There
is an urgent need to reaffirm that the central ideal of mission is Jesus
Christ, and that this ideal demands the total gift of oneself to the proclamation
of the Gospel. On this point there can be no compromise: those who by God’s
grace accept the mission, are called to live the mission. For them, the
proclamation of Christ in the many peripheries of the world becomes their way
of following him, one which more than repays them for the many difficulties and
sacrifices they make.
Today, the Church’s mission is faced
by the challenge of meeting the needs of all people to return to their roots
and to protect the values of their respective cultures. This means knowing and
respecting other traditions and philosophical systems, and realizing that all
peoples and cultures have the right to be helped from within their own
traditions to enter into the mystery of God’s wisdom and to accept the Gospel
of Jesus, who is light and transforming strength for all cultures.
Within this complex dynamic, we ask
ourselves: “Who are the first to whom the Gospel message must be proclaimed?”
The answer, found so often throughout the Gospel, is clear: it is the poor, the
little ones and the sick, those who are often looked down upon or forgotten,
those who cannot repay us (cf. Lk 14:13-14). Evangelization directed
preferentially to the least among us is a sign of the Kingdom that Jesus came
to bring: “There is an inseparable bond between our faith and the poor. May we
never abandon them” (Evangelii Gaudium, 48).
To Mary, Mother of the Church and model of
missionary outreach, I entrust all men and women who, in every state of life
work to proclaim the Gospel, ad gentes or in their own lands. To all
missionaries of the Gospel I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing.
