Fr. Rosario Oliveria.
MISSION OF EVERY CHRISTIAN AND PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL “GO, PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS” Our Archbishop’s pastoral letter, dated 02nd June 2024, is addressed to not only Priests, Religious and Faithful of the Archdiocese, but also to the ‘people of goodwill’ in this Archdiocese. Therefore, the call to share the “Mission” is for both: Christ’s faithful as well as to those who, though not baptized, experience divine goodness in their hearts. One may ask, “What is the mission?” For Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian poet, (the mission of) “every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man”. In other words, the mission of every human person is to make known to all that God loves human beings in spite of their failures and inadequacies. God has a plan for every human being. In Jeremiah 29 verse 11, God says, “Yes, I know what plans I have in mind for you, Yahweh declares, plans for peace, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”. When every person realises God’s specifc plan/s for himself/herself, that person will live a life full of joy and peace. Jesus says, “I have come to give life and life in fullness” (Jn. 10:10). This was the Mission of Jesus Christ. We are beckoned to experience that ‘life in fullness’ and ‘proclaim it to the whole world’. Consequent, to glorify God by our life fully lived as St. Ireneau recapitulates, “God’s glory is man fully alive”. (a) Mission of “People of Goodwill”. Every person has a twin mission that is (i) to tell the world that he/she is sent by God and (ii) to be the harbinger of hope. In order to fulfl that mission, the person must discover God’s plan for his/her life. In order to understand the above, one needs to enter into divine realm, align his/ her thoughts, emotions, desires, will and actions with that of God’s. All people have the responsibility to live such a life and participate in the mission. However, when a certain person says he/she does not believe in God; lives as per his/her plan; and/or is given to a life of despair, then one can say that such a person does not live his/her life in fullness and consequently becomes incapable to give glory to God. The latter category of people exclude themselves from ‘the people of goodwill’. (b) Mission of Christ’s Faithful (Bishop, Priests, Religious and Laity). The newly appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese as well as priests, religious and laity share, in addition to the “common mission” of the ‘people of goodwill’, a “specifc mission” entrusted by Jesus Christ in a “diverse form” each according to his/her state of life. The command “Go, proclaim the Good News” (Mk. 16: 15) entails both the common and specifc mission entrusted by Christ. In the frst place, we, as human beings must participate in the common mission but since we are, through baptism, incorporated into Christ and have become members of the Church, we share in the salvifc mission of Christ. In order to understand the mission of Christ, we need to not only enter into the divine realm with other human beings but also enter into the life of Christ (Rom. 8: 29), be transformed into Christ (Gal. 4:19), until we are able to say that “it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). The above mentioned mission is to be lived and witnessed by each of the Christ’s faithful according to his/her state of life. The Archbishop encourages the faithful to participate in the Mission through various participatory structures at the Parish as well as Diocesan level (P. Letter, no. 3.3). When ‘fully alive’ Christ’s faithful participate in those structures, the Parish becomes lively and vibrant which in turn brings glory to God. Fully aware of the various challenges to the ‘Mission’ (P. letter, no. 3.1), the Archbishop motivates us to face the ‘Mission’ with a new heart and a new mind (P. Letter, no. 3.2). I urge all the parishioners to read the pastoral letter refectively, apply the principles to Christian life faithfully, and participate in the ‘Mission’ joyfully. St. Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us!