Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Porto (Agenzia Fides) - “My brothers and sisters, you need to become witnesses with me to the resurrection of Jesus. In effect, if you do not become his witnesses in your daily lives, who will do so in your place? Christians are, in the Church and with the Church, missionaries of Christ sent into the world. This is the indispensable mission of every ecclesial community: to receive from God and to offer to the world the Risen Christ, so that every situation of weakness and of death may be transformed, through the Holy Spirit, into an opportunity for growth and life.” This was the exhortation given by the Holy Father Benedict XVI to the faithful gathered in Avenida dos Aliados in the city of Porto, where he celebrated Mass on Friday, May 14, before concluding his apostolic journey to Portugal.
Reflecting on the figure of the Apostle St. Matthias, whose liturgical feast it was, the Pope's homily focused on the importance of testimony and the meaning of mission. The attentive listening to the Word of God and participation in the Eucharistic Celebration make us “witnesses, and, even more, bearers of the Risen Jesus in the world, bringing him to the various sectors of society and to all those who live and work there,” the Pope said, highlighting that “we impose nothing, yet we propose ceaselessly, as Peter recommends in one of his Letters.” Experience shows “that it is Jesus whom everyone awaits,” as “without God man neither knows which way to go, nor even understands who he is,” Benedict XVI said.
“We must overcome the temptation to restrict ourselves to what we already have, or think we have, safely in our possession: it would be sure death in terms of the Church’s presence in the world; the Church, for that matter, can only be missionary, in the outward movement of the Spirit. From its origins, the Christian people has clearly recognized the importance of communicating the Good News of Jesus to those who did not yet know him. In recent years the anthropological, cultural, social and religious framework of humanity has changed; today the Church is called to face new challenges and is ready to dialogue with different cultures and religions, in the search for ways of building, along with all people of good will, the peaceful coexistence of peoples. The field of the mission ad gentes appears much broader today, and no longer to be defined on the basis of geographic considerations alone; in effect, not only non-Christian peoples and those who are far distant await us, but so do social and cultural milieux, and above all human hearts, which are the real goal of the missionary activity of the People of God.”
In closing, Benedict XVI mentioned that “we are called to serve the humanity of our own time, trusting in Jesus alone,” as “Everything is to be defined starting with Christ, as far as the origins and effectiveness of mission is concerned: we receive mission always from Christ, who has made known to us what he has heard from his Father, and we are appointed to mission through the Spirit, in the Church. Like the Church herself, which is the work of Christ and his Spirit, it is a question of renewing the face of the earth starting from God, God always and alone.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 15/05/2010)
