It contains several passages of the message of His Holiness Benedict XVI for World Mission Sunday, October 19, 2008.
"Dear brothers and sisters,
on the occasion of World Mission Day, I invite you to reflect on the continuing urgency to proclaim the Gospel also in our time. The missionary mandate continues to be a priority absolute for all the baptized are called to be "servants and apostles of Christ Jesus" at the beginning of the millennium. My venerable Predecessor, the Servant of God Paul VI, already stated in the Apostolic Evangelii nuntiandi that "evangelization is the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity" (n. 14). As a model of this apostolic commitment, I particularly like to point to St Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles, as we celebrate a special jubilee year dedicated to him. It is the Pauline Year which offers us the opportunity to become familiar with this famous Apostle who received the vocation to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles, as the Lord had announced to him: 'Go, I shall send you far away to the Gentiles "(Acts 22:21). How can we not seize the opportunity offered by this special jubilee local churches, Christian communities and individual believers, to propagate to the ends of the world proclaiming the Gospel, the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Rom 1 16)?
1. Humanity is in need of liberation
Humanity needs to be liberated and redeemed. Creation itself - as Saint Paul says - suffers and nurtures the hope that in the freedom of the sons of God (cf. Rom 8:19-22). These words are true in today's world. Creation is suffering. Humanity suffering and waiting for real freedom, expects a different, better world, waiting for "redemption." And deep down knows that this new world that is awaited supposes a new man, it supposes "children of God." Let's look more closely at the situation in the world today. The international landscape, if one side presents prospects for promising economic and social development, on the other offers to our attention some serious concerns regarding the future of mankind. The violence, in many cases, marks the relations between individuals and peoples; Poverty oppresses millions of inhabitants, discrimination and sometimes even persecution for racial, cultural and religious reasons drive many people to flee their countries to seek refuge and protection elsewhere, technological progress, when it is not aimed at the dignity and good of man or directed towards solidarity-based development, loses its potentiality as a factor of hope and indeed likely to exacerbate existing imbalances and injustices. There is also a constant threat regarding the relationship between man and environment due to the indiscriminate use of resources, with repercussions on the physical and mental health of human beings. Man's future is also put at risk by the attempts on his life, which take on various forms and means. Before this scenario, "we feel burdened, buffeted between hope and anxiety" (C Gaudium et Spes, 4) and concern we ask ourselves: What will become of humanity and creation? There is hope for the future, or rather, there is a future for humanity? And how will this future? The answer to these questions comes to us believers in the Gospel. Christ is our future and, as I wrote in the Encyclical Spe Salvi, his Gospel is a statement that "life changing", gives hope, throws open the dark door of time and illuminates the future of humanity and the universe ( see n. 2). St Paul had understood well that only in Christ can humanity find redemption and hope. Therefore, he perceived the mission was pressing and urgent to proclaim " the promise of life in Christ Jesus "(2 Tim 1:1)," our hope "(1 Tm 1:1), so that all peoples could be co-heirs and partakers of the promise through the Gospel (cf. Eph 3 , 6). He was aware that without Christ humanity is "without hope and without God in the world (Eph 2:12) - without hope because without God" (Spe Salvi, 3). In fact, "who does not know God, though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains all life (Eph 2:12) "(ibid., 27).
2. The Mission is a question of love is therefore a duty
imperative for everyone to proclaim Christ and his saving message. "Woe is me - Saint Paul said - if you do not preach the Gospel!" (1 Cor 9:16). On the road to Damascus he had experienced and understood that redemption and mission are the work of God and his love. The love of Christ led him to travel the roads of the Roman Empire as a herald, apostle, a preacher and teacher of the Gospel of which he declared himself "an ambassador in chains" (Eph 6:20). Divine charity made him "all in all, to save at least some" (1 Cor 9:22). By looking at St Paul's, we understand that missionary activity is a response to the love with which God loves us. His love redeems us and spurs us to the missio ad gentes, is the energy spiritual ability to grow in the human family harmony, justice and communion among people, races and peoples to which everyone aspires (cf. Encycl. Deus Caritas Est, 12). So it is God who is Love, who leads the Church towards the frontiers of humanity and calls the evangelizers to drink "from the original source, which is Jesus Christ, from whose pierced heart flows the love of God" (Deus Caritas Est , 7). Only from this source may draw attention, tenderness, compassion, acceptance, availability, interest in people's problems, and those other virtues necessary for the messengers of the Gospel to leave everything and dedicate themselves completely and unconditionally to spreading the perfume in the world the love of Christ.
3. Evangelize always
While it is urgently needed in the first evangelization in many parts of the world, a shortage of priests and a lack of vocations afflict various Dioceses and Institutes of Consecrated Life. It is important to reiterate that, in spite of growing difficulties, Christ's command to evangelize all peoples continues to be a priority. No reason can justify its slackening or stagnation because "the task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church" (Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation. Ap. Evangelii nuntiandi, 14). Mission that is still in its infancy and we must commit ourselves wholeheartedly to its service "(John Paul II, Enc. Redemptoris missio, 1). How can we not think here of the Macedonian who appeared to Paul in a dream and cried," Come over to Macedonia and help us? "Today countless people who are waiting for the proclamation of the Gospel, those who are thirsting for hope and love. many let themselves be questioned deeply by this request for aid that rises up from humanity, who leave everything for Christ and pass on to others the faith el ' love for Him (cf. Spe Salvi, 8). "
on the occasion of World Mission Day, I invite you to reflect on the continuing urgency to proclaim the Gospel also in our time. The missionary mandate continues to be a priority absolute for all the baptized are called to be "servants and apostles of Christ Jesus" at the beginning of the millennium. My venerable Predecessor, the Servant of God Paul VI, already stated in the Apostolic Evangelii nuntiandi that "evangelization is the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity" (n. 14). As a model of this apostolic commitment, I particularly like to point to St Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles, as we celebrate a special jubilee year dedicated to him. It is the Pauline Year which offers us the opportunity to become familiar with this famous Apostle who received the vocation to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles, as the Lord had announced to him: 'Go, I shall send you far away to the Gentiles "(Acts 22:21). How can we not seize the opportunity offered by this special jubilee local churches, Christian communities and individual believers, to propagate to the ends of the world proclaiming the Gospel, the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Rom 1 16)?
1. Humanity is in need of liberation
Humanity needs to be liberated and redeemed. Creation itself - as Saint Paul says - suffers and nurtures the hope that in the freedom of the sons of God (cf. Rom 8:19-22). These words are true in today's world. Creation is suffering. Humanity suffering and waiting for real freedom, expects a different, better world, waiting for "redemption." And deep down knows that this new world that is awaited supposes a new man, it supposes "children of God." Let's look more closely at the situation in the world today. The international landscape, if one side presents prospects for promising economic and social development, on the other offers to our attention some serious concerns regarding the future of mankind. The violence, in many cases, marks the relations between individuals and peoples; Poverty oppresses millions of inhabitants, discrimination and sometimes even persecution for racial, cultural and religious reasons drive many people to flee their countries to seek refuge and protection elsewhere, technological progress, when it is not aimed at the dignity and good of man or directed towards solidarity-based development, loses its potentiality as a factor of hope and indeed likely to exacerbate existing imbalances and injustices. There is also a constant threat regarding the relationship between man and environment due to the indiscriminate use of resources, with repercussions on the physical and mental health of human beings. Man's future is also put at risk by the attempts on his life, which take on various forms and means. Before this scenario, "we feel burdened, buffeted between hope and anxiety" (C Gaudium et Spes, 4) and concern we ask ourselves: What will become of humanity and creation? There is hope for the future, or rather, there is a future for humanity? And how will this future? The answer to these questions comes to us believers in the Gospel. Christ is our future and, as I wrote in the Encyclical Spe Salvi, his Gospel is a statement that "life changing", gives hope, throws open the dark door of time and illuminates the future of humanity and the universe ( see n. 2). St Paul had understood well that only in Christ can humanity find redemption and hope. Therefore, he perceived the mission was pressing and urgent to proclaim " the promise of life in Christ Jesus "(2 Tim 1:1)," our hope "(1 Tm 1:1), so that all peoples could be co-heirs and partakers of the promise through the Gospel (cf. Eph 3 , 6). He was aware that without Christ humanity is "without hope and without God in the world (Eph 2:12) - without hope because without God" (Spe Salvi, 3). In fact, "who does not know God, though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains all life (Eph 2:12) "(ibid., 27).
2. The Mission is a question of love is therefore a duty
imperative for everyone to proclaim Christ and his saving message. "Woe is me - Saint Paul said - if you do not preach the Gospel!" (1 Cor 9:16). On the road to Damascus he had experienced and understood that redemption and mission are the work of God and his love. The love of Christ led him to travel the roads of the Roman Empire as a herald, apostle, a preacher and teacher of the Gospel of which he declared himself "an ambassador in chains" (Eph 6:20). Divine charity made him "all in all, to save at least some" (1 Cor 9:22). By looking at St Paul's, we understand that missionary activity is a response to the love with which God loves us. His love redeems us and spurs us to the missio ad gentes, is the energy spiritual ability to grow in the human family harmony, justice and communion among people, races and peoples to which everyone aspires (cf. Encycl. Deus Caritas Est, 12). So it is God who is Love, who leads the Church towards the frontiers of humanity and calls the evangelizers to drink "from the original source, which is Jesus Christ, from whose pierced heart flows the love of God" (Deus Caritas Est , 7). Only from this source may draw attention, tenderness, compassion, acceptance, availability, interest in people's problems, and those other virtues necessary for the messengers of the Gospel to leave everything and dedicate themselves completely and unconditionally to spreading the perfume in the world the love of Christ.
3. Evangelize always
While it is urgently needed in the first evangelization in many parts of the world, a shortage of priests and a lack of vocations afflict various Dioceses and Institutes of Consecrated Life. It is important to reiterate that, in spite of growing difficulties, Christ's command to evangelize all peoples continues to be a priority. No reason can justify its slackening or stagnation because "the task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church" (Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation. Ap. Evangelii nuntiandi, 14). Mission that is still in its infancy and we must commit ourselves wholeheartedly to its service "(John Paul II, Enc. Redemptoris missio, 1). How can we not think here of the Macedonian who appeared to Paul in a dream and cried," Come over to Macedonia and help us? "Today countless people who are waiting for the proclamation of the Gospel, those who are thirsting for hope and love. many let themselves be questioned deeply by this request for aid that rises up from humanity, who leave everything for Christ and pass on to others the faith el ' love for Him (cf. Spe Salvi, 8). "
0 comments:
Post a Comment