considering he is the 'father' of over 20 boys, most of whom have very broken backgrounds. The running of a Boys' Town demands many skills such as discipline, organization, frugality, and thrift. Many of these were instilled in Ruslan during his military service and training. Now he is the captain of a 'small regimen.' His ability to multi-task is of great value when you consider his grave responsibilities and duties like fundraising, legal work, and giving personal attention and formation to each of the boys. No doubt if he were a manager in a bank he would surely be successful and making a lot of money, but his service as a care-provider and father of orphaned and abandoned boys is worth much more than any bank could ever pay.

All the above domus missionaries i've highlighted could have a high paying job, a successful career, and a high-class lifestyle. Instead, they have chosen to follow a special invitation from the Lord. The same invitation the rich young man in the Gospel denied because of his wealth. These young men have decided to store their wealth in heaven and give their skills and talents to the service of the poor. Now they are being used as God's instruments in tremendous ways, bringing hope to thousands of people in need. As i mentioned earlier, we draw our strength from our life of prayer and our relationship with our Lord and His Most Blessed Mother. We also need your prayers and financial support to help us expand further and reach out to more people in need. Together we will continue to make beautiful changes in peoples' lives throughout the world.

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