MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI FOR WORLD MISSION SUNDAY
2007
All the Churches for all the world
Dear brothers and sisters,
at the next World Mission Day, I invite the entire People of God - Pastors, priests, religious and laity - to reflect together on the urgency and importance, even in our time, the Church's missionary work. Do not cease to ring out as a universal call and a heartfelt appeal, the words with which Jesus Christ, crucified and risen Christ, before ascending to heaven, the missionary mandate entrusted to the Apostles: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. " And he added: "Here I am with you always, until the end of the world" (Mt 28:19-20). In the demanding work of evangelization we are sustained and accompanied by the certainty that He, the Lord of the harvest, is with us and continues to guide his people. And 'Christ is the inexhaustible source of the Church's mission. This year, a further reason impels us to renew our missionary commitment: it marks the 50th anniversary of the Servant of God Pius XII, Fidei donum, with which promoted and encouraged cooperation between Churches for the mission ad gentes.
"All the Churches for all the world": this is the theme chosen for the next World Mission Day. It invites the local Churches of every continent to a shared awareness of the urgent need to relaunch missionary activity to meet the many serious challenges of our time. Have of course changed the conditions in which humanity lives, and in recent decades a great effort was made to spread the Gospel, especially since the Second Vatican Council. However, much remains to be done to respond to the missionary that the Lord never tires of addressing to every baptized person. He continues to call, first, the so-called Churches of ancient tradition, which once provided the missions, as well as material resources, including un numero consistente di sacerdoti, religiosi, religiose e laici, dando vita a un’efficace cooperazione fra comunità cristiane. Da questa cooperazione sono scaturiti abbondanti frutti apostolici sia per le giovani Chiese in terra di missione, che per le realtà ecclesiali da cui provenivano i missionari. Dinanzi all’avanzata della cultura secolarizzata, che talora sembra penetrare sempre più nelle società occidentali, considerando inoltre la crisi della famiglia, la diminuzione delle vocazioni e il progressivo invecchiamento del clero, queste Chiese corrono il rischio di rinchiudersi in se stesse, di guardare con ridotta speranza al futuro e di rallentare il loro sforzo missionario. Ma è proprio questo il momento di aprirsi con fiducia the Providence of God, who never abandons his people and that, with the power of the Holy Spirit, guides them towards the fulfillment of his eternal design of salvation.
to dedicate themselves generously to the missio ad gentes the Good Shepherd also invites the recently evangelized Churches. Despite the many difficulties and obstacles in their development, these communities have been rising steadily. Some abundance of priests and consecrated persons, many of whom, although there are so many needs on the ground, are nevertheless sent to carry out their pastoral ministry and their apostolic service elsewhere, even in lands evangelized long ago. There is thus a providential "exchange of gifts" which will benefit the entire Mystical Body of Christ. I warmly hope that missionary cooperation will be intensified and the potential and charisms of each one. I also hope that World Mission Sunday help make us more aware of all the Christian communities and every baptized person who is the universal call of Christ to spread his Kingdom to the farthest corners of the planet. "The Church is missionary by nature - Pope John Paul II in the Encyclical Redemptoris missio - because the mandate of Christ is not something contingent or external, but reaches the heart of the Church. It follows that the universal Church and each individual Church is sent to the Gentiles. The same Younger churches should participate as soon as possible and in fact the universal mission of the Church, sending their own missionaries to preach the gospel throughout the world, even if they suffer from a shortage of clergy "(n. 61).
Fifty years after the historic appeal of my predecessor Pius XII with the Encyclical Fidei donum for cooperation between the Churches to serve the mission, I would like to reiterate that the proclamation of the Gospel continues to be timely and of ' urgency. The above-mentioned Encyclical Redemptoris Missio, Pope John Paul II, for his part, acknowledged that "the Church's mission is wider than the" communion between the Churches; it must also be oriented and primarily to missionary activity as such "(n. 65). The missionary, therefore, remains, as repeatedly stressed, the first service that the Church owes to humanity today to guide and evangelize the cultural, social and ethical to offer Christ's salvation to the people of our time, in many parts of the world are humiliated and oppressed by endemic poverty, violence and the systematic denial of human rights.
this universal mission, the Church can not escape, for her it has a binding force. Since Christ first entrusted to Peter and the Apostles, the missionary mandate, today it is primarily the responsibility the Successor of Peter whom divine Providence has chosen as the visible foundation of the Church, and Bishops directly responsible for the evangelization and as members of the Episcopal College and as Pastors of particular Churches (cf. Redemptoris Missio, 63). I therefore appeal to the pastors of all churches by the Lord to guide his flock, to share in the pressing and spreading the Gospel. It was this concern that push, fifty years ago, the Servant of God Pius XII to bring missionary cooperation more responsive to the needs of the times. Particular concern for the prospects of evangelization he asked the community evangelized long to send priests to support the recently founded Churches. Such a new life as a "missionary party" which, by the words of the first, took its name of "Fidei donum". He wrote: "Whereas on the one hand the countless multitudes of our children, especially in countries of ancient Christian tradition, participate in good faith, and the other the far more numerous throngs of those who are still waiting for the message of salvation , we feel the burning desire to exhort you, Venerable Brethren, to support with zealous interest the most holy cause of bringing the Church into the world. " And he added: "God grant that Following our appeal in the missionary spirit penetrates deeper into the heart of all the priests, and through their ministry on fire all the faithful "(AAS 1957 XLIX, 226).
We thank the Lord for the abundant fruits obtained by this missionary cooperation in Africa and other regions of the earth. Throngs of priests, after leaving their native communities, have devoted their apostolic energy to community service sometimes only recently come into areas of poverty in the developing world. Among them are many martyrs, the testimony of their words and apostolic dedication, have joined the sacrifice of life. Nor can we forget the many religious and lay volunteers who, together with the priests, spared no effort to spread the Gospel to the ends of the world. World Mission Day be an occasion to remember in prayer these brothers and sisters in the faith and those who continue to work in the vast missionary field. We ask God that their example may everywhere inspire new vocations and a renewed mission awareness in the Christian people. In fact, every Christian community is born missionary, and it is based on the courage to evangelize that measures the believers' love for their Lord. We could thus say that, for the individual faithful, it is not simply of collaborating in evangelizing, but to feel themselves actors and share responsibility for the Church's mission. This responsibility entails the growth of communion between the communities and increases the mutual help in relation to both the personnel (priests, religious and lay volunteers) and the use of the means necessary for evangelization today.
Dear brothers and sisters, the missionary mandate entrusted by Christ to the Apostles truly involves us all. The World Mission Day is therefore a favorable opportunity to acquire a deeper awareness and to work together appropriate spiritual and formative itineraries which encourage inter-Church cooperation and the preparation of new missionaries to spread the Gospel in our time. Do not forget however, that the first and priority contribution that we are called to offer the Church's missionary activity is prayer. "The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few - the Lord says -. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest "(Luke 10:2). "In the first place - he wrote fifty years ago, Pope Pius XII of venerable memory - Pray then, Venerable Brethren, to pray more. Remember the immense spiritual needs of so many people still so far from the true faith or who stand in such perseverance (cf. n.., P.. 240). And urged to increase the number of Masses offered for the missions, saying that "this answers the wishes of the Lord, who loves his Church and wishes to extend and thriving in every corner of the earth "(ibid., p.. 239).
Dear brothers and sisters, I renew this invitation as ever. Be extended in every community the choral invocation of the "Our Father in heaven", so that his kingdom on earth. I appeal especially to children and young people, always ready for generous missionary. I address the sick and the suffering, recalling the value of their mysterious and indispensable collaboration in the work of salvation. I ask the consecrated people, especially those in cloistered monasteries, to intensify their prayers for the missions. Thanks to of every believer, is being extended throughout the Church the spiritual network of prayer and support for evangelization. The Virgin Mary, who accompanied with motherly solicitude the nascent Church, guide our footsteps in our time and we get a new Pentecost of love. Make us, in particular, aware of all missionaries, called by the Lord to be His witnesses in every moment of our existence. Priests "Fidei donum", religious, women religious and lay volunteers working on the frontiers of evangelization as well as those who in various ways are dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel promise to remember you in my prayers daily, and impart love to all my Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican, May 27, 2007, Solemnity of Pentecost.
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
© Copyright 2007 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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