Faith and Missionary Activity, Part 3 - Apostolic Mission
07/August/2007 02:42 PM Filed in: Mission
Staff |
Missionary
Reflections
“Okay, we have to remember that there are very
few priests here [in Honduras] – one priest for every
45,000 Catholics. I have Mass at the American air
base at 4:30 on Saturday evening, then I come home
and I have Mass for our boys in the boystown and
girls in the girlstown at about 5:30. And then on
Sunday I have Mass at the boys orphanage at 7:00,
then I have Mass at the American base at 8:15
followed by a Bible study which over at about 10:30.
At 11:00 I have Mass at the girl’s orphanage and the
mother’s project. From there, I come home, get a bite
to eat, and we take the bus to La Barca, where we
have the City of Children, and we have Mass at about
2:15. Then we get back in the bus and go up to the
coast, which is another two hours. Then I have Mass
at 6:00. So that’s Sunday, I have five Masses on
Sunday. Well Monday up there at the coast, I have
Mass at three different villages. I have Mass at
3:30, 5:00, and 6:30. So that’s the Sunday Mass
schedule.” – Fr. Emil Cook, O.F.M., Conv. (Mission
Honduras)
Jesus “appointed twelve [whom he also named apostles]
that they might be with him and he might send them
forth to preach and to have authority to drive out
demons” (Mk. 3:14-15). Although the victory
has been won, the work must be continued in order
that as many as possible may partake in salvation. If
the mission had ended with the Resurrection, there
would be no need for an Apostolic mission.
The Lord Jesus sent his apostles to every person, people and place on earth. In the apostles, the Church received a universal mission – one which knows no boundaries – which involves the communication of salvation in its integrity according to that fullness of life which Christ came to bring. (Redemptoris 31)
Man has been given a part in the salvific plan. However, the work of salvation is ongoing until the end times. Therefore Jesus commissioned the Apostles to continue his work with the aid of the Holy Spirit:
He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mk. 16:15-16)
When they lead you away and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say. But say whatever will be given to you at that hour. For it will not be you who are speaking but the holy Spirit. (Mk. 13:11)
After Jesus’ glorification, continuing apostolic missions are called by the Holy Spirit as shown in Acts: “So [Paul and Barnabus], sent forth by the holy Spirit…proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues” (13:4-5). When the food distribution provide by the Apostles became to time-consuming for them, they created the diaconate of men “full of the Spirit and of wisdom” to tend to the charitable function of the Church (cf. Acts 6:1-6).
Even today, all Catholics, including the laity, are truly required to bridge the gap between faith and the apostolic mission:
All activity of the Mystical Body directed to the attainment of this goal is called the apostolate…. Indeed, the organic union in this body and the structure of the members are so compact that the member who fails to make his proper contribution to the development of the Church must be said to be useful neither to the Church nor to himself. (Apostolicum 2)
Pope Benedict XVI reiterated this sentiment in his first Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est:
The Church cannot neglect the service of charity any more than she can neglect the Sacraments and the Word. . . . The Church's deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming the word of God (kerygma-martyria), celebrating the sacraments (leitourgia), and exercising the ministry of charity (diakonia). These duties presuppose each other and are inseparable. For the Church, charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally well be left to others, but is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being. . . . Like the ministry of Word and Sacrament, [charity] too has been an essential part of [the Church’s] mission from the very beginning. (22, 25, 32)
The Lord Jesus sent his apostles to every person, people and place on earth. In the apostles, the Church received a universal mission – one which knows no boundaries – which involves the communication of salvation in its integrity according to that fullness of life which Christ came to bring. (Redemptoris 31)
Man has been given a part in the salvific plan. However, the work of salvation is ongoing until the end times. Therefore Jesus commissioned the Apostles to continue his work with the aid of the Holy Spirit:
He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mk. 16:15-16)
When they lead you away and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say. But say whatever will be given to you at that hour. For it will not be you who are speaking but the holy Spirit. (Mk. 13:11)
After Jesus’ glorification, continuing apostolic missions are called by the Holy Spirit as shown in Acts: “So [Paul and Barnabus], sent forth by the holy Spirit…proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues” (13:4-5). When the food distribution provide by the Apostles became to time-consuming for them, they created the diaconate of men “full of the Spirit and of wisdom” to tend to the charitable function of the Church (cf. Acts 6:1-6).
Even today, all Catholics, including the laity, are truly required to bridge the gap between faith and the apostolic mission:
All activity of the Mystical Body directed to the attainment of this goal is called the apostolate…. Indeed, the organic union in this body and the structure of the members are so compact that the member who fails to make his proper contribution to the development of the Church must be said to be useful neither to the Church nor to himself. (Apostolicum 2)
Pope Benedict XVI reiterated this sentiment in his first Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est:
The Church cannot neglect the service of charity any more than she can neglect the Sacraments and the Word. . . . The Church's deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming the word of God (kerygma-martyria), celebrating the sacraments (leitourgia), and exercising the ministry of charity (diakonia). These duties presuppose each other and are inseparable. For the Church, charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally well be left to others, but is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being. . . . Like the ministry of Word and Sacrament, [charity] too has been an essential part of [the Church’s] mission from the very beginning. (22, 25, 32)