Cardinal Tagle at the Pontifical Mission Societies Assembly: let us learn from the Apostles, made missionaries by the encounter with the Risen Christ

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - The missionary work of the Church has its source in the wonder of those who encountered the Risen Jesus, "and were sent by Him". And even today, the people and entities involved in missionary work can persevere and renew their zeal only through a personal encounter with the Risen Christ, "who changes lives". Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle reminded the National Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS), gathered in Rome for their annual General Assembly, that the experience witnessed of the first disciples of Jesus during the early Church, remains the benchmark for every authentic missionary work and initiative.

Who “animates” the “animators”

The meeting between Cardinal Tagle and the National Directors of the PMS took place in the late afternoon of Wednesday, March 21, at the International Center of San Lorenzo da Brindisi. In his addres, the Cardinal began by defining the task and responsibilities entrusted to his interlocutors in the audience. He recalled that the PMS National Director can be seen as "the sign, symbol and instrument of the Church's missionary identity, according to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council."
For this reason, the Mission Director is called to be "the face, voice, hands, feet and heart of a Church that makes mission and mission that makes the Church in his/her local Church".
Since their origin - the Cardinal recalled - the Pontifical Missionary Societies "have been expressions of the Catholic faithful’s fidelity to Christ, transformed into missionary co-responsibility, i.e. missionary discipleship".
However, apostolic zeal is never a self-generated impulse nor the result of the mechanical application of a "missionary method."
"To animate others to mission," the Cardinal repeated several times, "we must be animated for mission, just like the first disciples." He added, "we often forget that only the encounter with the Risen One made them missionaries. The gift of the Holy Spirit sealed their missionary zeal, their courage and creativity in proclaiming the good things God had done in Jesus Christ". Therefore, insisted the Pro Prefect of the Missionary Dicastery "missionary animation is not just a task but a spiritual encounter with the Risen Lord that transforms one’s life, making one search for people with whom to share the Good News". In this regard, the Cardinal suggested that valuable insights could be drawn from the readings proposed by the Church's liturgy during the Easter season, the "time of the Risen One."

The apostolic foundations of missionary cooperation

In the accounts of the beginning of missionary work, the inherent nature and genetic traits of missionary work are revealed: the universal destination of the Gospel's message of liberation, care for the poor, and the solicitude for cooperation and sharing of goods, gifts, charisms, and ministries. Cardinal Tagle highlighted these aspects through suggestive examples. For instance – the Cardinal reminded the National Directors of the PMS gathered in Assembly – when disputes arose over the requirement for non-Jews converting to Christianity to undergo circumcision, Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem and "convened an assembly with the apostles and elders." This became the first Council, the Council of Jerusalem, where they held a "conversation in the Holy Spirit," involving the apostles and elders, listening to God's Word and discerning the movements of the Spirit. "Thus, an 'organization' of universal scope but deeply spiritual in nature was taking shape."
From those early steps of the nascent Church – noted Cardinal Tagle – it emerges that prayer, listening to the Word of God, discernment, mutual respect are distinctive traits that characterize every form of organized universal missionary cooperation. This – added the Cardinal – is "the 'soul' of the 'organization.'"
The Apostle – continued the Cardinal Pro-Prefect, choosing other events of the first Christian communities immediately linked to the mission of the PMS – also initiated a fundraising campaign among the new Gentile Churches in Macedonia and Achaia to support the poor Church in Jerusalem. The Apostle of the Gentiles praised the Churches of Macedonia for sharing what they could, despite their poverty, testifying to the "circulation of love" between young and older Churches, which also drives the activities of the PMS. "Whoever sows sparingly," as stated in the Second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, "will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully…for God loves a cheerful giver."

Common prayer, sharing of the Eucharist and also of material goods accompanied the life of the early Christian communities. The community sold their possessions and laid the proceeds at the apostles' feet, who distributed them according to the need of each. In this regard, Cardinal Tagle recalled the story of Ananias and Sapphira, narrated in the Acts of the Apostles. They sold a piece of land but kept part of the proceeds for themselves. Peter rebuked them, saying, "You have not lied to men but to God." After this, both Ananias and Sapphira died. In the Church of Christ, the Cardinal remarked, such events occurred "even shortly after the Resurrection and Pentecost." However, the essential traits accompanying and characterizing the first apostolic work were those of prayer, mutual respect, listening, and sharing. These are all elements that today characterize and make every authentic missionary cooperation recognizable, also manifested in the sharing of human resources and vocations, charisms and ministries between the Churches.

The Cardinal reiterated that even the Pontifical Mission Societies draw "from this first Easter experience." The work of the PMS National Directors can also be seen and lived as an extension of that of the first Apostles. "We too," the Cardinal concluded, "can animate mission and animate our organization by learning from them who had encountered the Risen Lord and had been sent by Him in the power of the Holy Spirit." (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 23/5/2025)

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