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A new age of mission |
By means of three General Chapters (1968-69, 1974, and 1980), the Congregation progressively defined its role in the mission of the Church. In the Superior General's report to the 1980 Chapter, we read:
"The Congregation is one of the Church's living cells. Its purpose is the preaching of the Good News of Christ to the world. It came into being for this purpose and in view of precise needs, and it is in this context that it must evaluate its life and service". |
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Visiting the neglected: always a part of missionary life |
Missionary renewal
As the final documents of the 1980 Chapter put it, a new age of mission had already begun:
"The changes that are affecting our missionary life are not passing, superficial phenomena; they reflect the changes in the world and the deepening renewal in the Church. The new age of mission is characterised...by the transfer of Christianity's numerical centre of gravity to the southern hemisphere...Responsibility for evangelisation is now shared with the young Churches, born of yesterday's mission. Mission is no longer only a departure from Europe or North America for the southern hemisphere; it originates in all parts of the world, while the former "Christian" countries are themselves in need of a new evangelisation.
The new age of mission thus involves a great diversification of missionary activity; fields of evangelisation change and so do methods and partners....More than ever, evangelisation is seen as the incarnation of the Word of God; it penetrates different cultures and finds a home in the hearts of the people. It is always a source of new life which leads people towards the Father. Spiritans are committed to the renewal of evangelisation, going to meet other people and religions without seeking to dominate them".
The work of God in the world
When we collaborate with other Christian Churches and see evidence of the Saviour's presence also in the life of non-Christians, we discover at an even deeper level that mission is God's work. Instead of placing confidence in our own abilities, we thank the Lord for the marvels he accomplishes even without us and in spite of our poverty.
Letting ourselves be re-evangelised
Mission today is perhaps more demanding than ever before. In situations of conflict, it can even lead to death. In various ways, we all have to die: when we find ourselves dispossessed, useless, sinners, uncertain, involved in situations for which we have not been prepared; when we are asked to work with Spiritans of other circumscriptions, or to collaborate with lay people, without the former prestige attached to priests and religious. But it is through dying that we also experience resurrection, renewal of our being, joy at seeing a new Church born, men and women being set free, people uniting and taking in hand their own destiny.
Living as a stranger: welcome and meeting
Many of us, according to the tradition of our Congregation, proclaim the Gospel outside our own country. The fact that countries close their doors to missionaries reminds us that if we are sent, we also need to be invited; we cannot impose ourselves nor can we expect welcome as a right. Our presence becomes a question of mutual respect, confidence and dialogue.
More and more, we also meet foreigners in our own countries of origin. We try to make our compatriots more open to welcoming migrants and refugees, knowing that it is the Lord who comes to us through them.
Whether we work abroad or in our own country, the diversity and mobility of peoples puts us everywhere in contact with people who are different from us. Going to meet them, we discover the riches given them by God's Spirit. Going beyond the frontiers of race, culture and religion, we are assured of finding the Saviour already present, even among those who profess atheism. We recognise that in proclaiming the Gospel to others, we receive more than we give.
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Justice and peace in a world of conflicts
Rwandan refugees returning to their camp after celebrating Mass |
"At the very heart of his Good News, Christ proclaims salvation, this great gift which is a liberation from everything that oppresses people but, above all, from sin and evil, in the joy of knowing God and being known by him, of seeing him and being seen by him." (Evangelii Nuntiandi)
In a world of conflicts - racial tensions, conditions of oppression, cultural imperialism, religious strife - we wish to be peacemakers. We wish to promote understanding and pardon where there is hatred and violence, and so be witnesses of Christ, who came to gather all around the same table...At the root of oppression and injustice, we discover sin. We become more fully aware that true liberation requires the proclamation and presence of Jesus Christ, who radically changes hearts, reconciling men and women to God and to one another.
A work for integral liberation: development
Whether it be in Latin America , Africa , Asia , Europe or North America , we come up against poverty and injustice. We are involved in struggles for development, the changing of unjust structures and the defence of human rights. Today, we are increasingly aware of the economic, social and political mechanisms oppressing people. We ourselves are sometimes compromised by these unjust structures...We feel strongly that our missionary activity would lack meaning and would be unfaithful, even alienating, to Christ's message if it remained apart from these struggles.
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Justice and peace in a world of conflicts
"At the very heart of his Good News, Christ proclaims salvation, this great gift which is a liberation from everything that oppresses people but, above all, from sin and evil, in the joy of knowing God and being known by him, of seeing him and being seen by him." (Evangelii Nuntiandi)
In a world of conflicts - racial tensions, conditions of oppression, cultural imperialism, religious strife - we wish to be peacemakers. We wish to promote understanding and pardon where there is hatred and violence, and so be witnesses of Christ, who came to gather all around the same table...At the root of oppression and injustice, we discover sin. We become more fully aware that true liberation requires the proclamation and presence of Jesus Christ, who radically changes hearts, reconciling men and women to God and to one another.
A work for integral liberation: development
Whether it be in Latin America , Africa , Asia , Europe or North America , we come up against poverty and injustice. We are involved in struggles for development, the changing of unjust structures and the defence of human rights. Today, we are increasingly aware of the economic, social and political mechanisms oppressing people. We ourselves are sometimes compromised by these unjust structures...We feel strongly that our missionary activity would lack meaning and would be unfaithful, even alienating, to Christ's message if it remained apart from these struggles.
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