By Gracia Kibad

(L-R) Columban missionaries Gracia Kibad, 
Carla Petautschnig and Susy Tramoloa

Gracia Kibad, a Columban lay missionary from Bauko, Mountain Province, has been in Ireland since 1996.

‘Why Ireland? Is there mission there? Do you think there is a future for the Church in Ireland?’ These are some of the questions people asked me. I received comments such as, ‘You’re great to leave your family and come this far to do what you’re doing’. 

Reflecting on my experience, I’m convinced that there is mission in Ireland more so than anywhere else, for mission goes beyond geographical and cultural boundaries. For us who come here, we discover what mission is for us.

What does it mean for me to work in the Church in a so-called post-Christian society? It is a Church that has a long tradition of sending missionaries to us Filipinos. Now they are receiving us. Over time, the concept of mission has changed and so too the manner in which it is done. Missionaries now engage and immerse themselves in the people and the reality in which they find themselves.

Personal call to mission

I feel compelled to respond to the call of mission. I desire to follow God’s call. I’ve never dreamt of doing great things. I believe that this calling springs from God’s inviting me to give witness to my Christian values. Sometimes it’s difficult. It seemed daunting to face the risks that went with answering the call. Deep in the recesses of my being I felt that no one could stop me from responding to it. It was something that had been there and it was time to let that desire burst forth so that it would bear fruit. Leaving my family and friends is one thing, but leaving to face the unknown has been very challenging.  

I came to Ireland with very little expectation. What I know is that I came because I was responding to a call.

A change in perspective

My initial sense of being in Ireland was revulsion. The consumerist way of life of the people made me angry. To me it was deplorable. Coming from a country where so many people are poor and a country burdened by world debt, I initially disliked living and working in Ireland. I had a notion that they didn’t care about us in developing countries like the Philippines, so why did I have to live here among them and be generous to them. This may sound silly. Of course, individual citizens are not the culprits. It’s the global economic system which prevails that I’m angry about.

I had to convince myself that while ‘Third World’ citizens are ‘victims’ of the global economic system, the citizens in developed countries are ‘victims’ too, victims of a consumerist, materialistic lifestyle. This is a challenge that people in the West need to face. I realized that mission has to penetrate this reality, too. 

Thus I needed to grow out of my own preconceptions to be true to God’s call.  I needed to work on my anger so as to understand the situation I found myself in. If I was to witness to my Christian values, I needed to understand the underlying issues to be able to focus on my vision and mission here.

Lessons learned

In the two parishes where I was assigned, I got involved in working with young people, the Travelers(people living a nomadic life), the elderly, prayer groups, liturgy groups and migrant workers. Working with a variety of people young and old, Irish and foreign, has been very enriching, indeed life-giving. It also gave me a good grounding in the knowledge of the reality of Irish society and the Irish Church.

My experience of cross-cultural mission has taught me to let go of my notions of how things should be, of the structures I knew that worked. Basically, I had to let go of what I knew and enter into a new way of doing things, of relating with people. I had to allow myself to be surprised by the newness of the situation I was in and to be open to encountering those who were different from me. 

I have gone beyond my prejudices towards the so-called ‘First World’ to a better understanding of its people and where they’re at. Certainly, there’s a need for God’s compassion anywhere, and it’s needed here. My compassion as a missionary is called for. In a very small way I’ve tried to do something, hoping that I’ve made a little difference in the lives of those I’ve met and worked with.

Bearing fruit in the mission field

I am growing in my faith and I can only thank God for this. I’ve grown out of my childish notion of God, who would be there and wipe my tears away, making everything okay. Now in my adult life, I have experienced God in a different way. While God is still there to wipe my tears away, God is present in my weeping, in my loneliness. God is always there to see me through my trials and my joys.

I find strength in the mission enterprise of the Columbans in their work for justice and peace, dialogue with other faiths and their work in caring for the earth. I believe in the work they do. Being a part of this enterprise I feel that my vision is nourished by the Columban charism. (‘Enterprise’ OK).

Loved by the Lord of the service

I discovered that I don’t have all the answers in this life, and it is good to know that I don’t. Otherwise I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to struggle with others and the realities of their lives. I would not have had the experience of resurrection, no chance to have asked questions and thus no desire to search for answers.  There would have been no moments of feeling vulnerable and helpless and no experience of just being with people where they’re at.

These encounters became occasions of affirming my own uniqueness. I had to learn to receive, since it is also in receiving that I learn to give. Perhaps the little that I give would make a difference in someone else’s life. I found that there is joy in giving and receiving. As the adage goes, ‘We are not so poor as to give nothing nor so rich as to receive nothing’.

I also realized that listening is such an essential dimension to being able to understand others, otherwise dialogue would seem futile and understanding impossible. To listen is to have an open heart and an open mind. There can be no authentic listening when we are so full of ourselves for there is no room for others in our hearts. 

As I look back at my experience in Ireland, my heart is filled with thanksgiving to the God of many surprises, who asked me to leave the familiar and embrace the unknown. Through cross-cultural mission, I feel God constantly affirming his love for me through the people I come across.