Missionaries of the Sacred

In 1963, when I was a freshman at Sacred Heart Mission Seminary, the candidates for the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart were mostly white, the children and grandchildren of immigrants from Western Europe. There were a few teenagers from other ethnic groups, including two African American students in my freshman class in high school and a student from Puerto Rico in the freshman class in college. This representation from our common church predicted the changing face of our Catholic Church. Today, although the majority of the members of our MSC-USA Community are descendents of Western Europeans, many languages are now spoken. Spanish and Pigin English are the two most common languages other than English, representing our past and present commitment to foreign mission endeavors.

As a Church, we need to open our doors and invite in the peoples who have come to this country, enriched our society and made the Catholic Community in the United States what it is today. We also need to help new members become leaders in their local church and inspire the apostolic works of vowed religious and consecrated life.

It is not a simple task to help new people feel included. It takes intentional communities to build a diverse ethnic community. We just don't assign a person to a group and hope that they acculturate. Many Diocese and Religious orders have invited Priests and Brothers and Sisters to join a USA Diocese or local Religious community. Part of the process has included programs of cultural adaptation, which are designed to help the person adapt to food, culture, means of travel, pronunciation, rules and others factors that may be very different from their home country.

When I was a child, the Hungarian revolution caused many Hungarians to flee their country and migrate to communities in the USA. A few moved to my small hometown in north eastern Ohio. Hearing someone speak another language that I did not understand became a very common experience. When I was 18, I experienced a cultural difference that taught me an important lesson. I was a new driver and Dad asked me to deliver some milk to a Hungarian friend on the Sunday afternoon after Christmas. I delivered the milk and this man asked me to have a shot of whiskey to celebrate the Christmas season. Since I was young and driving my dad's milk truck, I refused the hospitality. Dad guided me to greater understanding of cross-cultural social differences, showing me that I had insulted his friend by refusing the drink. Dad would never offer me a shot of whiskey, but his Hungarian friend offered it as a means to extend friendship to me and my father through me. Learning about cultural practices is an important aspect of integrating people into society and community and has implications both for society in general and for our faith communities. If we want our religious houses to grow again we need to acculturate and open our doors with generous hospitality.