MESSAGE OF JOHN PAUL II
FOR WORLD MISSION DAY, 1987

Dear brothers and sisters!

1. The Synod on the mission of the laity

“You are the chosen race, the royal priesthood, the holy nation, the people God has purchased, that you may proclaim the wondrous works of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pt 2:9) .

Of this privileged people, described by the prince of the apostles, the laity are members to all intents and purposes, with whom the general assembly of the Synod of Bishops will deal with next October, precisely in the month in which the Church is engaged in prayer, reflection and in aiding its missions around the world.

In view of this happy coincidence, I wish to dedicate this message to that vast and chosen portion of the People of God, the lay faithful – men and women of all ages and conditions – in order to revive in them the awareness of being members of a people which is by its nature missionary. Indeed, the Church “exists to evangelize, that is to say, to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God. . . », as I stated in 1982, recalling Pope Paul VI and quoting his own words (Pauli VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi , 14; cf. Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II , V, 3 [1982] 569). Evangelization and mission, therefore, are not something optional or supplementary and marginal: the Church was born a missionary and for her evangelizing is the law of life (see Ad Gentes , 2-5).

2. The Baptismal Vocation as a Missionary Vocation

Starting from this indispensable premise, a question arises: who is it up to, concretely, to assume the mission? The Second Vatican Council responds thus: “All the faithful, as members of the living Christ . . ., have the strict obligation to cooperate in the expansion and dilatation of his body, so as to bring it as soon as possible to his fullness. Therefore, all the children of the Church must have a lively awareness of their responsibility towards the world” (Ad Gentes, 36). Evangelization is not reserved to the hierarchy alone, but “every disciple of Christ has the duty to spread the faith according to what belongs to him” (Lumen Gentium, 17). And the root of this duty is in the first of the sacraments of faith. Thus all lay Christians, precisely by virtue of baptism, are called by the Lord to an effective apostolate: “The Christian vocation is by its nature also a vocation to the apostolate” ( Apostolicam Actuositatem , 2). It is a vocation that is founded on baptismal grace itself: incorporated into Christ through baptism, Christians become sharers in Christ’s priestly, prophetic and royal office. Confirmation strengthens them with the power of the Holy Spirit, while the Eucharist communicates and nourishes in them that charity towards God and men, which is the soul of the whole apostolate (cf. Lumen Gentium 33 ; Apostolicam Actuositatem , 3.

Hence the invitation that I renew to all lay people so that, rediscovering their original dignity as disciples of the Lord, they may deepen their sense of apostolic responsibility and make a generous contribution to the work of evangelization.

3. A United and Orderly Body

But, if everyone in the Church is responsible for the mission, if everyone is both “subjects” and “recipients” of it, this does not happen in the same way and in the same way, but according to the peculiarity of the position and function within the Church itself, as well as the ministry and charism received. God’s gifts are diverse, but always abundant, not exclusive, but complementary, all aimed at the one communion and mission. And we are called to discern them and to value them with evangelical wisdom according to the objective needs and emergencies themselves that may present themselves in our day. In the vicinity of the Synod of Bishops, I willingly encourage the laity, especially the young, to recognize the reality of these divine gifts and to take on the task of evangelization through the word with personal responsibility,

Lay vocations, called to make a specific contribution to the ecclesial community, still today constitute a strong and significant expression of missionary self-giving among the People of God. Today, more than in the past, the need for people who devote themselves totally to missionary activity is growing: “Indeed, those who, endowed with a natural aptitude and capable by quality and ingenuity, feel ready to undertake the missionary activity, whether native or foreign: they are priests, religious and lay people” ( Ad Gentes , 23 and cf. 6). Yes, today the Church needs mature lay people who are disciples and witnesses of Christ, builders of Christian communities, transformers of the world according to the values of the Gospel.

To all the laity, already involved in the missionary action of the Church, I wish to express my thanks and encouragement, confirming each of them in their respective work.

4. The Catechists

In this regard, I would first of all like to recall the much deserving group of catechists – men and women – who make an irreplaceable contribution to the propagation of the faith, and who are called to carry out a task of the utmost importance in our time (cf. Ad Gentes , 17; Ioannis Pauli PP II, Catechesi Tradendae , 66). How can we deny that, without these specialized operators in mission lands, so many Churches, now flourishing, would not have been built? They have been and are direct witnesses of the faith, sometimes even the first, in a chronological sense, to bring the announcement, thus becoming active collaborators in the mission of establishing, developing and increasing the Christian life. Their service is grafted into the backbone of evangelization, for which the Church can never do without them. Once again, I hope that their number and quality will increase more and more for a much needed work, trusting that they will always find the kindness and help they need. They too, evidently, have the right to a reasonable livelihood and, if they cannot be supported by their too poor communities,

5. Lay volunteering

I also recall another form of lay missionary commitment, on which the Church, especially today, relies heavily: that of lay volunteering. It is a valid formula that makes a notable contribution to the mission of the Church, facilitating her path of evangelization: a service of lay Christians, who undertake to offer a few years of their life to cooperate directly in the growth of developing countries.

Thus, alongside the work of human promotion which they carry out together with other social forces, they, as Christians, try not to let their brothers and sisters lack that fullness of religious and moral development which one has only when one is totally open to God’s grace. Impelled by faith and evangelical charity, they become witnesses of love and service to man in his totality of bodily and spiritual being.

Also in this regard, I hope that, on the occasion of the Synod, many particular Churches will rediscover this form of missionary cooperation and feel committed to discerning and fostering these lay vocations that many will be happy to embrace, willing to take an active part in other communities of brothers.

At the basis of these vocations there must always be a balanced and harmonious commitment, which never dissociates socio-cultural development from the profession of religious faith. For a service that appears difficult and demanding, prudent choices, adequate preparation, professional competence and, above all, a mature personality are required.

6. Openness to other Forms of Service

The Spirit, who guides the Church into all truth (cf. Jn 16:13), unifies her in communion and ministry, enriches her with his gifts, beautifies her with his fruits, “distributing among the faithful of every order, even special graces, with which he makes them fit and ready to take on various works and offices ” ( Lumen Gentium , 12).

Now, we are all called to recognize and welcome these special graces, which are also dispensed among the laity in view of their desired presence in the missionary field. Especially the young Churches are invited to open up and trustfully exploit these spiritual riches for those offices and works which prove to be “useful for the renewal and greater expansion of the Church” (Lumen Gentium, 12 ) .

It is therefore necessary to consider and support multiple forms of participation of the laity in the liturgical life of Christian communities, in their programs and pastoral advice, in the practice of charity and in the Christian presence in the cultural, social and economic world.

I also wish to encourage a wider and more active participation of the female laity in undertaking those services which the immense field of the mission expects from their generosity and their specific contribution. It is desirable that these laity dedicate themselves both to traditional occupations (hospitals, schools, assistance) and to direct evangelization, such as the formation of the family nucleus, dialogue with non-believers or non-practitioners, the promotion of Catholic culture, as well as a constant presence in the field of prayer and liturgy.

7. The Pontifical Mission Societies

On this day of Pentecost, faced with the urgency of the mission, the Church feels impelled to open herself with renewed energy to the powerful breath and life-giving love of the Spirit who sanctifies the People of God and guides and adorns them with virtues, so that they the charisms of Christian identity to fruition.

I intend to entrust a special mandate to the Pontifical Mission Societies which, by origin, constitution and purpose, are characterized as specific instruments of missionary universalism, so that with their capillary animating action they keep alive in the People of God, especially among the laity, the missionary conscience and at the same time highlight the particular vocation of those who have received this mission.

They have the task of arousing the interest and participation of all the faithful both on a spiritual and material level in favor of the missions, as well as encouraging the missionary vocations of young people. In a world beset by empty prospects and many uncertainties, one never tires of arousing and promoting the noble ideals of mission among the laity, so that many will respond to the Lord’s invitation: “Here I am, send me!” (Is 6, 8).

8. The Mother who Precedes us in Faith and Mission

I still have to remember – and it is another happy coincidence – the celebration of the Marian Year. It is natural, easy, and comforting that all the sons and daughters of the Church look to her who has been present in the very mission of the Church from the very beginning (cf. Ioannis Pauli PP. II, Redemptoris Mater, 28). If the journey of this Church, now at the end of the second Christian millennium, implies a renewed, generous commitment to her mission, it will still and always be necessary to proceed with Mary.

Following Christ, the Church seeks with undiminished fidelity today to fulfill her own mission within the history of men and peoples: within the framework of this collaboration with the work of her redeeming Son, she gathers around Mary, in expectation of a new Pentecost (see Acts 1:14). Therefore, all Christians must look to Mary, who precedes the Church in faith in order to understand and implement the meaning of their mission: to cooperate in the work of salvation accomplished by Christ until its definitive conclusion in the kingdom of heaven.

With my Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 7 June, Solemnity of Pentecost, of the year 1987, the ninth of my Pontificate.

JOHN PAUL II

 

Credit: Dicastery for Communication, to the Holy See