WORD FOR MISSION
Missionary reflection on Sunday Liturgy
Missionary reflection on Sunday Liturgy
THE EXPERIENCE OF FRATERNITY
stimulates Mission
XXXI Sunday in Ordinary Time
Year “A” - Sunday 30.10.2005
Malachy 1:14-2:1-2.8-10
Psalm 130
1Thessalonians 2:7-9.13
Matthew 23:1-12
Reflections
The growing tension between the Jews and Jesus is reaching breaking point - and will result in the Passion. The evidence is in the Gospel passages of today and of previous Sundays, with repeated clashes and the insidious questions aimed at bringing him down. Following repeated calls to authentic worship, to conversion of heart and of habits, Jesus (Gospel) unmasks the hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees "they do not practise what they preach" (v.3); while recognising their authority ("do what they tell you...") he denounces their lust for power (they lay heavy burdens on the shoulders of others, v.4); he exposes their vanity in seeking places of honour, attention and obsequious greetings (v.5-7). Jesus teaches his disciples that the title Father belongs only to the Heavenly Father, and that the title Master is given only to the Christ. The only honorary titles that belong to disciples are: son, brother, servant. "You are all brothers" (v.8); "The greatest among you must be your servant" (v.11).
Only God is great; we are all sons and daughters of the one Father and Creator, as even the prophet Malachy teaches today (First Reading): "Have we not all one Father?... So why then break faith with one another?" (v.10). God gives us a responsibility towards our brothers ("where is your brother?") and rejects the wickedness of the one who replies: "Am I my brother's keeper?" (Gn.4:9). The true greatness of a person is to recognise oneself as a child of the heavenly Father, brother/sister to all, for love. I remember the conviction and the interior joy with which a fellow missionary once said to me: "I have never felt so great as when I felt I was a brother to everyone".
Whoever experiences brotherhood feels a specific missionary responsibility, and evangelises in a very particular way: he or she feels to urgency to communicate the good news of Christ to others, shares spiritual and material goods with them, respects the worth of the diversity of gifts that the Gather gives to each one, helps everyone to overcome the barriers and the divisions of race, caste or ideology... That is why Pope John Paul II defined a missionary as a universal brother/sister, highlighting this characteristic of missionary spirituality: * To live fraternity towards everyone is an urgent necessity is many territories where missionary activities are carried out, given the frequency of conflicts and the urgent need for reconciliation.
Last week, on World Mission Sunday, we reminded ourselves that the proclamation of the Gospel is the first and most excellent service that the Church can offer humanity. Missionaries are the servants and bearers of this message. For all peoples! In the Second Reading St. Paul points out the manner - the 'style' - of Mission: with humility, in the awareness that the message is greater than us, "as God's message" (v.13); with the total dedication and tenderness of a mother (vv.7-8); proclaiming the Gospel with joy and freedom of heart. Involving everybody to take an active part in the noblest of ventures, for Christ. In a spirit of fraternal collaboration, as suggested by an African proverb from Burkina Faso: "If ants work together, they will be able to carry an elephant!" The task is very demanding, but it is possible, and it is a duty.
The Pope's words
* “The missionary is a person of charity. In order to proclaim to all his brothers and sisters that they are loved by God and are capable of loving, he must show love toward all, giving his life for his neighbour. The missionary is the universal brother, bearing in himself the Church's spirit, her openness to and interest in all peoples and individuals, especially the least and poorest of his brethren. As such, he overcomes barriers and divisions of race, cast or ideology. He is a sign of God’s love in the world - a love without exclusion or partiality”.
John Paul II
Redemptoris Missio, (1990), n. 89
Redemptoris Missio, (1990), n. 89
In the footsteps of Missionaries
- 30/10: Bl. Alessio Zaryckyj (1912-1963), a Greek-Catholic priest in Ukraine, who died a martyr's death in the concentration camp of Dolinka, in Kazakistan.
- 1/11: “The Solemnity of All Saints who are in Glory with Christ" - and who continue their missionary service by interceding for us.
- 3/11: St. Martin de Porres (1579-1639), a half-caste who lived in Lima (Peru). He was admitted to the Dominican house there as a lay brother, and worked as doorkeeper and physician while living a life of prayer, austerity and charity.
- 3/11: St. Hermengaudio, Bishop of Seu d’Urgell (+1035), one of the great evangelisers in Spain in the areas taken back from the Moors.
- 4/11: St Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), Archbishop of Milan, a man of learning and of charity. He organised Synods and seminars for the formation of the Clergy, and gave new life to Catholic practice through his assiduous pastoral Visitations around the diocese.
- 5/11: Bl. Guido Maria Conforti (1865-1931), Bishop of Parma, who fostered and stirred up missionary spirit. He is the Founder of the Xaverians.
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Editor: Fr. Romeo Ballan, mcci - Former Director of CIAM, Rome
Website: www.ciam.org http://www.ciam.org/ “Word for Mission”
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