Frontier territories Message from the Superior General of the Missionary Society of Saint Paul
MSSP Foundation Day 30th June, 2015 Dear MSSP brothers and sisters, This year we are celebrating the 105th anniversary from the foundation of our Missionary Society and this is a sign that God still wants us to be part of the mission of his Son, Jesus. Since the time of our foundation, the idea of Church in mission has seen a lot of transformations and what we understand today by evangelization has surely been subjected to change and rethinking. The ultimate vision is still the same: that of Jesus Christ who sent his own disciples to proclaim that His Kingdom is here and that humanity’s best place is within God’s embrace. Yet the language in which this needs to be conveyed, our understanding of world and Church, and our role within the wider realm of creation have altered and are in dire need of revision. Before anything else we need to check our sensitivities and see if we are hearing the cry of crises around us. By crises I am in no way inferring either the end of the world or something negative that we need to reverse. Things are changing. What we took for granted in the past, is either being questioned or totally abandoned by the world at large. Here I am not referring simply to religion or faith practices, but also to social and scientific norms. What was previously considered as a pillar of strength has become an antiquity at best or scrap at worst. My experience in Rome is helping me to understand this better. Walking through the narrow roads of the capital in summer one cannot fail to notice throngs of tourists eagerly taking selfies with standalone columns, trying to connect with some relics from the past without having any idea of the history within! Those lonely columns speak of the birth of democracy and freedom, but also of treacheries and wars. Actually, today is history dressed in a new outfit! Yet the lessons
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are barely learnt.
But are we alive enough to see our culture changing its clothes and see that same old plight of humanity trying to come of age? There are two reactions that might not help. The first is to ignore this elephant in the corner and immerse ourselves in a small world, with the usual anxieties of our bloated small problems and petty concerns. The second is a concerted effort to turn the clock backwards and convince the world to put on its old wardrobe. Head in the sand or crusading might not be what the world and the church need today. In my last write-up I tried to present to you our founder Joseph DePiro as a model of what it means to be a missionary. I spoke of DePiro as the man who crossed frontiers and reached out to people and situations which were in crises. To do that you need to be alert. You need to know when you reach the periphery and you want to stay there. Crossing into the crises territory should be done in humility, acknowledging that you might be only bringing friendship and care without an immediate solution in hand. Yet, also trusting that brotherhood opens paths that are closed to pure reason. DePiro was ready to suffer this avenue and he gave without counting the costs. Since as MSSP we are still called by God to bring about his Kingdom to humanity our first response needs to be a belief in Jesus as the only Savior. Anything less than that will lead us to compromise and gradually to the cooling of our enthusiasm. How sad it is to see priests and religious whose vocation became a burden or a cover-up. How disheartening it is to see Christian families unable to distinguish between life giving values and superficially created needs. How disorientating it can become when the institutions we trust compromise their vision to protect their status quo. With Jesus in our heart and in the thick of our lives we need to step into the frontiers of today’s world to facilitate the growth of God’s kingdom there. I will suggest to you three possibilities, among various others, that we as MSSP communities might be able to respond to so as to continue with our founder, Joseph DePiro, founding the charism today. 1. With the publication of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Sì we are being offered a path
other and of future generations. Our lack of concern about its health is a narrow vision
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esoteric concern but has become a fundamental issue. Its abuse is an abuse of each
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to follow where it comes to the care of creation. Today the environment is not an
of who we are. This is an opportunity for us to be on the forefront in protecting creation, something that we rarely associate with Evangelization. However we as missionaries know that without sensitivity and care we cannot be stewards of God’s kingdom. “Today, however, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” (n. 49) 2. Missionaries need to be merciful like the Father and for this reason the Holy Year of Mercy will be an opportunity to encourage Christians to meet people's "real needs" with concrete assistance, to experience a "true pilgrimage" on foot, and to become "missionaries of mercy" throughout the world bringing forgiveness and healing. For our missionary communities and parishes this is a good opportunity to witness to the world the radically different and challenging message of Jesus that counters today’s violent world. To reach out, even to the point of being marginalized, to those who are displaced and refuted. 3. Finally on the eve of the synod on the family, bringing the Word of God into our homes, where people receive their basic formation in relationships, care and meaning in life, we can provide culture and society a guiding compass for taking the right decisions that give dignity to all of humanity and beyond. These three themes are waiting for us to become part of our pastoral program. They are an opportunity for us to be Church through our missionary character. I invite MSSP leaders, both religious and lay, to creatively find small but effective ways to implement in their pastoral programmes any of these initiatives. I would also like to see you sharing through the social media your visions and actions so as to animate each other. I also invite those who are past the time of active ministry to keep the rest in their prayers so that the Holy Spirit will endow us with his creativity, grace and courage to venture into the frontiers of the modern world. Peace to you all. _______________________
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Superior General
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Fr Mark Grima mssp