Pope Francis releases his message for World Mission Day 2022, celebrated on October 23, and urges all Christians to proclaim Christ’s message of salvation in every aspect of our daily lives.
By Devin Watkins
Since 1926, the Church has celebrated World Mission Day, which in 2022 falls on October 23.
As the Church celebrates Epiphany on Thursday, Pope Francis released his message for the event centered on the theme: “You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8).
‘You will be my witnesses’
The Pope reflected on three foundations of “the life and mission of each disciple”. The first, he said, is “the call of every Christian to bear witness to Christ,” calling it “the heart of Jesus’ teaching to the disciples.”
Pope Francis said that Christ was the first sent to proclaim, as the Father’s missionary and as his “faithful witness.”
Living in a missionary key
The Pope said that every baptized Christian is called to fulfill the mission of the Church in a community way, even in the ordinary activities of our daily lives.
Christians, he added, are sent on missions by the Church in the name of Christ, and never on our own initiative. He noted that Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs because “Christian witness to Christ is primarily communal in nature.”
Missionaries, Pope Francis said, proclaim the Good News of God’s salvation in Christ, not their own persuasive abilities or qualities.
“In evangelization,” he added, “the example of Christian life and the proclamation of Christ are inseparable. One is at the service of the other.
“Till the end of the world”
Pope Francis then considered a second foundation of the Christian mission: “to the ends of the earth”.
He said the early disciples gradually broadened the scope of their mission and lived out an image of the Church “going out” and guided by divine providence, not the desire to proselytize.
Facing persecution, early Christians fled their countries, taking the Gospel with them to new lands, which is happening today.
Pope Francis added that the phrase “to the ends of the earth” also challenges modern Christians to proclaim Christ to those who have not yet encountered him.
“The power of the Holy Spirit”
The Pope then turned to the third foundation of the mission: “You will receive the power of the Holy Spirit.”
He said the Spirit broke the bonds of fear of the apostles in the first days after Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The Spirit prompted St. Peter to deliver his missionary discourse to the people of Jerusalem, as recounted in Acts, thus ushering in “an era in which the disciples of Jesus evangelized the world.”
Pope Francis added that Christians can only give “full and authentic witness to Christ the Lord with the inspiration and help of the Spirit.
Prayer, the Pope said, plays an important role in missionary life, because it “allows us to be refreshed and strengthened by the Spirit as an inexhaustible divine source of renewed energy and joy in sharing the life of the Christ with the others.”
Notable missionary anniversaries
Pope Francis then said that 2022 will see several milestone anniversaries in the missionary spirit of the Church.
The first is the 400th anniversary since the creation of the Sacred Congregation From Propaganda Fidetoday Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
This year also marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith by a young French woman, Pauline Jaricot, who will be beatified in 2022.
100 years ago, Pope Saint Paul VI granted the Society “pontifical” status, alongside the Association of the Holy Childhood and the Society of Saint Peter the Apostle.
Pope Francis prayed that local churches would “find in these societies a sure means of fostering the missionary spirit among the people of God.”
New era of Christian mission
In conclusion, the Pope expressed his dream to see “a fully missionary Church and a new era of missionary activity among Christian communities.”