The World Community for Christian Meditation [Hong Kong] recently invited Stephania Ling, a lay missionary from the Hong Kong Catholic Lay Missionary Association who served in South Sudan, to speak at their weekly online meditation meeting. She shared insights on applying contemplative wisdom to practical missionary work.
South Sudan is the world’s youngest nation, founded in 2011. Yet it continues to struggle with numerous issues and remains extremely fragile. According to the Fragile States Index 2024, South Sudan ranked third globally; ranked first in the global corruption index 2024; has the lowest Purchasing Power Parity and the lowest GDP per capita in the world.
Many people have asked, “How do you keep going in such a place? How do you still find hope amid despair?” I thank the Lord for leading me years ago to discover Christian meditation.
Back then, I had no idea how much it would shape my life. I simply felt it was a simple and peaceful way to pray without words. Though I would not call myself a “successful” meditator, I’m often distracted, but I persisted, especially while serving with the sisters in mission abroad where discipline became more natural.
Over the years, I’ve come to realise that Christian meditation has become a spiritual pillar in my missionary journey. It has taught me three important lessons— lessons I’m still learning the growing through:
1. Let go of control, humbly accept powerlessness
During Christian meditation, we try to focus, yet distractions happen. This taught me something important: trying hard does not always guarantee results. The more we exert control, the less we can do it. We just have to accept our weakness and limitations and try again next time.
Missionaries work tirelessly but don’t always see results. It’s easy to feel tired, discouraged, and guilty. Christian meditation has taught me to humbly accept my weakness and limits. We are not God. Mission work doesn’t belong to us—it belongs to him. We are his co-workers, his instruments. We can only do our best, let God do the rest
In places like Tonj and Turalei in South Sudan, the government provides neither water nor electricity. There are no paved roads or public transport, and people live in grass-roofed huts without toilets. Typhoid and malaria are leading killers, and many die because they cannot afford medicine. The food crisis is ongoing, and military and tribal conflicts are constant.
Missionaries work tirelessly but don’t always see results. It’s easy to feel tired, discouraged, and guilty. Christian meditation has taught me to humbly accept my weakness and limits. We are not God. Mission work doesn’t belong to us—it belongs to him. We are his co-workers, his instruments. We can only do our best, let God do the rest.
2. Stay faithful even without immediate results, change unfolds over time, in God’s time.
Christian meditation may feel boring and doesn’t produce emotional highs or immediate results. Yet, when practiced consistently, slow transformation happens over time. It might take months—or even a year—before we realise we have gradually changed.
Similarly, missionary work is slow, often without visible results. Yet in time, the seeds we plant may take root and blossom in the hearts of those we have touched.
For instance, in South Sudan, I witnessed stories of hope: students letting go of hatred, choosing forgiveness over revenge; university-bound youth who have not forgotten their struggling village folk, drafting proposals to lift them out of poverty.
Although failures outnumber successes, we must hold on to hope, keep sowing seeds of love and seeds of hope, and trust those seeds will sprout one day, in God’s time. As Mother Teresa said, “God does not ask us to be successful. He only asks us to be faithful.”
For instance, in South Sudan, I witnessed stories of hope: students letting go of hatred, choosing forgiveness over revenge; university-bound youth who have not forgotten their struggling village folk, drafting proposals to lift them out of poverty.
3. Let go of distractions, focus on the present moment
In Christian meditation, we try to let go of distractions by silently repeating the mantra “Maranatha” and centering ourselves in the present moment. When we notice our minds have wandered, we gently return to the mantra.
In our hyperconnected age, the relentless flood of news—war, deaths, horrifying news and numbing statistics—threatens to drown us in hopelessness. It makes us feel there is nothing we can do.
While it is important to stay informed about world events, if we let this information dictate our emotions, we will lose our inner peace. Instead, if we focus on the present – and the individual right in front of us—we can see hope.
When I stop letting the horrifying statistics about South Sudan paralyse me, and instead turn my attention to the child, the patient, the woman, the student before me—offering them a word of encouragement, a helping hand—they find the strength to cling to hope and move on with courage.
Christian meditation helps us see light in the midst of darkness and despair. Let us continue to pray for world peace.
The World Community for Christian Meditation [Hong Kong Branch] currently has 15 meditation groups that meet regularly. We also host weekly Zoom meditation sessions every Thursday. For inquiries, please WhatsApp us at 8401-1742 or visit our website at wccm.hk.
