Bishop Jon Hansen, CSsR
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To Be a Northern Missionary
As the people of the north have had to adapt to the changing technology of our time, the role of the missionary has also needed to adapt. Today being a missionary is to be a presence that helps journeys humbly with the people, helping to bring awareness to what God is with the people he or she has come to serve.
Truth and Reconciliation
I am hopeful for what I see when I visit the communities in the North. The people are very spiritual, and they have always known and had a deep hunger for God. They want to reconcile with the church and are willing to keep walking together on this journey.
The Cost of Suffering
When we feel the suffering of this world, we cry out, Where is God? Why is God not with me? What have I done, Lord, that you would abandon me? It's interesting that those very words even came out of the mouth of Jesus as he died on the cross. Not because he was in despair, but perhaps we needed to hear our own voice coming back to us from that cross.
Surrounded by Signs
We're surrounded by signs. Sometimes people say God is invisible. Where is this God that you have your faith in? Why doesn't God show himself? Well, I say God does show himself. God always shows himself. God is always giving us signs that we can see.
Workers in the Northern Vineyard
The love of Mary throughout the North is strong. She unites us North and South. Devotion to Mary, Mother of Jesus, Mother of God is also part of the missionary understanding. Mary's virtues of humility, resilience and awareness, these are virtues I seek to develop in myself as a missionary bishop and they are the marks of a vocation for all who come here to work with us. Mary is a guide for all of us
Called Into Mission
If we really open ourselves, if we allow ourselves to be vulnerable, then we must be open to change. And I'm not talking about changing the truth. The truth is the truth. It will not change. God is God. But how we respond to others asks us to change the way we look at things and how we do things.