Destination: True North

The great Pope John Paul 2 once said, "It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; He is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is He who provoked you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is He who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is He who reads in your heart your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle.

 
It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal."

Reflecting on these beautiful words eloquently said by the Pope makes me want to do more for the mission. There is something in each one of us that longs for the One who created us. We are somehow wired to yearn, as if we are not complete without it. And, St. Augustine pointed it so well, by saying, “my heart finds no rest until it rest in you.”

Only in Jesus

Only in Jesus can our longing be quenched. Only He can satisfy every yearning that we have. Hearing so many young people sharing about their lives, their frustrations and passions, their ups and downs, their joys and sadness, I can’t help but be affirmed of that connection to the One true source of all that is needed in a world that is thirsty of real love.

Our world today offers a different reality. It says, that what makes a young person happy is by having material things as many as he can have. And yet we have seen in our young people, not satisfied with what they have. After having an Ipod, they long to have another new one. After having a car, they want another new one. It seems that the hunger cannot be quenched. Relationship after another relationships, they come and go and end up more broken than ever, because the meaning of having relationships had been watered down so low. It just means, using one another instead of building up. They remain unhappy, unsatisfied, because, true joy cannot just be found on these things, artificial and passing things, but only by anchoring themselves to Christ.

Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta describes our modern situation by saying, “The loneliness of Jesus, the pain and the suffering of Jesus in Gethsemane that cause perspiration of blood, I think that was much greater than even the crucifixion itself. Crucifixion was temporary on the flesh but the agony of the loneliness, the agony of being rejected, being left alone cause that perspiration of blood and I think today we see that loneliness being relived in many many rich countries, that people are going to a torture of being unwanted, rejected. And I think that is the greatest suffering, the greatest poverty today.”

Today, young people are hungry for love and compassion, of acceptance and care, of genuine relationships. We are to give Jesus to the world!

Northern Lights

I am always fascinated by lights, when I read encyclopedia, I am always in awe of the northern lights or what we call the ‘aurora borealis”. It is such a beautiful sight to behold. It reminds me of our true light. We have more than the northern lights here. If in Canada we have the northern lights, we are blessed to be reminded of our true light, Jesus Christ.  Let us all point other young people to the light, in the midst of darkness, of gloom, of feeling unwanted and unloved, rejected and alone.  Jesus is our hope and light that will guide us.

Unite Canada

In the history of nation building of Canada, there was always a challenge of uniting the Atlantic side from the Pacific, so what Prime Minister Macdonald did, was to build the Trans Pacific railway that will connect the Atlantic coast to the pacific. This has contributed immensely in unifying the country. Today, it is our challenge to build a new human railway that will connect Atlantic to the Pacific, with the bond of love and then we can ignite the whole country on fire for the love of mission! Let us be that railway!

True North

As YFCs in this country, let us share Jesus, our true source of joy. Canada is blessed not just because it is a first world country, but because it has a first world Christians who are not just aware of what is happening but is actually doing something.

I love history and researching on Canada I found out that it is also known by its nickname “true north”. It is even in the national anthem, ‘true north strong and free”. Canada is the True North. True North is where the compass points to, for the ship to arrive correctly and safely at its destination. We also have our True North, Jesus Christ! God must be so in love with our country that He puts that true north in our land, so that we will always be reminded of our mission. True North is in Canada! Jesus Christ is in Canada! Let us be that compass that will point other youth to that True North.

With our true light Jesus Christ, let us journey together with passion and conviction; let us proclaim Gods love with boldness and sense of urgency. Let us work us one Canada by building that new human railway of love. Let us be that compass that will point others to the One True North. And in the end we will be able to arrive to our true destination, Jesus Christ our True North.

One Canada! One Destination! TRUE NORTH!

(An inspiration for mission in Canada originally written August 2010.)

by aats