WORD FOR MISSION

Missionary reflection  on Sunday Liturgy

IN MISSION

in the name of Christ the Saviour

XXVI Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year “A” - Sunday 25.09.2005

Ezekiel 18:25-28

Psalm 24

Philippians 2:1-11

Matthew  21:28-32

Reflections

Once again, as last Sunday, the Parable of Jesus in the Gospel is a call-command to go and work in the vineyard which, in this case, is the family business. The main characters are a father and two sons, with an important task to carry out together, in collaboration. An episode of country life that links us to another call by Jesus to note that the harvest is ready: "Look around you, look at the fields: already they are white, ready for the harvest" (Jn.4:35). It is an abundant harvest, for which the labourers are, sadly, too few (cf. Mt.9:37). With the Missionary month of October and World Mission Sunday on top of us, it is easy to identify the vineyard of the parable with the missionary world, where the work for the Kingdom is proverbially immense, while the work-force (personnel and means) is lamentably small. The order the father gives his son is linked to the order of the priest at the end of the Latin Mass: 'Ite, missa est!' which means: Go, it is time for mission! Charles de Foucauld, who lived alone in the desert, and is soon to be Beatified, reminds us that: "Every Catholic must be an apostle; this is not a counsel, but a command, the command of love".

Faced by this task, which is that of all of us, the personal responsibility of each one comes in. The prophet Ezekiel appeals to it in the first Reading, urging us to act in a way that is "law-abiding and honest", so as to live and not die (vv. 27,28), following the way and the truth of the Lord (Responsorial Psalm), and carrying out his will faithfully. The Lord calls on all to work in his vineyard (Gospel), which is the world. He expects a personal and consistent response from each one (vv. 28,30). Right from the very early times (around 1900 years ago!) St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote: "Better to be a Christian without saying so than to say so without being one!". Our good Father does not refuse work done late, and accepts changes of mind (when people come to their senses!). He even welcomes those who, at first glance, are the most unworthy (tax-collectors and prostitutes, v.31) if they believe and repent. Because He is a very special God, who reveals his almighty power especially in his mercy and forgiveness (Collect).

In contrast to the first two sons, with their Yes-No and No-Yes is the third Son: Jesus, the Son of the Father, who knows and carries out just one word: the Yes of God for the salvation of humankind (cf. 2Cor.1:19). The majestic Christological hymn of Paul to the Philippians (Second Reading) is a contemplation and prayer, faced with the mystery of Christ Jesus: He is God, like the Father and the Spirit, but he empties himself, makes himself an obedient servant, humbles himself to accepting death on the Cross. But God raises him above all others, to the point that every tongue in the world proclaims that "Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (v.11). Christ did not seek "his own interests, but rather those of others" (v.4). He, the Missionary of the Father, has given his life for all. Therefore, every Christian, every missionary, is called to follow his example, taking on "the same feelings of Jesus Christ" (v.5): love, humility, compassion, total self-sacrifice. He is the way of Mission and of Salvation. *

The Pope's words

*  “The universal Mission of the Church is born from Faith in Jesus Christ... Salvation for all is in the taking place of Redemption, 'because each one has been involved in the mystery of the Redemption, and Christ has united himself with each person, and for always, through this mystery' (cf. RH.13). It is only in faith that Mission is understood and founded".

John Paul II

Redemptoris Missio, (1990) 4

In the steps of Missionaries

- 25/9: St. Sergei of Radonez (1313-1392), first a hermit in Russia, then part of the community of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Moscow. People flocked to him for guidance, as a man of wisdom.

- 26/9: Bl. Luigi Tezza (1841-1923), a Camillian priest who was a missionary in Peru, and founded the Daughters of St. Camillus to care for the sick.

- 27/9: St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660), a French priest, founder of the Congregation of the Mission and the Daughters of Charity, respectively for the formation of the Clergy and service to the poor.

- 28/9: St. Lorenzo Ruiz, from Manila, and 15 companions (priests, religious and laymen) who were martyred at Nagasaki in Japan between 1633 and 1637 after carrying out work of evangelisation in the Far East.

- 28/9: Bl. Niceta Budka (1877-1949), Bishop. Born in Ukraine, he was a missionary among Catholics of the Byzantine Rite. He died in a concentration camp at Karadzar, in Kazakistan.

- 29/9: Solemnity of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. They serve God and are his messengers to humankind.

- 30/9: St. Jerome (347-420), priest and Doctor of the Church. He was a contemplative and a penitent, and an outstanding student and translator of the Bible. He died in Bethlehem.

- 1/10: St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873-1897). She became a Carmelite nun in Lisieux (France). She is a Doctor of the Church and a principal Patron of the Missions.

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 Editor: Fr. Romeo Ballan, mcci - Former Director of CIAM, Rome

Website:   www.ciam.org “The Word for Mission”

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