Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - "Rethinking" the Gospel to help everyone experience their own "missionary conversion." This is the goal of the volume by Father Dinh Anh Nhue Nguyen (OFMConv), Secretary General of the Pontifical Missionary Union (PUM), entitled "Missionary Biblical Commentary on the Sunday Gospel - Year C," published just over a week ago and available in both print and e-book formats.
The volume, currently available in Italian (although editions in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese will also be published), collects the commentaries on the Sunday Gospel of Year C, written in 2021-2022, and sent to the National Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) for missionary animation and formation activities in their countries. Each commentary also includes several quotations from ecclesiastical documents or from the writings of saints and missionaries.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle writes in the book's preface: "It is an important tool for the formation of the missionary spirit of believers, for deepening and enriching their knowledge of the Word of God, proclaimed every Sunday in the Church's Eucharistic celebration. In this context, the importance of communion and constant personal growth with the Word of God for the life and mission of every disciple of Christ should be emphasized once again, as Pope Francis also recalled in his message for World Mission Day 2023.
Referring to the episode in which the Risen Lord reveals the hidden meaning of Sacred Scripture to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus (cf. Luke 24:27), the Pope emphasized: "Jesus is indeed the living Word, who alone can ignite, illuminate, and transform the heart." The simple and experiential language used in this book makes it a suitable resource for all who wish to deepen their understanding of the Gospel proclaimed in Sunday Mass from a missionary perspective for their personal spiritual life and, at the same time, for the proclamation of the Gospel.
"On this journey of weekly encounter with the Gospel proclaimed in Sunday Mass," Cardinal Tagle said, "readers recognize the inherent power of the Word of God, the living Word of God, which is 'effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). This power then proves to be fundamentally missionary, because it enlightens, inspires, and impels attentive listeners to the divine Word to transmit it to others, just as Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God, was sent by the Father to proclaim, through teaching and deeds, the message of God's love and salvation."
Finally, the Secretary General of the Pontifical Missionary Union reminds readers of the introduction of the missionary character of every Eucharistic celebration by illustrating the salient moments of the Mass, where the connection between the Mass celebrated and the mission of the Church becomes clear. (EG) (Agenzia Fides, 07/5/2025)
