Mission and Freedom, Evangelization and Dialogue, Exhortation and Invitation

Our merciful Father speaks His Word, our Jesus of Mary and Joseph to us and through Him breathes His Breath in us to make us Their family of friends, to Their image and likeness (Gal 4). Jesus is our way and truth and life (Jn 14) from His merciful Father and by His Breath through and in and towards His Catholic Church for us His world. He invites us brothers and sisters each and all to freely share His way for us to flourish humanly, radically, and fully. This is our identity and life and mission.

Jesus wants us together and singly His world to belong to His gathering of friends and witnesses through His merciful word and sacrament in the need of our heart and conscience and every misery (Jn 17). He wants us to belong to this gathering, this Church, outwardly and inwardly (Mt 28). We belong to His gathering outwardly by being tuned to His shepherding and teaching and sanctifying, by following commandments and prayers and beliefs and rites through and in and toward His Church. We belong inwardly to His shepherding and teaching and sanctifying by attitudes and actions of our trust and faith and hope in His merciful Father and by our help and love and justice and chastity toward us brothers and sisters, and this by His Breath. Our outward belonging as symbol and source is for our inward belonging. We are always to be moving toward more radically and fully belonging inwardly and outwardly to her His Church for His world. We people of world religions and philosophies relate to His Church for His world by our goodwill responding to His revelation and grace, by our goodwill human and secular and hopefully religious through and to that degree in His Church. Better, we Christians belong partially as members; best, we Catholics belong fully as members, always through and to that degree in His Church. We Catholics want to always become more radically and fully His Catholic followers for His world with and like and through Him Our Jesus, humble of heart, resting and refreshing us weary and burdened (Mt 11).

With John Paul II we initiated the second 500 years of evangelization in America (North, Central, South) October 14, 1992, and we initiated the third 1,000 years of evangelization for the world at large (five regions of Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe, America) since the incarnation of our Lord Jesus for our redemption especially through His passion and resurrection, January 6, 2000. Evangelization and dialogue, mission and freedom, exhortation and invitation go hand in hand. Our evangelization is through dialogue with our brothers and sisters, through the conversation of prayer and thought and service with them. We grow together in sharing with them, in hearing and speaking, in receiving and giving. Schools and media of social communication are avenues of dialogue. Yesterday today tomorrow Jesus wants to set the earth on fire with his merciful way transforming our miserable and cruel way (Lk 12). He exhorts us brothers and sisters to catch and spread the fire of His mercy revolution in His world (1 Jn 4).

This reflection is based on the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament; on Paul VI, Evangelii nuntiandi (1975); John Paul II, Redemptoris missio (1990); Benedict XVI, Deus caritas est (2005); International Theological Commission, "Christianity and the World Religions" (1997).

Father Don