MISSIONARY PRAYER INTENTION
The Holy Father's Missionary Intention for June 2010: “That the Churches in Asia, which constitute a 'little flock' among non-Christian populations, may know how to communicate the Gospel and give joyful witness to their adherence to Christ.” Commentary.
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The situation of Catholics in Asia is difficult. They are a minority living surrounded by millions of followers of other religions or people who claim not to profess any religion. From a human standpoint, it seems that there is nothing to be done to be able to evangelize the continent, given the disproportionate number of Catholics and the more than a billion people who do not know Christ in these lands. However, we must turn with hope to the Word of God. The Gospel tells of a small amount of yeast that leavens all the dough (cf. Mt 13, 33).
Since its birth, the Church has been in a situation of "minority," but has developed her evangelizing action relying on the "power from on high" (cf. Lk 24, 49), the Holy Spirit, confident in the words of Jesus: "I am with you always until the end of the world"(cf. Mt 20, 28).
In this regard, Pope Benedict XVI, speaking to the Central Asian Bishops on their Ad Limina Apostolorum visit, said: “You must not be discouraged, dear Brothers! Look at the first communities of the Lord's disciples. Although they were small they did not withdraw into themselves but, impelled by Christ's love, did not hesitate to shoulder the burdens of the poor and to meet the needs of the sick, joyfully proclaiming and witnessing to the Gospel to all. Today too, as then, it is the Holy Spirit who leads the Church onwards” (Audience, October 2, 2008).
The witness of charity and joyful proclamation of the Gospel can change hearts. The Word of God is not chained (cf. 2 Tm 2, 9) and has the strength in itself to bring light to the hearts of many. The Church does not evangelize out of some sort of superiority complex towards other religions, nor does she proselytize. The work of evangelization is obedience to Christ's command, “in the knowledge that every person has the right to hear the Good News of the God who reveals and gives himself in Christ” (Ecclesia in Asia, 20).
We must always seek to find the most appropriate means for presenting the Word of God in the most appropriate manner, to the culture and mentality of the people we address, respecting freedom of conscience and religious freedom.
Faith is always a gift of God, the work of God. Thus, someone who encounters a joyful, confident, and convincing preaching of the Gospel, can “open himself to the faith after mature and responsible reflection and must be able to achieve this intimate inspiration freely. This is not only for the individual's benefit but indeed for that of the whole of society, for the faithful observance of the divine precepts is helpful in building a more just and supportive coexistence” (Benedict XVI, October 2, 2008).
In this month, we address the Virgin Mary with the words of the Pope, asking that She give strength to all those who, in China and throughout Asia, “amid their daily trials, continue to believe, to hope, to love. May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world, and of the world to Jesus” (Benedict XVI, Prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan, May 15, 2008). (Agenzia Fides 31/05/2010)
VATICAN - “Father Ricci is a singular case of successful synthesis of the Gospel and dialogue with the culture of the people to whom it is preached.”
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – "Father Ricci is a singular case of successful synthesis of the Gospel and dialogue with the culture of the people to whom it is preached, an example of prudent balance between doctrinal clarity and prudent pastoral action," said the Holy Father Benedict XVI in addressing an audience, on May 29, of participants in the pilgrimage sponsored by the Diocese of Macerata-Tolentino-Recanati-Cingoli-Treia and the Diocese of Marche, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the death of Father Matteo Ricci.
"The work of this missionary - said the Pope - has two sides that should not be separated: the inculturation of the Gospel and the Chinese presentation on China's culture and Western science. Often, the scientific aspects have received more interest, but we must not forget the perspective from which Fr. Ricci entered into relationship with the Chinese world and culture ... Fr. Ricci did not go to China to bring them science and Western culture, but to bring them the Gospel, to make God known ... And it was precisely as he brought the Gospel, that Fr. Ricci finds in his listeners the question of a wider confrontation, so that the meeting motivated by faith becomes a dialogue between cultures, a disinterested dialogue, free from economic or political ambition for power, lived in friendship, which makes the work of Fr. Ricci and his disciples one of the greatest and most pleasant moments in the relationship between China and the West."
The Holy Father recalled that "this great missionary” was a “true hero of proclaiming the Gospel in China in modern times after the first evangelization of Archbishop Giovanni da Montecorvino," and urged not to forget that the choices made by Father Matteo Ricci "did not depend on an abstract strategy of inculturation of the faith, but from the combined effort of the events, encounters, and experiences that he carried out, so what has been achieved was also thanks to the encounter with the Chinese. It was a meeting lived in many ways, but thoroughly through the relationship with friends and disciples, especially the four famous converts, 'pillars of the nascent Chinese Church'. "
Benedict XVI concluded his speech with these words: "May the memory of these men of God dedicated to the Gospel and the Church, their example of fidelity to Christ, their deep love for the Chinese people, the efforts of intelligence and study, their virtuous life, be an occasion for prayer for the Church in China and for the entire Chinese people, as we do every year, May 24, turning to Mary, venerated in the famous Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai. May they also serve as stimulus and encouragement to live with intensity the Christian faith in dialogue with different cultures, but in the certainty that Christ brings about true humanism that is open to God, rich in moral and spiritual values, and able to respond to the deepest desires of the human soul. Like Father Matteo Ricci, today I express my profound respect to the noble Chinese people and their ancient culture, convinced that their renewed encounter with Christianity will bring abundant fruits of good, just as it favored peaceful coexistence among peoples in the past." (SL) (Agenzia Fides 05/31/2010)
Links:
Complete text of the Holy Father's address, in Italian
http://www.fides.org/ita/documents/Ud_Mac_MRicci_29052010.doc
EUROPE/POLAND - Jasna Gora Shrine celebrates 8th National Missionary Congress for Children
Czestochowa (Agenzia Fides) - "We Announce to the World: God is Love" was the theme of the 8th National Missionary Congress for Children held in Czestochowa, at the National Shrine of the Black Madonna in Jasna Gora, May 28 and 29. According to information received by Fides, the Congress was attended by the National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) of Poland, Father Jan Piotrowski, and National Director of the PMS in Lebanon, Father Paul Karam, in addition to priests, religious, catechists, missionary animators, all the leaders of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the country, and, of course, the children of the Holy Childhood Association.
The first day of the Congress, participants met with the missionaries and attended the Marian prayer, “The Jasna Gora Appeal,” in the Chapel of Our Lady. On Saturday, May 29, Mass was celebrated at the Shrine of the Black Madonna, presided by Bishop Stanislaw Budzik, Secretary General of the Polish Bishops' Conference. "Love is the soul of the mission,” the Bishop said in his homily. “Missionary activity comes from love and bears witness to love. Every person who loves Christ, who loves man, must support the missions and missionaries through prayer."
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