Proclaim the gospel to every creature

SATURDAY 25 JANUARY (Mk 16,15-18)

It is the mission of the Christ of God to bring the Light of truth, justice and mercy to every man, to the ends of the earth. Lord Jesus, the true and only Messiah, lives this divine office or ministry through his body which is the Church. In the Church, the Apostles are responsible for announcing the Word and the gift of Light to every man. In hierarchical communion and obedience with the Apostles, all the members of the body of Christ Jesus. As long as there is only one man on earth who has not yet received the announcement of the Gospel, it is the responsibility of the Apostles to provide. It is the collective responsibility and of the whole apostolic college. If one does not provide, the other is obliged to make every effort and will to provide for it.

Who governs the body of the Church, in her Pastors and in her Faithful, is the Holy Spirit, in the Holy Spirit it is the Father. The Father, in the Holy Spirit, always calls and always adds new Pastors and new Faithful, so that the body of Christ can live its universal ministry. The Holy Spirit acts in two different ways. Within the body he intervenes to revitalize it giving new life to some of its members. It is the mystery of true holiness, the highest daily and perennial fruit of the Spirit of the Lord. But he also draws new members from outside to give to the body of Christ a more missionary impulse and a greater evangelizing imprint. We read in the Acts of the Apostles: “There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is there praying, and (in a vision) he has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay (his) hands on him, that he may regain his sight.” But Ananias replied, “Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man, what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison all who call upon your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites, and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name”” (Cf. At 9,1-18). Who calls Saul is the Lord. The Lord is the one who opens him the way. the Lord is always the one who watches on his Church.

Even the mission to the pagans of Saul is wanted directly by the Holy Spirit: “Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.  While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”  Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands on them and sent them off” (At 13,1-3). A Church that lets herself be moved by the Holy Spirit is always missionary. Instead when it is the heart of the individual Apostles or of the individual Faithful thao acts, then the first fruit of our heart is the death of the mission. When the mission dies, the Church dies. Either the body of Christ is a missionary or it is no longer the body of Christ. In place of the Spirit, the works of the flesh reign in it. Never might the mission of the Light arise from the flesh.

He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents (with their hands), and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

But is the gift of Light enough to enter the mystery of salvation? The Light must be given, but to produce salvation it must be welcomed, lending all obedience to the Word. If the Light is not accepted in faith, it does not give eternal life. If the Light is not transformed into the purest and daily obedience to the Word, neither does it produce salvation. Today this truth has been abrogated by the disciple of Jesus. Salvation is given to all even without mission, without the gift of light, without acceptance of it and without obedience. The first fruit is the death of the evangelizing mission. The second fruit is immorality.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints, fill us with the Holy Spirit to be missionaries of Light.