“Be messengers and builders of hope” for “a new evangelizing season in the Church, which is sent to revive hope in a world over which dark shadows loom;” “be harbingers of a new humanity in a world that, in the most ‘developed’ areas, shows serious symptoms of human crisis”. “Become artisans of hope and restorers of an often distracted and unhappy humanity”. Those are the three recommendations set out in Pope Francis’ message for World Mission Day, to be celebrated on 19 October on the theme: “Missionaries of Hope among all Peoples.” “While facing persecutions, tribulations and difficulties, as well as her own imperfections and failures due to the weakness of her members”, the Church – writes the Pope – “is constantly impelled by the love of Christ to persevere, in union with him, on her missionary journey and to hear, like him and with him, the plea of suffering humanity and, indeed, the groaning of every creature that awaits definitive redemption.”
In his message, the Holy Father reiterates the call to be “not a static Church, but a missionary Church that walks with her Lord through the streets of the world.”
“May we too feel inspired to set out in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus to become, with him and in him, signs and messengers of hope for all, in every place and circumstance that God has granted us to live”, the Pope’s guidance for us: “May all the baptized, as missionary disciples of Christ, make his hope shine forth in every corner of the earth!”, “Christians are called to hand on the Good News by sharing the concrete life situations of those whom they meet, and thus to be bearers and builders of hope”, reads the text, in which Pope Francis quotes the opening lines of Gaudium et spes, “which expresses the sentiment and style of Christian communities in every age”, it “continues to inspire their members and helps them to walk with their brothers and sisters in the world.” “I thank you most heartily!”, the Pope writes praising the missionaries, whose commitment makes them “signs of the universal vocation of the baptized to become, by the power of the Spirit and daily effort, missionaries among all peoples and witnesses to the great hope given us by the Lord Jesus.”
“Impelled by this great hope, Christian communities can be harbingers of a new humanity in a world that, in the most “developed” areas, shows serious symptoms of human crisis”,
the Pope states, delving into the “serious symptoms” of the human crisis: “a widespread sense of bewilderment, loneliness and indifference to the needs of the elderly, and a reluctance to make an effort to assist our neighbours in need.” “In the most technologically advanced nations, “proximity” is disappearing: we are all interconnected, but not related”, Francis denounces: “Obsession with efficiency and an attachment to material things and ambitions are making us self-centred and incapable of altruism.” Conversely, The Gospel, experienced in the life of a community, “can restore us to a whole, healthy, redeemed humanity.” Hence a renewed invitation to “carry out the works mentioned in the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee, with particular attention to the poorest and weakest, the sick, the elderly and those excluded from materialistic and consumerist society. And to do so with God’s ‘style’: with closeness, compassion and tenderness, cultivating a personal relationship with our brothers and sisters in their specific situation. Often they are the ones who teach us how to live in hope.”
“Faced with the urgency of the mission of hope today, Christ’s disciples are called first to discover how to become ‘artisans’ of hope and restorers of an often distracted and unhappy humanity”,
the final appeal contained in the text, in which the Pope defines Christians as “springtime people, brimming with hope to be shared with all, since in Christ we believe and know that death and hate are not the final word pronounced on human existence.” For Francis, zeal, determination and patience are requisites “to work in the vast field of global evangelization.” Moreover, missionaries of hope “are men and women of prayer”, for ““the person who hopes is a person who prays”, in the words of Venerable Cardinal François-Xavier Van Thuan, who was himself sustained in hope throughout his lengthy imprisonment thanks to the strength he received from faithful prayer and the Eucharist. “Let us not forget that prayer is the primary missionary activity and at the same time “the first strength of hope”, he remarked: “Let us renew the mission of hope, starting from prayer, especially prayer based on the word of God and particularly the Psalms, that great symphony of prayer whose composer is the Holy Spirit.”
“In modern society, membership in the Church is never something achieved once for all”,
the Pope explained, pointing out that the missionary activity of handing down and shaping a mature faith in Christ is “paradigmatic for all the Church’s activity, a work that requires communion of prayer and action.” “Evangelization is always a communitarian process, like Christian hope itself”, Francis underlines, highlighting “the missionary synodality of the Church,” as well as “the service rendered by the Pontifical Mission Societies in promoting the missionary responsibility of the baptized and supporting new Particular Churches.” Finally, the Pope calls on “children, young people, adults and the elderly, to participate actively in the common evangelizing mission of the Church by your witness of life and prayer, by your sacrifices and by your generosity.”
