Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Fides Service) - During the mission month of October last year (2003), four saintly missionaries were raised to the glory of the altars. Three of them were declared saints - Daniel Comboni, founder of the Comboni Missionaries, Arnold Janssen, founder of the Society of the Divine Word, the Missionary Congregation of the Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit and the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration, and Joseph Freinademetz, the first Divine Word Missionary to China. The fourth, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, was declared blessed. The canonisation and beatification of these great missionaries was an occasion for the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, to underline once more the fundamental theme of his encyclical Redemptoris Missio, that is, the permanent validity of the missionary mandate of the Church. This permanent validity of mission ad gentes rests on the fact that, as Vatican I¾s decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church, Ad Gentes, puts it, the "church is missionary by her very nature." (A G 2). Thus, the task of first evangelisation, or the task of proclaiming the Gospel to those who have not yet heard of it, belongs to the very nature of the Church. Mission ad gentes is not something extra added on to the nature of the Church. Rather, it is part and parcel of being Church. A Church is never fully a Church if it is not missionary. This is true not only of the universal Church but also of every local Church, even of the Church in the most isolated comer of the world. It follows that every Christian, every disciple of Jesus, is missionary by virtue of his or her baptism. One cannot be a Christian and not be a missionary. One cannot be a follower of Jesus and not proclaim him to others, especially to those who have not yet heard of him. This implies that mission ad gentes is not just a special task entrusted to a special group of people in the Church like the religious or missionaries. Rather, it is the responsibility of every member of the Church, every individual Christian, every believer in Jesus Christ. Indeed, the depth of one's faith m Jesus can be measured by the strength of his or her commitment to sharing the good news of Jesus with others. It follows also that there is no "purely pastoral activity" of the Church. Rather, every pastoral activity must include a missionary element. Obviously the distinction between the Church's pastoral activity (activity directed at caring for those who already be¼eve m Jesus and therefore are already a part of the Christian community) and missionary activity (activity directed at those who are not yet disciples of Jesus and therefore are still outside the "flock") continues to be valid and useful. Indeed, one may even refer to the first as the "petrine" and to the second as the "pauline" dimensions of the activity of the Church. However, in the concrete life of the Church, these two activities cannot be completely separated. Indeed, each dimension must imbue the other. The mission intention for April urges us that m our reflection and planning for, and our implementation and evaluation of all pastoral activities, we see to it that the missionary element is ever present. No pastoral activity should be too narrowly turned in only on the Christian community itself. Rather, every pastoral activity must include an element of outreach to those outside the Church community. We can think, for instance, of the following possibilities:
(1) Making our parish community open and inclusive so that it becomes attractive to those who feel they do not belong to the Church, like "faith-seekers", the poor and marginalised, people of other cultures, people of other religious traditions;
(2) Inviting non-Christians or non-Catholics to some of our special Liturgical celebrations (e.g., baptisms, funerals, Holy Week, Pentecost,) and social gatherings (e.g., patronal feast,
Easter meals, Christmas activities);
(3) Broadening the scope of our social work or ministry to include people of other religions and cultures among those who minister and those who are ministered to;
(4) Being ready and open to be invited by non-Christians or non-Catholics to their own celebrations and activities;
(5) Looking for occasions to celebrate together or for ministries to collaborate together with non-
Christians and other persons of good will.
Today mission ad gentes no longer means going to far away places to share the good news about Jesus with others. The gentes are all around us - the family that lives next door, the person 1 sit beside in the bus, the young man who comes to fix my television, the lady in the market I buy vegetables from. The mission intention for April reminds us that as Church we are not only to take care of the ninety-nine who are within the fold, but also to be concerned about the one who is outside the flock (cf. Mt. 18:12-13; Jn 10: 16).
Antonio M. Pernia,
SVD Superior General
Society of the Divine Word
