Missionary Zeal: Sharing in Christ’s Burning Love for Souls

Missionary Zeal

Sharing in Christ's Burning Love for Souls

Jesus said this of John the Baptist: “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist.”(Matthew 11:11).    Today, we celebrate the memorial of John’s Passion, his death.  John’s life as well as his death reflected the beauty of a life given completely over for God’s purposes. 

If you’ve ever read the scriptural accounts of John or pondered his life, I’m sure you could recognize the inferno of passion that was burning within him, propelling him on step by step.  And, this glorified God because it pointed to the source from which this passion came…the very heart of God.   The people who traveled to hear John the Baptist must have easily intuited that this passion they were witnessing was not merely of human origin.   His passion was pointing to the One who was coming, Jesus Christ, who was the incarnation of passionate love Himself.   Jesus who reveals the heart of the Father, reaching across all divides to come to us, to be near to us. 

“Zeal”, might be another word to describe this passionate drive in John the Baptist.   The simple definition of the word ‘zeal’ is this:  “fervor for a person, cause or object; enthusiastic diligence, eager desire”.  Or another definition, “a passion or determination that makes someone do something”. 

I think if we are honest with ourselves, perhaps we notice that sometimes we have some negative association with the word “zeal” and sometimes even some fears:  fear of standing out from the crowd, fear of being seen as too ‘over the top’, fear of being rejected because of our convictions.  

But, an authentic, holy, missionary zeal is something God desires for us to all receive.  Because, this missionary zeal is quite simply a passion to love who Jesus loves and love what Jesus loves.  Jesus desires to share this part of His heart with us. And when we open our hearts to let the Holy Spirit reveal to us this love, He also has the ability to move us from fear to response.   SHARED LOVE propels us forward.  And when we are made aware of who Jesus loves and we respond through our actions then, like John the Baptist, our very life begins to point to the source of passionate love, Himself.  We become a conduit of a love that labors with passion to draw all of humanity to Himself, forever.   

In the encyclical Mission of the Redeemer, St. Pope John Paul II points out that this zeal is to part of the missionary disciple’s experience.  He says, “those who have the missionary spirit feel Christ’s burning love for souls, and love the Church as Christ did.  The missionary is urged on by “zeal for souls”, a zeal inspired by Christ’s own charity, which takes the form of concern, tenderness, compassion, openness, availability and interest in people’s problems.” (Redemptoris Missio 89.)  

A ‘zeal for souls’ isn’t something that normally just ‘happens’, but, it comes when we take time to examine our hearts and notice, first, if we are open to let God fill us with this sort of love.   We need to come to Jesus and ask Him, “Lord, help me to love who and what you love”.   We need to take a little time each day and ask Him, “Lord, please show me, who do you want me to reach out to today?”   It is one thing to simply consider this in our thoughts but it another to sit with God in prayer, with an open heart and let Him show us… to let Him share with us.  

Today, perhaps some questions we can ask ourselves:   Is my heart filled with this fire of divine love?    Is my heart fueled with love for the people God has already placed in my life?  Is my heart fueled with love for the people I will randomly encounter during this particular week?  Have I taken the time to let Him fill me with this fire of passionate love.. to show me how, and who and what He loves?

Perhaps this week, we try to take even a short time each day to examine our hearts in this way.  And to daily, ask Jesus for the grace to love who and what He loves.

St. John the Baptist, pray for us!

Written by Kristin Niedbala

'The Preaching of John the Baptist' by Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1486-1490