August 7, 2013: The Holy See on Tuesday published the 2013 Message for World Mission
Day from Pope Francis. In his Message, the Holy Father says “The work of evangelization
often finds obstacles, not only externally, but also from within the ecclesial community.
Sometimes there is lack of fervour, joy, courage and hope in proclaiming the Message
of Christ to all and in helping the people of our time to an encounter with him.”
Pope
Francis says “[in] this complex situation, where the horizon of the present and future
seems threatened by menacing clouds, it is necessary to proclaim courageously and
in every situation, the Gospel of Christ, a message of hope, reconciliation, communion,
a proclamation of God's closeness, his mercy, his salvation, and a proclamation that
the power of God’s love is able to overcome the darkness of evil and guide us on the
path of goodness.”
Pope Francis also writes that faith in Christ “is a gift,
not reserved for a few but offered with generosity.” “Everyone should be able to experience
the joy of being loved by God, the joy of salvation!” the Pope writes. “It is a gift
that one cannot keep to oneself, but it is to be shared. If we want to keep it only
to ourselves, we will become isolated, sterile and sick Christians.”
World
Mission Sunday will be observed this year on October 20. The Pope’s message for the
occasion is dated May 19—the feast of Pentecost—and was released by the Vatican on
August 6. The Pope stresses that every Christian is obliged to play a role in
spreading the faith. “The Second Vatican Council emphasized in a special way how the
missionary task, that of broadening the boundaries of faith, belongs to every baptized
person and all Christian communities,” he notes.
Evangelization necessarily
involves leading people to the Church, the Pope continues. “Evangelization is not
an isolated individual or private act; it is always ecclesial.”
More and more,
in large areas of what were traditionally Christian regions, the number of those who
are unacquainted with the faith, or indifferent to the religious dimension or animated
by other beliefs, is increasing. Therefore it is not infrequent that, some of the
baptized make lifestyle choices that lead them away from faith, thus making them need
a "new evangelization." While the “new evangelization” proceeds in areas that were
once predominantly Catholic, the Pope reminds readers that many parts of the world
still have not heard the Gospel message. They, too, need evangelizing, he says—as
do the “young churches” where the faith has only recently taken root.
Yet
the Pope also observes that in many cases, “these same young churches are engaging
generously in sending missionaries to the Churches that are in difficulty-- not infrequently
churches of ancient Christian tradition-- and thus bring the freshness and enthusiasm
with which they live the faith.”
Before closing his message, Pope Francis
directs attention to the Christians who live in societies where religious freedom
is restricted, and often suffer for their faith. “They are our brothers and sisters,”
he notes: “courageous witnesses-- even more numerous than the martyrs of the early
centuries -- who endure with apostolic perseverance many contemporary forms of persecution.”
Below please find the full text of the 2013 Message for World Mission
Day
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This year, as we celebrate World Mission
Day, the Year of Faith, which is an important opportunity to strengthen our friendship
with the Lord and our journey as a Church that preaches the Gospel with courage, comes
to an end. From this perspective, I would like to propose some reflections.
1.
Faith is God’s precious gift, which opens our mind to know and love him. He wants
to enter into relationship with us and allow us to participate in his own life in
order to make our life more meaningful, better and more beautiful. God loves us! Faith,
however, needs to be accepted, it needs our personal response, the courage to entrust
ourselves to God, to live his love and be grateful for his infinite mercy. It is a
gift, not reserved for a few but offered with generosity. Everyone should be able
to experience the joy of being loved by God, the joy of salvation! It is a gift that
one cannot keep to oneself, but it is to be shared. If we want to keep it only to
ourselves, we will become isolated, sterile and sick Christians. The proclamation
of the Gospel is part of being disciples of Christ and it is a constant commitment
that animates the whole life of the Church. Missionary outreach is a clear sign of
the maturity of an ecclesial community" (BENEDICT XVI, Verbum Domini, 95). Each community
is "mature" when it professes faith, celebrates it with joy during the liturgy, lives
charity, proclaims the Word of God endlessly, leaves one’s own to take it to the “peripheries”,
especially to those who have not yet had the opportunity to know Christ. The strength
of our faith, at a personal and community level, can be measured by the ability to
communicate it to others, to spread and live it in charity, to witness to it before
those we meet and those who share the path of life with us.
2. The Year of
Faith, fifty years after the beginning of the Second Vatican Council, motivates the
entire Church towards a renewed awareness of its presence in the contemporary world
and its mission among peoples and nations. Missionary spirit is not only about geographical
territories, but about peoples, cultures and individuals, because the "boundaries"
of faith do not only cross places and human traditions, but the heart of each man
and each woman. The Second Vatican Council emphasized in a special way how the missionary
task:, that of broadening the boundaries of faith, belongs to every baptized person
and all Christian communities; since “the people of God lives in communities, especially
in dioceses and parishes, and becomes somehow visible in them, it is up to these to
witness Christ before the nations" (Ad gentes, 37). Each community is therefore challenged,
and invited to make its own, the mandate entrusted by Jesus to the Apostles, to be
his "witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth"
(Acts 1:8) and this, not as a secondary aspect of Christian life, but as its essential
aspect: we are all invited to walk the streets of the world with our brothers and
sisters, proclaiming and witnessing to our faith in Christ and making ourselves heralds
of his Gospel. I invite Bishops, Priests, Presbyteral and Pastoral Councils, and each
person and group responsible in the Church to give a prominent position to this missionary
dimension in formation and pastoral programmes, in the understanding that their apostolic
commitment is not complete unless it aims at bearing witness to Christ before the
nations and before all peoples. This missionary aspect is not merely a programmatic
dimension in Christian life, but it is also a paradigmatic dimension that affects
all aspects of Christian life.
3. The work of evangelization often finds obstacles,
not only externally, but also from within the ecclesial community. Sometimes there
is lack of fervour, joy, courage and hope in proclaiming the Message of Christ to
all and in helping the people of our time to an encounter with him. Sometimes, it
is still thought, that proclaiming the truth of the Gospel means an assault on freedom.
Paul VI speaks eloquently on this: "It would be... an error to impose something on
the consciences of our brethren. But to propose to their consciences the truth of
the Gospel and salvation in Jesus Christ, with complete clarity and with total respect
for free options which it presents... is a tribute to this freedom" (Evangelii Nuntiandi,
80). We must always have the courage and the joy of proposing, with respect, an encounter
with Christ, and being heralds of his Gospel. Jesus came amongst us to show us the
way of salvation and he entrusted to us the mission to make it known to all to the
ends of the earth. All too often, we see that it is violence, lies and mistakes that
are emphasized and proposed. It is urgent in our time to announce and witness to the
goodness of the Gospel, and this from within the Church itself. It is important to
never to forget a fundamental principle for every evangelizer: one cannot announce
Christ without the Church. Evangelization is not an isolated individual or private
act; it is always ecclesial. Paul VI wrote, "When an unknown preacher, catechist or
Pastor, preaches the Gospel, gathers the little community together, administers a
Sacrament, even alone, he is carrying out an ecclesial act." He acts not "in virtue
of a mission which he attributes to himself or by a personal inspiration, but in union
with the mission of the Church and in her name" (ibid. 60). And this gives strength
to the mission and makes every missionary and evangelizer feel never alone, but part
of a single Body animated by the Holy Spirit.
4. In our era, the widespread
mobility and facility of communication through new media have mingled people, knowledge,
experience. For work reasons, entire families move from one continent to another;
professional and cultural exchanges, tourism, and other phenomena have also led to
great movements of peoples. This makes it difficult, even for the parish community,
to know who lives permanently or temporarily in the area. More and more, in large
areas of what were traditionally Christian regions, the number of those who are unacquainted
with the faith, or indifferent to the religious dimension or animated by other beliefs,
is increasing. Therefore it is not infrequent that, some of the baptized make lifestyle
choices that lead them away from faith, thus making them need a "new evangelization".
To all this is added the fact, that a large part of humanity has not yet been reached
by the good news of Jesus Christ. We also live in a time of crisis that touches various
sectors of existence, not only the economy, finance, food security, or the environment,
but also those involving the deeper meaning of life and the fundamental values that
animate it. Even human coexistence is marked by tensions and conflicts that cause
insecurity and difficulty in finding the right path to a stable peace. In this complex
situation, where the horizon of the present and future seems threatened by menacing
clouds, it is necessary to proclaim courageously and in very situation, the Gospel
of Christ, a message of hope, reconciliation, communion, a proclamation of God's closeness,
his mercy, his salvation, and a proclamation that the power of God’s love is able
to overcome the darkness of evil and guide us on the path of goodness. The men and
women of our time needs the secure light that illuminates their path and that only
the encounter with Christ can give. Let us bring to the world, through our witness,
with love, the hope given by faith! The Church’s missionary spirit is not about proselytizing,
but the testimony of a life that illuminates the path, which brings hope and love.
The Church – I repeat once again – is not a relief organization, an enterprise or
an NGO, but a community of people, animated by the Holy Spirit, who have lived and
are living the wonder of the encounter with Jesus Christ and want to share this experience
of deep joy, the message of salvation that the Lord gave us. It is the Holy Spirit
who guides the Church in this path.
5. I would like to encourage everyone
to be a bearers of the good news of Christ and I am grateful especially to missionaries,
to the Fidei Donum priests, men and women religious and lay faithful - more and more
numerous – who by accepting the Lord's call, leave their homeland to serve the Gospel
in different lands and cultures. But I would also like to emphasize that these same
young Churches are engaging generously in sending missionaries to the Churches that
are in difficulty - not infrequently Churches of ancient Christian tradition – and
thus bring the freshness and enthusiasm with which they live the faith, a faith that
renews life and gives hope. To live in this universal dimension, responding to the
mandate of Jesus: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Mt 28, 19) is
something enriching for each particular Church, each community, because sending missionaries
is never a loss, but a gain. I appeal to all those who feel this calling to respond
generously to the Holy Spirit, according to your state in life, and not to be afraid
to be generous with the Lord. I also invite Bishops, religious families, communities
and all Christian groups to support, with foresight and careful discernment, the missionary
call ad gentes and to assist Churches that need priests, religious and laity, thus
strengthening the Christian community. And this concern should also be present among
Churches that are part of the same Episcopal Conference or Region, because it is important
that Churches rich in vocations help more generously those that lack them.
At
the same time I urge missionaries, especially the Fidei Donum priests and laity, to
live with joy their precious service in the Churches to which they are sent and to
bring their joy and experience to the Churches from which they come, remembering how
Paul and Barnabas at the end of their first missionary journey "reported what God
had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles" (Acts
14:27). They can become a path to a kind of "return" of faith, bringing the freshness
of the young Churches to Churches of ancient Christian tradition, and thus helping
them to rediscover the enthusiasm and the joy of sharing the faith in an exchange
that is mutual enrichment in the journey of following the path of the Lord.
The
concern for all the Churches, that the Bishop of Rome shares with his brother Bishops
finds an important expression in the activity of the Pontifical Mission Societies,
which are meant to animate and deepen the missionary conscience of every baptized
Christian, and of every community, by reminding them of the need for a more profound
missionary formation of the whole People of God and by encouraging the Christian community
to contribute to the spread of the Gospel in the world.
Finally I wish to
say a word about those Christians who, in various parts of the world, experience difficulty
in openly professing their faith and in enjoying the legal right to practice it in
a worthy manner. They are our brothers and sisters, courageous witnesses - even more
numerous than the martyrs of the early centuries - who endure with apostolic perseverance
many contemporary forms of persecution. Quite a few also risk their lives to remain
faithful to the Gospel of Christ. I wish to reaffirm my closeness in prayer to individuals,
families and communities who suffer violence and intolerance, and I repeat to them
the consoling words of Jesus: "Take courage, I have overcome the world" (Jn 16:33).
Benedict XVI expressed the hope that: "The word of the Lord may spread rapidly
and be glorified everywhere" (2 Thes 3:1): May this Year of Faith increasingly strengthen
our relationship with Christ the Lord, since only in him is there the certitude for
looking to the future and the guarantee of an authentic and lasting love" (Porta fidei,
15). This is my wish for World Mission Day this year. I cordially bless missionaries
and all those who accompany and support this fundamental commitment of the Church
to proclaim the Gospel to all the ends of the earth. Thus will we, as ministers and
missionaries of the Gospel, experience "the delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing"
(PAUL VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 80).
From the Vatican, 19 May 2013, Solemnity
of Pentecost