Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Fides Service) - The missionary world has received new, illuminating and essential guidance for its presence in so many different places and contexts. With his first Encyclical the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI offers us a series of profound reflections on love in its various dimensions and the concrete exercise of the commandment of love. Is it not the love of God that impels thousands of missionaries to give up a comfortable life, leave family and homeland and go wherever the breath of Holy Spirit and love for others leads?
Very often life is so difficult in the places to which they go that they may be tempted to focus on concrete efforts, efficiency, working to the point of exhaustion. This would be to obey the laws of the present day world for which a person is only important for what he or she does or produces.
God’s pedagogy is very different. Following the world’s reasoning we might ask why Jesus spent 30 years of his short life hidden away, in silence, like the people around him, doing nothing exceptional, nothing to attract attention. Perhaps if he had begun his preaching earlier, according to our categories, he might reached more places, converted more people, and the history of Christianity might have developed differently.
Providentially the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI in his Encyclical reminds us of the importance of prayer: time spent in prayer is never wasted. Missionary activity is founded on prayer because in prayer we encounter God Love who communicates his Spirit, the soul of all the Church’s evangelising work. Material achievements of missionaries, schools, hospitals, homes etc., need to be founded on prayer. Only in the eyes of the foolish prayer is time taken away from material action. To think this way is an act of pride because it means we think that with our own weak strength we can do things God cannot do. As the Pope underlines contact with Christ in prayer, the celebration of the Sacraments, and in meditation, avoids two basic dangers: presumption that we can do everything alone, or resignation that we can do nothing. How many examples we have of missionaries, starting with the patroness of missions, who have done great things drawing their energy and inspiration from the tabernacle, the encounter with Christ. Only in this way the presence of the missionary beside a person who suffers, a child or young person to be educated, women excluded and abused in, becomes witness of Christian life, expression of love of others rooted in God’s love, without falling into the trap of assistance for assistance’s sake. Without charity and ensuing prayer there can be no authentic mission, total and unreserved giving of self to God and others. (Card. Crescenzio Sepe) (Agenzia Fides 26/1/2006)
