Pilgrims of Hope: Living Mission at Home
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
by Daniel Lindbergh Lang
During the Jubilee Year of Hope, 2025, I reflected on returning to the States after an extended time serving in Asia. I returned to America last summer from Asia, where I had remained for three years of service and sojourn. The call to mission remains, however. As Pope Leo XIV reminded us last fall, missionary life continues in our daily lives.
In my present role, I am a graduate student in international relations among civil servants and aspirant diplomats. In my new parish, where our pastor preaches to civil servants, I heard in a homily how we are ambassadors of Christ in every place to everyone. The lessons I learned in China and Mongolia likewise color how I approach my place and studies.
Mission continues through quiet witness at home. Cardinal Stephen Chow of Hong Kong spoke of vocation as relational, the way we dwell with others. Since returning, I’ve experienced that truth in many ways. Here’s one way. A fellow Catholic, whom I met years ago when discerning graduate programs, moved to the same city where I now study. We reunited, and I shared my time in Asia. Shortly thereafter, when a friend of his wanted to learn more about the Church in Mongolia, he connected us. Our cardinal of Mongolia happened to visit D.C. around that time. Therefore, this fall, I got to help my newfound friend learn about the Church in Mongolia.
Meanwhile, this fall, a colleague from the Southeast Asia mission reached out, asking me to counsel someone discerning service on mission to Hong Kong. Providentially, our call fell on World Mission Sunday. I felt delighted to become in a small way a part of her journey.
Every day, grace characterizes my other experiences back in America. I still wear a cross that accompanied me overseas. Simply wearing it has opened conversations about the faith. In one instance, shortly after I reached our nation’s capital for school, I needed new vaccinations. I awaited my appointment in a Pennsylvania Avenue CVS and wound up having a wonderful conversation with a local retiree waiting there. By our conversation’s end, she penned a couple of notes for my wife and me that read, “God Loves You.” My wife keeps hers on her desk, with mine in my wallet.
As crisp air rustles what leaves remain on their branches, my new music ministry group sang its last “Pilgrims of Hope” hymns of the Jubilee Year. Members appreciated how I came even amid midterms and final exams. In the new encounters and gentle reunions, I feel calmed by and grateful for God’s constancy. I continue to serve through study, song, and friendship. In 2026, I look forward to singing more with community ministries. I hope to volunteer more with our Knights of Columbus as well. Whether on foreign soil or newly familiar streets, the Spirit calls us forward together.
I close with one last surprise of this year. I received an invitation from my graduate school to return to Southeast Asia for the first time since the mission. I reconnected with people I walked with then and online in the four years since. I shared a reflection with those I learned were discerning to go on mission in Asia. Our pilgrim journeys continue.
Daniel Lindbergh Lang is a missionary, graduate student, and contributor to the USCCA blog. In 2021, Daniel was also an enthusiastic participant in the 28th USCCA International Conference at Santa Clara University.
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