Vatican City, 5 June 2015 (VIS) –
Missionary activity is the paradigm of all the work of the Church,
said Pope Francis to the participants in the general assembly of the
Pontifical Missionary Societies (PMS), and reiterated that the
announcement of the Gospel is “the first and constant concern of
the Church, her essential task, her greatest challenge, and the
source of her renewal. … Without the restlessness and anxiety of
evangelisation it is not possible to develop a credible and effective
pastoral ministry uniting proclamation and human promotion”.
Therefore, the members of the
Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and the national
directors of the PMS have the difficult task of opening up to “the
broad and universal horizons of humanity, its geographical and above
all human boundaries”, accompanying the life of the young Churches
throughout the world and encouraging the People of God to fully live
the universal mission. “You know the wonders that the Holy Spirit
works for humanity through these Churches, often with scarce
resources and even through the difficulties and persecutions they
suffer for their faith and their witness to the Word of God and in
defence of humanity. In those human peripheries the Church is
required to go into the streets, towards the many brothers and
sisters of ours who live without the strength, light and consolation
of Jesus Christ, without a community of faith to welcome them,
without horizons of meaning and of life”.
The Pope emphasised that the PMS, on
account of their characteristic charism, are attentive and sensitive
to the needs of mission territories and, in particular, the poorest
human groups. “They are instruments of communion between Churches,
promoting and implementing the sharing of people and economic
resources. They are committed to supporting seminarians, presbyters
and women religious of the young Churches in mission territories in
the Pontifical Colleges. Faced with such a beautiful and important
task, faith and love of Christ have the capacity to lead us
everywhere to announce the Gospel of love, fraternity and justice.
This is achieved through prayer, evangelical courage and the witness
of the beatitudes”.
However, he warned, “be careful not
to give in to the temptation to become a non-governmental
organisation, an office for the distribution of ordinary and
extraordinary aid. Money helps but can also become the ruin of the
Mission. Functionalism, when it is placed in the centre or occupies a
major space, as if it were the most important issue, will lead you to
ruin, as the first way to die is to take the 'sources' for granted –
that is, He Who inspires the Mission. Please, with all your plans and
programmes, do not cut Jesus Christ out of missionary work, which is
His work. A Church that is reduced to pursuing efficiency of the
party apparatus at all costs is already dead, even though the
structures and programmes in favour of the clergy and 'self-employed'
laity could last for centuries”.
“True evangelisation is not possible
without the sanctifying energy of the Holy Spirit, the only one able
to renew, revive and give impetus to the Church in her bold outreach
to evangelise all peoples”, concluded the Pope.
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