Moving to a Missionary Mentality
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.”Ps. 66
This is what the documents of the Church have been asking of us for quite a few years. Both Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium and the Bishops of CELAM in Aparecida speak to us about the need for a pastoral conversion, which calls us to leave behind the Christendom mindset, where we were comfortably just keeping the machine running. That situation-where the vast majority attended Mass—is behind us. Now we must learn to go out and evangelize, to seek the lost sheep, because many no longer come, and the Good Shepherd wants to go out and bring them back.
In the early centuries, when there were still not many attending, the Church was in missionary mode – being a Christian meant going out to make Jesus known, to seek and evangelize those who had not heard of Him. Today we once again face the challenge of recovering that missionary zeal to seek the lost sheep with the love of the Good Shepherd, because so many no longer come. Aparecida calls us to move from a mentality of mere maintenance to a decisively missionary disposition.
Lost sheep are those who say they don’t believe or who hold other beliefs, but also the baptized who do not live their faith —clearly because they do not truly know it; for if they did, they would be walking the path of Christ’s disciples, following Him and learning from Him. Many are in this situation: baptized out of tradition, and even received First Communion and Confirmation, yet they still do not know or love Jesus— as is evident in the fact that we don’t see them approaching the sacraments or walking as disciples and missionaries of Christ.
Jesus sends us to make disciples of all nations, not just those who already come (cf. Mt 28:19ff). That is why the Pope speaks of a Church that “goes forth,” in a permanent state of mission. This is the dimension we have most neglected, having lived for so many centuries without much need for it, since the vast majority would come on their own in traditionally Christian countries. Therefore, speaking of “mission” was always associated with going to so-called mission countries, where the Gospel had not yet arrived. But now we live in a time where the world, led by the Enemy-the prince of this world — is rapidly becoming de-Christianized, turning its back on God. As such, the mission no longer calls us to go to other countries; rather, every country now once again requires evangelization and missionary work.
We still need to continually nourish ourselves as disciples —that is Jesus’ call to shepherd His sheep, to feed those who are already His. This is the pastoral work. The other dimension the Church now urgently requires is the work of mission: seeking the lost sheep and becoming fishers of men. That’s why JS sent us in mission.
Weekly Readings
Sunday: Is 66:10-14c/Ps 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20 (1)/Gal 6:14-18/Lk 10:1-12, 17-20 or 10:1-9
Monday: Gn 28:10-22a/Ps 91:1-2, 3-4, 14-15ab/Mt 9:18-26
Tuesday: Gn 32:23-33/Ps 17:1b, 2-3, 6-7ab, 8b and 15/Mt 9:32-38
Wednesday: Gn 41:55-57; 42:5-7a, 17-24a/Ps 33:2-3, 10-11, 18-19/Mt 10:1-7
Thursday: Gn 44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5/Ps 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21/Mt 10:7-15
Friday: Gn 46:1-7, 28-30/Ps 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40/Mt 10:16-23
Saturday: Gn 49:29-32; 50:15-26a/Ps 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7/Mt 10:24-33
Next Sunday: Dt 30:10-14/Ps 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37 (see 33)/Col 1:15-20/Lk 10:25-37
Observances for the Week
Sunday: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Friday: Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot
Next Sunday: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
