Written in the Book of Life. The 72 disciples of Jesus (a symbol of the Christians scattered throughout the world, for there are 72 nations on earth - cf Gn 10) are happy with the mission that they have carried out. They go up to Jesus to tell him about their accomplishments. Jesus listens to them, but at the same time he makes them realize something important: missionary deeds have no value in and of themselves; what really does have value and should make us rejoice deeply is our eternal destiny with the God of life. This joyful quest for the true goal of existence explains and gives meaning to the happiness, legitimate and reasonable in itself, stemming from apostolic deeds and the hardships inherent in the Christian mission. Indeed, Jesus’ disciples do not preach realities that are easy to grasp, that are immediately attractive. They preach that the Kingdom of God has come, they preach Messianic peace, they preach in the midst of a world that is often hostile to the values of the Kingdom. They preach placing their trust not so much in human means, as in the mysterious power of God. Undoubtedly, success is not an essential element in the baggage of a missionary.

© Dicastery for the Clergy

Christian means missionary. The image of the Christian who goes to church, believes in the dogmas of the faith and abides by the commandments is incomplete and somewhat old-fashioned. This is not enough, for being a Christian means having a mission and accomplishing it with zeal and ardor in the tasks of daily life and in the very wide range of ministries that exist today. Furthermore, a sense of mission is the strongest stimulus to believe and live faith, to fulfill the commandments of God and of the Church. If someone is not convinced that being Christian means living out a mission, I recommend that he read the documents of Vatican Council II and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In the Catechism we read: "The whole Church is apostolic, in that she is ‘sent out’ into the whole world. All members of the Church share in this mission, though in various ways. "The Christian vocation is, of its nature, a vocation to the apostolate as well’" (CCC 863). If we love the Church like true children, we should have no doubt that the best way to express our love to her is through our missionary spirit. And "missionary" means being conscious that we have been sent, though this being sent may mean that we have been sent to our next-door neighbor, our client at work, the immigrant that we meet at the bus stop or at the traffic light, the young couple preparing for marriage. Today being a missionary does not only mean going to a remote country to preach the Faith and Christ’s way of life. It is also a task that we can carry out in our neighborhood, in our city, and even between the four walls of our own home.

© Dicastery for the Clergy