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1985 - The Church, a missionary community

…Thus, the Church appears, since its very inception, as a community of disciples, whose reason for being is the actualisation in time of the mission of Christ himself, the evangelisation of the world. She is, therefore, in a perennial state of mission, she is a missionary community whose members are joined in one single body in order to be sent to the nations..

Beloved Brothers and Sisters!

Each year, on the solemnity of Pentecost, the Church relives with ineffable joy the beginnings of her own existence and of the evangelising work destined for all the peoples of the earth. Therefore, on this very significant day, I am pleased to. address, as customary, my Message for World Mission Day which will be celebrated this coming month of October.

1. The Church is born under the breath of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost The apostles, faithful to the command of Christ, gathered in the Upper Room to pray and to reflect, together with Mary. Those privileged men were filled with a sentiment of trepidation in the face of the man-date that the Master had confided to them: "Go. ..and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Mt 28, 19) .Trepidation because of the recent threats of the Jews, because of the incomprehension of many of the Lord's affirmations, and above all because of the experience of their own insufficiency and of their own limits in corresponding with the divine mandate. Those first apostles, neither educated nor audacious, are gathered around her, whom they feel to be their own Mother and the fount of hope and of confidence.
And behold, suddenly, the "transformation takes place, at the powerful breath of the Holy Spirit. A radical transformation of mind and of heart: the apostles now feel how" their intellect expands, they are invaded by an irrepressible dynamic fervour; they are dominated by a single impulse: to announce, to communicate to others what they contemplate in a new, brilliant light. The Spirit recomposes in them, as in a marvellous mosaic, every word pronounced by Christ .
Thus the Church is born. It is born on the day of Pentecost. "It is born, as I recalled on May 22, 1983 in my homily at the conclusion of the 20th National Eucharistic Congress of Milan, "under the powerful breath of the Holy Spirit, who orders the apostles to go out from the Upper Room and undertake their mission. They go out among men and begin to travel the roads of the world to teach all nations!

2. The Church, community in a perennial state of mission
Thus, the Church appears, since its very inception, as a community of disciples, whose reason for being is the actualisation in time of the mission of Christ himself, the evangelisation of the world (cf Lumen Gentium, 17 a; Ad Gentes, 2 a; 5 a; 6 f; 10) .She is, therefore, in a perennial state of mission, she is a missionary community whose members are joined in one single body in order to be sent to the nations (cf Ad Gentes, 36). If within this community there are diverse roles functions and "charismas" (cf 1 Cor 12, 4 ff) , the missionary vocation is nevertheless common to all (cf Lumen Gentium, 17 b; Ad Gentes, 35-36) : to Bishops, to Priests, to Religious Men and Women and to the Laity.  All, without distinction, are called to realise, though within their own specific vocation and in their own conditions and possibilities, the mission of the Redeemer (cf Ad Gentes, 28). All must feel themselves committed to the one missionary mandate: to disseminate in the world the Good News brought to us by Christ, so that the prophecy of the Psalmist be fulfilled: "Their voice, goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world" Ps 19, 5).
  Therefore, it is not only those who specifically work at the forefront of evangelisation, the "missionaries" properly so called, who must feel themselves committed, but likewise, every priest or consecrated person, who in the sphere of his own activity must inculcate in the faithful the sense of missionary obligation.
To the laity, too, belongs the arduous task of evangelising in depth the social and cultural fabric in which they live, both in the lands where the announcement of the Faith has not yet arrived, as well as in the countries where Christianity is in urgent need of being revitalised for re-acquiring anew and more incisive power of penetration.

3. Youth, Hope of Evangelisation
If this commitment is, as I have said, common to all the components of the Church, it concerns young men and women in a particular way. Therefore, in this International Year of Youth, I address my appeal to their energies, to their generosity, to their intelligent dedication, which never weakens when it is a question of supporting a just cause.
In the prospective of the approaching third millennium, and at this crucial moment of human history, in which an obscure threat of destruction and of annihilation seems to weigh upon our world, I call you, I exhort you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to be announcers of the Gospel, with all your energies to diffuse the salvific Word, the Truth of God; and thus, may witness of the eschatological kingdom of truth and of love be offered by your life, and be concretely exerted for the transformation of the whole of temporal reality according to the spirit of the Gospel (cf Letter to the Youth of the World, no.9) , overcoming the temptation of discouragement which leads to retreat and to disengagement.
It is not the time to have fear, to delegate to others this task, difficult, yes, but sublime. Each one, as member of the Church, must assume his share of responsibility. Each of you must make those near to you in the family, in the school, in the world of culture, of work, understand that Christ is the Way, the Truth, the Life, that he alone can conquer the desperation and the alienation of the individual, giving meaning to .the existence of man, a creature gifted with an exalted dignity because he is made to the image and likeness of God. It is necessary to proclaim and to make known the salvific Truth to every man, because it is not possible to remain indifferent in the face of the millions and millions of persons who do not yet know, or who know only inadequately the inestimable treasures of the Redemption.  Two thousand years have passed since the "euntes, docete" of Christ: Well, this command seems to have suffered a setback in some places, while in others, it appears to be proceeding very slowly.  Therefore I call you, young people of the world, and I send you as Christ sent his apostles, with the power that comes from the word of Christ himself: the future of the Church depends on you, the evangelisation of the earth in the coming decades depends on you!

Be Church! Make it young, keep the Church young, with your enthusiastic presence, imprinting it everywhere with vitality and prophetic vigour.	
Christ has need of you to proclaim the truth, to bring the announcement of salvation into the highways of the world, he has need of your generous and ready heart in order to manifest to all men his in-finite and merciful love. Animate, sensitise your contemporaries, your communities; enkindle the flame of faith everywhere: only thus can the demon of drugs be conquered, only thus can the scourge of violence, of secularism, of hedonism that confuses and deviates very precious youthful energies be definitively vanquished.
Only thus can the soul of many brethren belonging to diverse religions be opened to a fruitful and constructive dialogue. And in this exalting undertaking, like the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, always remain docile to the guidance of the Spirit, "principal agent of evangelisation" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 75) , who supports, illumines, comforts and perfects all things.

4. Missionary Cooperation: serious and urgent commitment of the entire People of God.
 All the faithful, therefore, are strongly exhorted to reflect with great attention on the considerations expressed above. In fact, all the faithful, all the members of the Church "missionary by her very nature" (Ad Gentes, 2 a) , are among those "sent", are co-responsible for the spreading of the Kingdom of God.
For the rest, if the necessities of missionary activity and the alarming situation of such a great part of humanity to whom the evangelical announcement has not yet reached, pass rapidly in review, one cannot fail to experience, in the depths of one's own conscience, the peremptoriness of Christ's command; one cannot fail to notice the gravity of the obligation that devolves on each Christian to further the progress of evangelisation.
In fact, as St. Paul says, "And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent?" (Rom 10, 14-15) As community, as Mystical Body of Christ, the Church accompanies and sustains the missionary commitment of its members, indicating the most opportune ways of cooperation by which the individual can offer his contribution.
These ways are multiple, the means innumerable; nevertheless, at the present recurrence of World Mission Day, I desire to recall the specific importance of some of these means, which experience has shown as very laudable, not exclusive, but privileged, inasmuch as they are closely joined to the See of Peter: The Pontifical Missionary Societies. 
 	5 .The Pontifical Missionary Societies, Privileged Instrument of Cooperation 
The Pontifical Missionary Societies, as we read in their Statutes, are "the official and principal instrument of all the Churches for missionary cooperation" (Statues of the Pontifical Missionary Societies, Rome, 1980, Chap. I, no.2 . And as the Council points out, "it is only right to give these works pride of place, since they are the means of imbuing Catholics from their very infancy with a genuinely universal and missionary outlook. They are also the means for undertaking an effective collection of funds to subsidise all missions, each according to its means" (Ad Gentes, 38). Actually, they are the active, modern, dynamic instruments for sustaining, under all aspects the direct action of the missionaries who are in the front lines, and for assuring the in-dispensable support to the peoples confided to their pastoral care.  The Pontifical Missionary Societies are the instrument of the charity of the People of God, of the miracle of fraternal love which is renewed each year to the benefit of many, though unfortunately, they cannot reach everyone.  Among them, the Missionary Union of Priests and Religious is specifically that one of the four Societies which keeps alive in the faithful the awareness of the obligation of missionary cooperation, through the leaders of the People of God, opportunely formed and "educated" to "mission mindedness", intrinsic to their vocation, through means of the constant work of animation done by this well-deserving Society.  It is for this reason that I want to repeat once again to all priests, religious and members of Secular Institutes, to those who have the joy of living a consecrated life, of working not in isolation, but in close union under the sign of the same ideal and the same, common commitment.  The Pontifical Missionary Union offers you this opportunity, forming you in this missionary spirit, supporting and helping you along your way.  I am confident that this Message, brought to all the faithful in the individual local Churches, will reawaken in each one the obligation of supporting the Pontifical Missionary Societies, which unfortunately are not yet known and established everywhere.
By supporting the PMS, every Christian can feel that he is a living and vital part of the Universal Church, and can understand the most authentic sense of his catholicity: actually, the Pontifical Missionary .:.  Societies are the most efficacious means so that all Christians , cooperating in the missionary efforts of the Church itself, may them selves and may be in all aspects the "living stones" (cf 1 Pt 2, 5) which build up the Mystical Body.
May we act in a way that those who in many parts of the world now stretch out their hands to us imploring help, can one day say with the apostle: "Now. ..I have everything that I need and more: I am fully  provided now that I have received. ..the offering that you sent, a sweet fragrance-the sacrifice that God accepts and finds pleasing" (Phil. 4,18) .  May Mary most holy, Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church, assist you in this generous missionary commitment!

I impart to all my Apostolic Blessing, as a pledge of abundant, heavenly favours".

From the Vatican, 26 May, Solemnity of Pentecost, of the year 1985, the seventh of my Pontificate.

(signed) Joannes Paulus PP. II

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