Go Into The Whole World

Reflections on CFL:  Paragraph 35

The Holy Father begins this part of CFL by reminding us all of the Church's fundamental mission:  to bring the Gospel to those who do not yet know Christ the Redeemer of man.

More and more, the Pope sees the lay faithful as important to this work.  On the one hand, the Pope sees this as a matter of necessity: 

"However, at present the missionary concern is taking on such extensive and serious proportions for the Church that only a truly consolidated effort to assume responsibility by all members of the Church, both individuals and communities, can lead to the hope for a more fruitful response."

But there is more to it than that.

Think about any organization you have belonged to and the impact that is had when people reject out of hand the mission that the organization's leadership has set.  It is debilitating.  Others, who may have been prone to accept or help fulfill the mission, see the negativity expressed by a colleague and join in the negativity instead. 

The Church is more than an organization.  It is a people, of whom Christ is the head.  What message is sent when some members of the Church are indifferent or downright hostile to the mission that Christ gave us?  I think an outsider cannot help but shape his understanding of Christianity from such behavior.   The truth is, we are always evangelizing.  The question is just whether our message is the Gospel.   Is it that God became man, and his name is Jesus and that in Him the full dimension of your humanity will be realized?  Or is it something far less?

It is I think this fact that leads the pope the pope to emphasize the role of the lay faithful in authentic ecumenism:

"Throughout the world today the Church lives among people of various religions ... All the Faithful, especially the lay faithful who live among the people of other religions, whether living in their native region or in lands as migrants, ought to be for all a sign of the Lord and his Church, in a way adapted to the actual living situation of each place."

Anyone who has participated in the pro-life movement understands the type of ecumenical dialogue to which the pope is referring.   For example, I've seen more Protestants who have deep concerns (and prejudgments) about Catholicism come to see Catholics as Christians and Catholicism as something  worth exploring from interacting with Catholics in the pro-life movement than through dialogues on theological differences between Catholics and Protestants.  (Probably because those dialogues can so easily devolve into debates.)

Another way to see how the laity are important to the mission of bringing the Gospel to the whole world is to ask yourself where a non-Catholic is likely to encounter Christ?  The answer, I think, is in his Catholic neighbor or co-worker, not the priest at the parish he has never stepped inside of and has no plans to visit.

Comments

[Mary]

Hi,
I love the Holy Father! I read reacently that any time you contribute to missionary work -money, prayers, help etc - you share in the fruit of that work. That gave me hope because I often think that I would like to b a missionary but I wonder how can I do it?