WORD FOR MISSION
Missionary reflection on Sunday Liturgy
MISSION is faithfulness and love
right up to MARTYRDOM
XII Sunday in Ordinary Time
Year “A” - Sunday 19-06-2005
|
Jeremiah
20:
10-13
Romans 5:12-15 Matthew 10:26-33 |
|
Reflections
At the heart of the "missionary discourse" of Jesus (Mt.10), who is sending his disciples to proclaim the Kingdom, there is the concrete and proximate likelihood of persecution -- maybe an echo of experiences that the community was already suffering. Hence the insistence of Matthew in recalling the reassuring words of the Master three times: "Do not be afraid of people; there is no need to fear; do not be afraid" (see vv. 26, 28, 31). These words have always, ever since, sustained the fidelity of those who proclaim the Gospel and of the martyrs of all times. This power of witness is based, first of all, on the universal destination of the message of Jesus: it is for all peoples, a message to be delivered in the light of day and proclaimed from the housetops (v.27); it is based on the holy fear of God: the deep sense of His holiness and majesty means that the first place belongs always and only to the One who has the last word on the salvation of the soul and the body (v.28); based on the goodness of the Father whose loving care extends even to small things like sparrows, and even counts the hairs on our heads (vv.29-31); based, lastly, on the need to remain always united with and faithful to Christ, out of love, and in Him, with the Father (vv.32-33). *
The prophet Jeremiah (1st. Reading) has experienced the bitterness and terror of persecution (v.10), but also the presence of the Lord at his side "like a mighty hero" (v.11), to whom he entrusts his cause (v.12); and thus calls on us to praise the Lord, "for he has delivered the soul of the needy (v.13). And Paul, in the Second Reading, strengthens the hope and the trust of the Christians in Rome by stressing that the saving project of God for all men and women passes over any obstacle raised by history and human sinfulness: the grace of God and the gift given in Christ Jesus is poured out in abundance on humankind (cf. v.15).
The multiplicity of situations and of cases of martyrdom highlights the universal nature (Catholicity) of the missionary Church which, in all times and places, "must continue its pilgrimage between the persecutions of the world and the consolations of God" (St. Augustine, De Civitate Dei). We can consider the witness of some recent martyrs, who remained faithful to the proclamation and to prophetic denunciation.
- Archbishop Oscar A. Romero, not long before his assassination in San Salvador in 1980, made a powerful direct appeal to the forces of law and order: "In the name of God and in the name of this suffering people whose cries go up to heaven in an ever-increasing clamour, I beseech you, I beg you, I order you: in God's name, let the repression cease!"
- In recent appeals (2005) groups of religious from Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries express considerable anxiety over the departure of many Christians because of new forms of persecution: "We live in a very dangerous situation. We cannot even go out to Mass. Priests and religious are persecuted inside and outside churches. We are barricaded in our homes". This is the cry of the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation in Mossul. Their work is in education, caring for young and very young children, health care. A Chaldean monk states: "In just the last few months, after the attacks on Christian churches, more than 50,000 Christians emigrated from Iraq... because of the threats of Islamic fundamentalists. Their only 'fault' is to be Christians, that is, belonging to the same religion as the Western soldiers".
- Fr. Luciano Fulvi (75), a Comboni Missionary, was killed in Uganda during the night of 30 March 2004. The Bishop of his home diocese recalls: "He was aware of the difficult situation in which he was called to spread the Gospel and to bear witness to Christ, but the difficulties never took away his smile, his serenity and his enthusiasm for his mission."
The Pope's words
* “The 20th century was a period of martyrdom. Pope John Paul II placed a strong emphasis on this when he asked the Church to ‘update the Martyrology’, and canonized and beatified numerous martyrs of recent history. Consequently, if the blood of martyrs is the seed of new Christians, it is legitimate at the beginning of the third millennium to expect the Church to blossom anew, especially in the places where she has suffered the worst for the faith and Gospel witness”.
Benedict XVI
Homily during his visit to the Roman Basilica of St Paul outside the Walls, 25 April 2005.
In the steps of Missionaries
- 20/6: Bl. Francesco Pacheco and 8 companions: Jesuit martyrs, condemned to be burned at the stake in Japan (Nagasaki, 1626).
- 21/6: St. Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-1591), a Jesuit student, who died in Rome while assisting plague victims. He is the Patron Saint of students.
- 22/6: St. Paolino of Nola (353-431), a Bishop and Latin poet. He was born in France, but evangelised mainly in the Campania region of Italy.
- 22/6: Sts. John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, and Thomas More, a magistrate and Chancellor of England: intrepid defenders of the Catholic Faith against the actions of Henry VIII. Both were martyred in London (+1535).
- 24/6: Birth of St. John the Baptist, the Precursor of the Messiah. He announced his coming and prepared the way for him.
- 24/6: Bl. Maria Gauadalupe García Zavala (1878-1963), from Guadalajara (Mexico). She was a Foundress, and dedicated her life to the service of the poor and the sick.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Editor: Fr. Romeo Ballan, mcci – Director of CIAM, Rome
Website: www.ciam.org “Parola per la Missione”