Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The missionary prayer intention for this month should be read with great care and attention. Each word chosen by the Holy Father has a profound meaning and reveals an important aspect of the mission in Asia.
We can begin by reflecting on the need to “contemplate the face of Christ.” This was the call made by John Paul II at the start of the Third Millenium: “Our witness, however, would be hopelessly inadequate if we ourselves had not first contemplated his face” (NMI, 16). We cannot preach about someone we have not first known in an intimate relationship of contemplation.
This contemplation is fundamental for later preaching, given that there cannot be true evangelization without the explicit announcement of Christ. It is not enough to proclaim human values. “There can be no true evangelization without the explicit proclamation of Jesus as Lord. The Second Vatican Council and the Magisterium since then, responding to a certain confusion about the true nature of the Church's mission, have repeatedly stressed the primacy of the proclamation of Jesus Christ in all evangelizing work” (Ecclesia in Asia, 19).
Another noteworthy aspect is the urgency of the mission in the young Churches. We should not be led to think that that the younger Churches can only receive evangelizers. The mission is such an essential part of the Church, that any Church – no matter how young it may be – is called to announce the Gospel and be a missionary Church. “The Good Shepherd also invites the recently evangelized Churches to dedicate themselves generously to the missio ad gentes” (Benedict XVI's Message for World Mission Day 2007). The Churches in Asia should also assume their role in evangelizing on their own continent. As the Holy Father says in his Letter to Chinese Catholics: “just as during the first Christian millennium the Cross was planted in Europe and during the second in the American continent and in Africa, so during the third millennium a great harvest of faith will be reaped in the vast and vibrant Asian continent” (no. 3).
With a merely human perspective, it may seem that the task of evangelization is beyond our strengths, however we should trust in the intimate action of the Holy Spirit. He works in the heart of every man, in opening him to the truth and good, to beauty and love. “Lord, you made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in you,” Saint Augustine commented in his Confessions. Thus, “The Church is convinced that deep within the people, cultures and religions of Asia there is a thirst for "living water" (cf. Jn 4:10-15), a thirst which the Spirit himself has created and which Jesus the Saviour alone can fully satisfy” (Ecclesia in Asia, 18).
Benedict XVI makes reference to a great variety of situations in Asia. It is a continent rich in culture and religions. Neither respect nor esteem for these religions are an excuse for the Church to silence herself in announcing Christ to non-Christians. We should always act “speaking the truth in love”(Eph 4:15) and proclaim the Good News with loving respect and esteem for those who hear it. “Proclamation which respects the rights of consciences does not violate freedom, since faith always demands a free response on the part of the individual” (Ecclesia in Asia, 20).
One of the riches of the Church is Asia is undoubtedly her martirial witness. How many of our brothers and sisters there have given their lives for the Gospel, many of them whose names are known to God alone! Their example is a spiritual treasure and a great tool of evangelization. “They speak silently but most powerfully of the importance of holiness of life and readiness to offer one's life for the Gospel” (Ecclesia in Asia, 9).
Let us close with a prayer from John Paul II to Mary, at the end of his Apostolic Exhortation “Ecclesia in Asia” (no. 51): “ Holy Mary, Daughter of the Most High God, Virgin Mother of the Saviour and Mother of us all, look tenderly upon the Church of your Son planted on Asian soil. Be her guide and model...that through the Church's love and service all the peoples of Asia may come to know your Son Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of the world, and so taste the joy of life in all its fullness...pray for us, your children, now and always!” (Agenzia Fides 28/10/2008)
