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| Pope Francis |
One of the recurring themes in the addresses and homilies of
Pope Francis in his young papacy has been that of evangelization. He constantly reminds his hearers and readers
that the work of spreading the Gospel is the task and privilege of every
baptized believer, whether clergy or laity.
This is a point that I emphasize in speaking to parents and godparents
when I celebrate the sacrament of baptism.
Jesus tells us to “go forth and teach all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Mt. 28: 19)
Although this is the responsibility of every believer, we
accomplish our task within in the community of faith, supporting one another in
our journey. In his reflection at the Angelus
on July 7th, the Holy Father speaks to this in a powerful way.
Jesus is not an isolated missionary, does not want to fulfill his
mission alone, but involves his disciples. Not only does he call the 12 apostles, the Holy Father noted, but He
calls seventy-two others, and sends them into the villages, two by two, to
announce that the Kingdom of God is near. This is very beautiful! Jesus does not want to act alone. He has come
to bring to the world the love of God and wants to spread that love with a
style of communion and fraternity. For this reason, he forms immediately a
community of disciples, which is a missionary community.
It may surprise some of us that we are called to be
missionaries in our own surroundings, using our talents and gifts within the
community of faith, while looking beyond the narrow borders of our parish and
archdiocese. It may also seem like an
enormous task, given the scope of the work to be done. Nonetheless, our gift of faith is truly a
legacy, an experience of life that is meant to be shared and the work to be seen
as a work of personal witness. As Pope
Francis reminded the bishops of Brazil just a few days ago:
Concerning mission, we
need to remember that its urgency derives from its inner motivation; in other
words, it is about handing on a legacy. As for method, it is essential to
realize that a legacy is about witness, it is like the baton in a relay race:
you don’t throw it up in the air for whoever is able to catch it, so that
anyone who doesn’t catch it has to manage without. In order to transmit a
legacy, one needs to hand it over personally, to touch the one to whom one
wants to give, to relay, this inheritance.
May each one of us see the challenge of evangelization,
not as a burden, but as an exciting opportunity; the chance to hand on an
inheritance more precious than any material possession.
-Rev. Rodney J. Copp, JCL
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