By Andrea Tornielli
How do we inspire young people with the enthusiasm for mission? “I do not think there are ‘techniques’ for that.”
In this question posed by James, a catechist, and Pope Francis’ response, one of the Holy Father’s dearest themes emerges: What lies at the heart of being a missionary? How do we proclaim the Gospel?
These questions are relevant to every place and time, but here in Papua New Guinea, a country where 841 different languages are spoken, they take on a special resonance.
In his meeting with the authorities and civil society in Port Moresby on Saturday, the Successor of Peter reiterated his fascination with the extraordinary cultural and human richness of this archipelago of islands, where communication is complicated, and catechesis must contend with a vast number of languages unmatched anywhere in the world.
“I imagine that this enormous variety is a challenge to the Holy Spirit, who creates harmony amid differences!” he said.
In response to James’s question during the meeting with bishops, clergy, religious, and catechists, the Pope responded by emphasizing the essence of Christian witness, which is to “cultivate and share the joy of being the Church.”
Pope Francis often quotes the words of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, spoken at Aparecida in 2007: “The Church does not engage in proselytism. Instead, she grows by ‘attraction’.”
In his book-length interview with Gianni Valente (“Without Him, We Can Do Nothing,” LEV 2020), Pope Francis explained that “the mission is His work. It is pointless to get agitated. There is no need for us to organize and to shout. There is no need for gimmicks or tricks. We simply need to ask to experience today what makes us say, ‘It has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us’. The Lord’s mandate to go out and proclaim the Gospel comes from within, driven by love and attraction. You do not follow Christ, and even less become a proclaimer of Him and His Gospel, due to a decision made at a desk or by self-induced activism. Even missionary zeal can only be fruitful if it comes from this attraction and passes it on to others.”
In the face of the disorientation and weariness that many Christians experience in parts of the world, it is only the testimony of forgiven sinners drawn by love that makes the mission.
Otherwise, as Pope Francis has often said, “the Church becomes a spiritual association, a multinational company launching initiatives and messages of an ethical-religious nature,” because “you end up domesticating Christ. You no longer bear witness to what Christ does, but you speak in the name of a certain idea of Christ. An idea you possess and have tamed yourself. You organize events, becoming a low-level manager of ecclesial life, where everything happens according to a set program, merely following instructions. But the encounter with Christ, the encounter that touched your heart at the beginning, never happens again.”
Nothing is immune to this risk: from pastoral projects to the organization of major events, from “digital” missionary techniques to catechesis. The danger is to take the essential for granted and focus instead on methods, language, and organization.
But the truest answer to James’s question, the one that embodies the Pope’s words, can be found in the smiling, joyful faces of the missionaries here who traveled miles on foot, by car, and by plane to be close to their brothers and sisters and to bear witness to the love of Jesus to every woman and man in this land of stunning and colorful nature.
For “if you are drawn by Christ, if you move and act because you are attracted by Christ, others notice without effort on your part. There is no need to prove it, and even less to show it off.”
