Mission

2. Jesus summoned those he wanted. So they came
to him and he appointed twelve; they were to be
his companions and to be sent out to proclaim
the message.
Mk 3:13-14

3. "Missions“: is the term given to those particular
undertakings by which the heralds of the Gospel,
sent out by the Church and going forth into the
whole world, carry out the task of preaching the
Gospel and planting the Church among peoples
or groups who do
not yet believe in Christ.
These undertakings are
brought to completion
are
mostly exercised in
certain
TRADITIONAL VISION
OF “MISSIONARIES”

4. Understanding of Mission
 Pope John XXIII called for the need for aggiornamento or
modernization of the Roman Catholic Church (Lane,
1989:351).
 This call resulted in the second Vatican council (1962-65).
 This Council was mainly pastoral rather than doctrinal- it
was different from the past Councils that set to condemn
errors and define dogmas.
Lumen Gentium (Christ Light of the
Nations):
The whole Church is Missionary,
Sacrament, sign and instrument,
of salvation.

5. 1962-1965
V atican Council II
 The document of the Council, ―Decree on Missionary
Activity in the Church‖ (Ad-Gentes AG) locates the
origin of mission in the Trinity itself. Mission is an
activity, which flows out of the very nature of God who
desire salvation for all human kind. The son and the
Holy Spirit are sent to carry out this divine mission
(AG, 2-5).
 The pilgrim church is a missionary by nature rather
than having a mission. Mission is from God not from
humans.

6. 1962-1965
Vatican Council II
The purpose of mission is no more
conversion but bear witness to the
Trinitarian life of God.
As Stransky (1985:155) rightly asserts, “Whereas prev
missionary activity was the specialized and clearly defined
winning converts and establishing the church, it now becam
general task of all believers, involving a more co
combination of proclamation, witness, dialogue and serv

7. 1962-1965
Vatican Council II
The Patristic dictum “Outside the Church there is no
salvation” has been how Roman Catholic Church
understood herself. With this understanding the
missionary paradigm was to compel or use force for
conversion (Bosch, 1991:236).
A New understanding of the church in the Vatican II was
the “pilgrim people of God”. This image was dominated by
the story of exodus, whereby the people was liberated from
their captivity and moving towards the promise land. The
church is no longer equated with the kingdom of God, but
pointing to the kingdom of God, a herald, an envoy of it
(Bulter, 1966:65).

8. 1962-1965
Vatican Council II
The church as the pilgrim people of God is missiona
nature - the missionary vocation is a matter for the e
church, and not for a few individuals know
missionaries.
In this understanding all the
members of the church, lay
people, priest, and bishops
have their respective task in
mission (Schrer, 1987:198).

9. 14. Evangelizing is in fact the
grace an vocation proper to the
Church, her deepest identity.
She exists in order to
evangelize.
51. To reveal Jesus Christ
and His Gospel to those
who do not know them is the
fundamental program of the
Church.

10. My direct contact with peoples who do not
know Christ has convinced me even more of
the urgency of missionary activity to those
who are far from Christ.
Missionary activity
renews the Church,
revitalizes faith and
Christian identity, and
offers fresh enthusiasm
and new incentive.
Faith is strengthened
when it is given to others!

11. 21. The Gospel joy which enlivens
the community of disciples is
a missionary joy.
24. The Church which “goes forth” is a community
of missionary disciples who take the first step, who are
involved and supportive, who bear fruit and
rejoice. An evangelizing community knows
that the Lord has taken the initiative, he has
loved us first, and therefore we can move
forward, boldly take the initiative, go out to
others, seek those who have fallen away,
stand at the crossroads and welcome the

12. Sacrosanctum Concilium
 SC 10. Nevertheless the liturgy is the summit
toward which the activity of the Church is
directed; at the same time it is the font from
which all her power flows
 For the aim and object of apostolic works is
that all who are made sons of God by faith
and baptism should come together to praise
God in the midst of His Church, to take part in
the sacrifice, and to eat the Lord's supper

13. Dei Verbum
 DV 1. Hearing the word of God with reverence
and proclaiming it with faith, the sacred synod
takes its direction from these words of St. John:
"We announce to you the eternal life … so that
you may have fellowship with us and our
common fellowship be with the Father and His
Son Jesus Christ" (cf. 1 John 1:2-3)
 Therefore … this present council wishes to set
forth authentic doctrine on divine revelation and
how it is handed on, so that by hearing the
message of salvation the whole world may
believe, by believing it may hope, and by hoping
it may love

14. Gaudium et Spes
 GS 1. The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the
anxieties of the men of this age, especially those
who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are
the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of
the followers of Christ …
 United in Christ, they are led by the Holy Spirit in
their journey to the Kingdom of their Father and
they have welcomed the news of salvation which
is meant for every man …
 That is why this community realizes that it is truly
linked with mankind and its history by the
deepest of bonds …

15. A “missionary” council
 It could be helpful to go through all the CV II
Constitutions (SC, LG, DV, GS); Decrees (IM,
OE, UR, CD, PC, OT, AA, AG, PO);
Declarations (GE, NA, DU) to find out their
missionary aspect
 John XXIII called the Council with this
intention, and Paul VI interpreted the council
writing “Ecclesiam Suam” where he talks
about dialogue: a) within the Catholic Church;
b) with those who are Christians; c) with all
the believers in God; d) with all men and
women of good will

16. Missio Dei & missiones Ecclesiae
 In 1935 K. Barth talked about Missio Dei and
missiones Ecclesiae in terms of participation
to the missio Dei
 “We should not conceive Mission in terms of
Church’s activity, but conceive the Church as
a result of Mission” (J. Moltmann)
 “CV II interprets Mission in a Trinitarian,
Christological and Pneumatological way” (W.
Kasper)

17. Missio according to CV II
 “The so-called return or repatriation of the
missions into the Church’s mission
 The insertion of missiology into ecclesiology
 And the integration of both areas into the
Trinitarian plan of salvation
 Have given a fresh impetus to missionary activity
itself
 Which is not considered a marginal task for the
Church but is situated at the center of her life
 As a fundamental commitment of the whole
People of God”
 (cf. RM 32, 1990, 25 years after CV II)

18. Missio Ecclesiae
 As the so-called Missio Ecclesiae is a
participation in the Missio Dei, so the activitas
missionalis are nothing but a participation in
the Church’s mission
 There is no a “mission” of the missionaries
and a “mission” of Church, partaking the
missionaries in the Church’s mission
 The missionaries are at the service of the
evangelizing mission of a particular Church

19. What is mission?
 In what consists the Christian mission?
 Promotion of “Justice, Peace and the Integrity
of Creation” (World Ecumenical Assembly in
Seoul, 1990)
 “No peace in the world without peace
between religions” (H. Kung)

20. How?
 Promoting peace, justice and integrity of
creation seems to be the content of the
Christian mission today
 These goals can be shared by all, but when
we ask ourselves how to get to such goals,
we do find many ways and means
 The question then becomes: HOW to do that?
 And also: is it ENOUGH to do justice to the
Christian mission?

21. The Christian mission
 Missio Ecclesiae, Martyrìa o Evangelical
Witness (cf. Acts 1:8) are synonyms of:
“Mission”, “Evangelizing Mission”, “Evangeli-
zation” (Catholics) or “Evangelism” (Prote-
stants)
 Missio Ecclesiae includes:
 a) Proclamation of the Gospel (Kèrygma)
 b) Promotion of Justice (Diakonia)
 c) Promotion of Peace (Koinonia)
 (and Leitourgia (?), “fons et culmen” of the
Missio Ecclesiae)

22. The essence of mission
 This is the essence of Christian Mission: the
mission of the Son of God becoming Brother
to all so that they may realize that they are
beloved children of God the Father
 The foundation of mission is then to be with
Him, the beloved Son;
 The goal of mission is that everyone may
share in such a communion
 The way is to become brother and sister to all
(Fr. S. Fausti, SJ)

23. Mission in the O.T.
 The O.T. understands mission in terms of
“eschatological universalism” (along with the
other basic concept of “election”)
 Jesus’ earthly ministry remains centred on
Israel: He came to gather together the lost
sheep of the House of Israel
 The non-Jews are not excluded, but priority is
not given to them

24. Continuity & newness
 Jesus confirms such attitude, but with a
difference: such eschatology is not just at the
end of history, but it already started: "The
time has come, and the kingdom of God is
close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good
News“ (Mk 1:15)
 Besides, Jesus fully identifies himself with the
message he proclaims: as the Messiah, he
launches the Kingdom of God on earth

25. Jesus’ death and resurrection
 Jesus’ Death & Resurrection and
Pentecost are the foundation of the
Church’s mission: mission cannot be
understood apart from the
resurrection of Jesus (Cf. Jn 7:39)
 With Jesus’ resurrection, the escha-
tological reunion of the nations star-
ted, and it is a task entrusted on the
Church (L. Legrand)

26. The ‘Kerygma’
 “The first Christian proclamation did not
consist in messages like ‘Love one another’;
‘We are all brothers and sisters’; ‘God is
Father to all’, ‘Engage yourself in promoting
peace and equality’, etc., but in the testi-
mony: ‘Jesus suffered, died and rose again’
(C.M. Martini)
 The Gospels are nothing but a “long chroni-
cle of Easter with a long prologue”; “narra-
tions of Jesus’ passion with an extended
introduction”

27. Jesus and the Kingdom
 At the center of Jesus’ words, miracles,
healings, ethics, messianic claim, we find the
‘Lordship of God’, his “Kingdom’
 Jesus is the ‘self-basileia’, the ‘kingdom of
God in person’
 Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God and the
Church witnessed, in the power of the Spirit,
to Jesus’ death and resurrection “not only in
Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and
Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth”
(cf. Acts 1:6-8)

28. Witness & Word of Life
 After having said that, “All Christians are called to this
witness, and in this way they can be real evangelizers”
(n. 21)
 Pope Paul VI continues: “Nevertheless this always
remains insufficient, because even the finest witness
will prove ineffective in the long run if it is not
explained, justified – what Peter called always having
‘your answer ready for people who ask you the reason
for the hope that you all have’ (1 Pt. 3:5) – and made
explicit by a clear and unequivocal proclama-tion of
the Lord Jesus …” (cf. E.N. n. 22)

29. Ideology & Proclamation
 Because, “The Good News proclaimed by the witness
of life sooner or later has to be proclaimed by the word
of life, there is no true evangelization if the name, the
teaching, the life, the promises, the kingdom and the
mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God are not
proclaimed” (E.N. n. 22)
 “Ideology of Dialogue”: “Relativism”,
“Irenism” and “Entertainment” … vs.
Universality of the Christian Faith, Urgency of
the Proclamation of the Good News and call to
conversion

30. Cultures
 The term “culture”, from the Latin “colere”,
"cultivate“, includes also those acts to “take
care of gods”, from which derives the word
“cult”
 Culture can be defined “a way of life shared
by the members of a particular human group”
 Culture is a complex and dynamic reality
Cultures, because of internal or external
factors, are born and disappear;
 There are no “primitive” and “developed”
cultures
 Sub-cultures are present within the same
culture

31. Religions & Cultures
 “Religion”, from “relegere”, “religare”, or
“re-eligere” , was defined by Thomas
Aquinas as “the relationship between the
human being and God”
 Religion is made of creed, rites and ethics
 “With the only exception of modern Euro-
pe, that defined culture independently or
against religion, in all historical cultures,
religion is an essential element, its core,
determining its values” (J. Ratzinger)

32. “Inculturation”
 “The Church … is not bound exclusively … (to)
any particular way of life … She can enter into
communion with the various civilizations” (cf.
GS n. 58; EN n. 20)
 “Inculturation means the intimate transfor-
mation of authentic cultural values through
their integration in Christianity and the inser-
tion of Christianity in the various human
cultures”
 “Through inculturation the Church makes the
gospel incarnate in different cultures and at
the same time introduces peoples, together
with their cultures, into her own community”
(cf. RM n. 52).

33. Interculturality
 “Interculturality” or “Encounter of Cultures” is
a better word because “Inculturation”
presupposes a Christian faith culturally
neutral transplanted into a culture religiou-sly
indifferent
 “Easter can heal a culture, because in its
apparent dying, it rises again, becoming truly
itself” (J. Ratzinger)
 “Dialogue preserves, purifies and perfects
cultures” (cf. W. Kasper)

34. Christianity and Religions
 Addressing the issue of relationship betwe-en
Christianity and world Religions is an inner
necessity of the Church’s mission
 Rahner considered only relevant the salvation
of those who do not profess the Christian
faith, dealing with all religions as a sort of
indistinct mass
 Differently from inclusivism, exclusivism and
pluralism, CV II never “compares” religions
(cf. LG 16; NA 2)

35. Interreligious Dialogue
 “Intereligious dialogue is required by the profound
respect for everything the Spirit, that blows where
it wants, worked in the human person” (RM 29)
 The Spirit, working beyond the boundaries of the
Church, inspires cultural and religio-us values
 Such “elements”, mediating God’s grace (cf. LG 16;
13: AG 9; NA 2), and a sort of “pre-paratio
evangelica”, need purification, regeneration, and
fulfilment in Christ

36. Proclamation & Dialogue
 “… We ought to believe that the Holy Spirit in a
manner known only to God offers to every man
(and woman) the possibility of being associa-ted
with this paschal mystery” (cf. GS 22)
 “It is necessary to keep these two truths
together, namely, the real possibility of salvation
in Christ for all humanity and the necessity of the
church for salvation” (cf. RM 9)
 “Dialogue and mission must qualify each other:
proclamation is necessarily dialogical and dialo-
gue implies integral witnessing to one’s faith

37. Koinonia
 “Organized Dialogue” means promoting regular
meeting of people professing different faiths,
engaging them in:
 1) Dialogues on issues of common interest
 2) Sharing the way of living one’s faith
 3) Service to the poorest
 Through which they can:
 1) Witness their faith to each other
 2) Deepen one’s own faith through the other
 3) Promote coexistence and peace

38. Diakonia
 The promotion of justice is an integral part of the
Church’s evangelizing mission
 After the “Instruction on certain aspects of the
“Theology of Liberation”, August 6, 1984”; and
the “Instruction on Christian freedom and
liberation, “The Truth makes us Free”, March 22,
1986; by the Congregation of the Doctrine of
Faith, recently Gutierrez wrote a book with Card.
Muller, successor of Card. Ratzinger
 An “integral” Theology of Liberation is absolutely
urgent and necessary

39. Promotion of justice
 The so-called “Theology of Liberation” from
South America is: a) contextual b) from the
point of view of the victims c) preferring
“Liberation” instead of “Development”
because protest is also essential
 The “preferential option for the poor” implies
fighting against povery
 Without opting preferentially for the poor, the
Church cannot actually be universal

40. Group discussion - I
 QUESTIONS:
 Define, according to your experience, mission?
 What is the difference between mission before
and after the Second Vatican Council?
 How to proclaim (kerygma), promote peace
(koinonia) and justice (diakonia) in your
context today?