Early on in the pontificate of Pope Francis, God rest his soul, the pontiff began to focus his teaching on a particular aspect of our faith—that all Christians are called to be missionary disciples. We find the phrase already in one of his first apostolic exhortations back in 2013—Evangelium Gaudium—“On the Proclamation of the Gospel in the World Today”.
The entire people of God are called to proclaim the Gospel. Evangelization is the task of the Church—she is an agent of evangelization. “In all the baptized, from first to last,” he wrote, “the sanctifying power of the Spirit is at work, impelling us to evangelization… In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples.” And we live out that identity of being missionary disciples in our faithfulness to Jesus in whatever part of the world or society we find ourselves.
In the first reading today, St. Paul talks about his particular calling to be an Apostle to the Gentiles. Paul describes how God has called him to bring the Gospel to places where it has never been brought before.
And there is an important dimension of missionary discipleship as well. Each one of us is called to bring the Gospel to places where it has not currently taken root. And where might that be?
We must certainly ensure that we are bringing the Gospel to our own minds and hearts. We are to be faithful to Jesus in every dimension of our lives. Christ is to be the center of our professional life, our leisure time, how we use our minds, how we use our words, how we use our bodies. We are to develop skills to be used in God’s service.
But also in our relationships—with family, friends, and strangers. Recognize where the Gospel could be stronger in those relationships—where the peace of Jesus, the kindness of Jesus, the charity, and self-sacrifice of Jesus is to be imitated and lived out.
In the Gospel, the Lord tells a parable about cleverness. The worldly are often very clever in pursuing their ends and their goals. Well, Christians need to be clever too in working for God. We are to exercise ingenuity, creativity, and cunning in our missionary discipleship.
We need to be more clever in organizing charitable activity than head coaches in organizing victory for their franchises. We need to be more diligent in disciplining our minds and hearts than professional athletes in training their bodies. We need to be more clever than Wall Street bankers, in storing up treasure, not on earth, but in heaven. We need to be more dedicated to the Gospel, than world-class musicians and artists are in developing and pursuing their art.
We aren’t to just give God our leftovers, but our very best. Just as God made each of us unique, there are places and people to whom God is calling us uniquely to bear the Gospel. And we are to do so with courage and fortitude and patience and wisdom like that which St. Paul and so many of the saints show us for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
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That all Christians may endeavor to put their time, talent, treasure, creativity and energy into serving the mission of the Church. Let us pray to the Lord.
That our young people may be blessed to be raised in faith filled homes, that they may be protected from the evils of our culture, and be granted a firm knowledge of their vocation to holiness. Let us pray to the Lord.
That Christ the Good Shepherd will draw close to all who suffer, the sick, the needy, victims of injustice, and the dying.
We pray in a special way during this month of November for all the faithful departed, all deceased members and benefactors of our parish, our deceased family members and friends, deceased clergy and religious, those who fought and died for our freedom and for X. for whom this mass is offered.
O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.
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