Vatican City – Today, “a new missionary age opens up in the history of the Church.” It is time to recognize and proclaim anew, “with joy” and “at the tomb of the Apostle Peter,” that “the entire Church is missionary” and that, as Pope Francis repeatedly emphasized, it is time “to let ourselves be ‘permanently in a state of mission’.”
This is the powerful message that Pope Leo XIV reiterated in the square in front of St. Peter’s Basilica during the homily at the Mass for the Jubilee of the Missions and of Migrants. Many pilgrims from all over the world, who filled the entire square and much of Via della Conciliazione, gathered for the Mass despite the rain that accompanied the first part of the celebration.
The missionary vocation, the Pope explained, “arises from the desire to bring the joy and consolation of the Gospel to everyone, especially those who are experiencing difficult and painful situations.” He is thinking especially of “the migrant brothers and sisters, who have had to depart their homelands, often leaving their loved ones behind, enduring nights of fear and loneliness, experiencing discrimination and violence firsthand.”
The Church’s Mission and “the salvation that does not delay”
It is the Holy Spirit – said Pope Leo, referring to the source of every authentic apostolic work – who “sends us to continue the work of Christ in the world’s peripheries, marked at times by war, injustice and suffering. Faced with these menacing situations, the cry that so often in history has been raised up to God has re-emerged,” as is recalled in the first reading of the day from the book of the prophet Habakkuk. This question resonates in the face of the silence of God, who seems absent from those who invoke him in the face of evil. “God is silent,” said Pope Benedict XVI, in a catechesis quoted today by Pope Leo, “and this silence pierces the soul of the person praying, who ceaselessly calls but receives no answer … God seems so distant, so forgetful, so absent” .
On the contrary, the Lord’s response, already evoked by the prophet Habakkuk, continued Pope Prevost, is, “that all of this will end, will cease, because salvation will come and it will not delay.”
There is, therefore, “a life,” a “new possibility of life and salvation that comes from faith.” This faith “not only helps us to resist evil and to persevere in doing good, but it transforms our lives so as to make of them an instrument of the salvation that even today God wishes to bring about in the world.” Faith, the Bishop of Rome emphasized, is “a lowly force” and “does not impose itself by means of power and in extraordinary ways. Indeed, it is enough to have faith the size of a mustard seed in order to do unimaginable things , because it carries within it the strength of God’s love that opens the way to salvation.” This salvation is fulfilled when “we take responsibility and, with the compassion of the Gospel, care for the suffering of others; it is a salvation that slowly grows when we become “unworthy servants”, namely when we place ourselves at the service of the Gospel and of our brothers and sisters, not seeking our own interests but only bringing God’s love to the world.”
“Departing” and “Remaining”
“It is our responsibility,” Pope Paul VI, also quoted by Leo XIV, wrote in 1971, “to proclaim the Gospel in this extraordinary period of human history, a time truly without precedent, in which, at the heights of progress never before reached, there are also accompanying depths of perplexity and desperation equally without precedent.” “A time – added the current Bishop of Rome – truly without precedent, in which, at the heights of progress never before reached, there are also accompanying depths of perplexity and desperation equally without precedent. If for a long time we have associated with mission the word “depart”, the going out to distant lands that did not know the Gospel or were experiencing poverty, today the frontiers of the missions are no longer geographical, because poverty, suffering and the desire for a greater hope have made their way to us.”
This is evidenced by “the story of so many of our migrant brothers and sisters, the tragedy of their flight from violence, the suffering which accompanies it, the fear of not succeeding, the perilous risk of traveling along the coastline, their cry of sorrow and desperation.” “So mission is not so much about “departing”, but instead “remaining”, to look upon those who arrive from lands that are distant and violent; to remain and open our arms and hearts to them, welcoming them as brothers and sisters, and being for them a presence of consolation and hope.”
Opportunity for an “exchange” in missionary cooperation
With a view to the “new missionary era” that awaits the Church, Pope Leo called “to promote a renewed missionary cooperation among the Churches. In the communities of ancient Christian tradition, such as those of the West, the presence of many brothers and sisters from the world’s South should be welcomed as an opportunity, through an exchange that renews the face of the Church and sustains a Christianity that is more open, more alive and more dynamic.”
At the same time, “all missionaries that depart for other lands are called to live with respect within the culture they encounter, directing to the good all that is found true and worthy, and bringing there the prophetic message of the Gospel.”
The Pope also recalled “the beauty and importance of missionary vocations,” addressing in particular the Church in Europe, where its numerical decline is particularly evident: “Today,” the Pope stated, “there is a need for a new missionary effort by laity, religious and priests who will offer their service in missionary lands. We need new ideas and vocational experiences capable of sustaining this desire, especially in young people .”
At the end of his homily, Pope Leo imparted his blessing to the local clergy of the particular Churches, to missionaries and those discerning a vocation. He addressed the migrants: “know that you are always welcome! The seas and deserts that you have crossed, Scripture calls “places of salvation”, in which God makes himself present to save his people. I hope that you find this face of God in the missionaries that you encounter.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.