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From VISSept. 5, 2009
Benedict XVI's Message for World Mission Day on Sunday 18th October 2009. The missionary impulse is a sign of the vitality of the churches. The testimony of missionaries persecuted or killed because of the Gospel. The Church does not rely "on the reasons of force", but walks every day as a "fellow traveler" of every man.
On this Sunday, dedicated to the missions, I turn first of all to you, my
brothers in the episcopal and the priestly ministry, and then to you, my
brothers and sisters, the whole People of God, to encourage in each one of you a
deeper awareness of Christ's missionary mandate to "make disciples of all
peoples" (Mt 28:19), in the footsteps of Saint Paul, the Apostle of the nations.
"The nations will walk in its light" (Rev 21:24). The goal of the Church's
mission is to illumine all peoples with the light of the Gospel as they journey
through history towards God, so that in Him they may reach their full potential
and fulfillment. We should have a longing and a passion to illumine all peoples
with the light of Christ that shines on the face of the Church, so that all may
be gathered into the one human family, under God's loving fatherhood.
It is in this perspective that the disciples of Christ spread throughout the
world work, struggle and groan under the burden of suffering, offering their
very lives. I strongly reiterate what was so frequently affirmed by my venerable
Predecessors: the Church works not to extend her power or assert her dominion,
but to lead all people to Christ, the salvation of the world. We seek only to
place ourselves at the service of all humanity, especially the suffering and the
excluded, because we believe that "the effort to proclaim the Gospel to the
people of today... is a service rendered to the Christian community and also to
the whole of humanity" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 1), which "has experienced
marvelous achievements but which seems to have lost its sense of ultimate
realities and of existence itself" (Redemptoris Missio, 2).
In truth, the whole of humanity has the radical vocation to return to its
source, to return to God, since in Him alone can it find fulfillment through the
restoration of all things in Christ. Dispersion, multiplicity, conflict and
enmity will be healed and reconciled through the blood of the Cross and led back
to unity.
This new beginning can already be seen in the resurrection and exaltation of
Christ, who draws all things to himself, renewing them and enabling them to
share in the eternal joy of God. The future of the new creation is already
shining in our world and, despite contradictions and suffering, it enkindles
hope for new life. The Church's mission is to spread hope "contagiously" among
all peoples. This is why Christ calls, justifies, sanctifies and sends his
disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of God, so that all nations may become the
People of God. It is only in this mission that the true journey of humanity is
understood and attested. The universal mission should become a fundamental
constant in the life of the Church. Proclamation of the Gospel must be for us,
as it was for the Apostle Paul, a primary and unavoidable duty.
The universal Church, which knows neither borders nor frontiers, is aware of her responsibility to proclaim the Gospel to entire peoples (cf. Evangelii Nuntiandi, 53). It is the duty of the Church, called to be a seed of hope, to continue Christ's service in the world. The measure of her mission and service is not material or even spiritual needs limited to the sphere of temporal existence, but instead, it is transcendent salvation, fulfilled in the Kingdom of God (cf. Evangelii Nuntiandi, 27). This Kingdom, although ultimately eschatological and not of this world (cfr Jn 18:36), is also in this world and within its history a force for justice and peace, for true freedom and respect for the dignity of every human person. The Church wishes to transform the world through the proclamation of the Gospel of love, "that can always illuminate a world grown dim and give us the courage needed to keep living and working … and in this way … cause the light of God to enter into the world" (Deus Caritas Est, 39). With this message I renew my invitation to all the members and institutions of the Church to participate in this mission and this service.
The mission of the Church, therefore, is to call all peoples to the salvation
accomplished by God through his incarnate Son. It is therefore necessary to
renew our commitment to proclaiming the Gospel which is a leaven of freedom and
progress, brotherhood, unity and peace (cf. Ad Gentes, 8). I would "confirm once
more that the task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission
of the Church" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14), a duty and a mission which the
widespread and profound changes in present-day society render ever more urgent.
At stake is the eternal salvation of persons, the goal and the fulfillment of
human history and the universe. Animated and inspired by the Apostle of the
nations, we must realize that God has many people in all the cities visited by
the apostles of today (cfr Acts 18:10). In fact "the promise is to you and to
your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls
to him" (Acts 2:39).
The whole Church must be committed to the missio ad gentes, until the salvific
sovereignty of Christ is fully accomplished: "At present, it is true, we are not
able to see that all things are in subjection to him" (Heb 2:8).
On this day dedicated to the missions, I recall in prayer those who have
consecrated their lives exclusively to the work of evangelization. I mention
especially the local Churches and the men and women missionaries who bear
witness to and spread the Kingdom of God in situations of persecution, subjected
to forms of oppression ranging from social discrimination to prison, torture and
death. Even today, not a few are put to death for the sake of his "Name". The
words of my venerable Predecessor, Pope John Paul II, continue to speak
powerfully to us: "The Jubilee remembrance has presented us with a surprising
vista, showing us that our own time is particularly prolific in witnesses, who
in different ways were able to live the Gospel in the midst of hostility and
persecution, often to the point of the supreme test of shedding their blood"
(Novo Millennio Ineunte, 41).
Participation in the mission of Christ is also granted to those who preach the
Gospel, for whom is reserved the same destiny as their Master. "Remember the
words I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master. If they
persecuted me, they will persecute you too" (Jn 15:20). The Church walks the
same path and suffers the same destiny as Christ, since she acts not on the
basis of any human logic or relying on her own strength, but instead she follows
the way of the Cross, becoming, in filial obedience to the Father, a witness and
a traveling companion for all humanity.
I remind Churches of ancient foundation and those that are more recent that the
Lord has sent them to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and
he has called them to spread Christ, the Light of the nations, to the far
corners of the earth. They must make the Missio ad gentes a pastoral priority.
I am grateful to the Pontifical Mission Societies and I encourage them in their
indispensable service of promoting missionary animation and formation, as well
as channeling material help to young Churches. Through these Pontifical
Institutions, communion among the Churches is admirably achieved via the
exchange of gifts, reciprocal concern and shared missionary endeavors.
Missionary zeal has always been a sign of the vitality of our Churches (cf.
Redemptoris Missio, 2). Nevertheless it must be reaffirmed that evangelization
is primarily the work of the Spirit; before being action, it is witness and
irradiation of the light of Christ (cf. Redemptoris Missio, 26) on the part of
the local Church, which sends men and women beyond her frontiers as
missionaries. I therefore ask all Catholics to pray to the Holy Spirit for an
increase in the Church's passion for her mission to spread the Kingdom of God
and to support missionaries and Christian communities involved in mission, in
the front line, often in situations of hostility and persecution.
At the same time I ask everyone, as a credible sign of communion among the
Churches, to offer financial assistance, especially in these times of crisis
affecting all humanity, to enable the young local Churches to illuminate the
nations with the Gospel of charity.
May we be guided in our missionary activity by the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of
New Evangelization, who brought Christ into the world to be the light of the
nations and to carry salvation "to the ends of the earth" (Acts 13:47).
To all I impart my Blessing.
From the Vatican, 29 June 2009
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
