Missionary Disciples

Beginning with paragraph 119 of Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis asks us all to consider our vocation as missionary disciples. Here he draws upon his knowledge of how others came to be evangelists as well as his own vocation. He makes the point that we must all not only preach the Gospel, we must be constantly evangelized by it.

The sad fact of the matter is that most Catholics today regard the preaching of the Gospel as the task of someone else. They don't see themselves in that role. For many it is a matter of considering themselves ill fit and unprepared for the task. For others it is a matter of misunderstanding their vocation.

The Catholic Church has always seen its presence in the field of education as an integral part of its mission. In the latter half of the twentieth century, most parishes in the United States included an elementary school. Many others also provided a secondary school. Catholic colleges and universities were also part of this system. All too often, however, financial considerations in many of our Catholic families made it impossible for parents to send their children to Catholic schools beyond the eighth grade. Sadly, for some Catholics, this was the end of their Catholic education.

After Vatican II, many parishes endeavored to establish adult education programs to further the education of the faithful. Because so many were operating with only the beginnings of an education in their faith, these programs became a priority in many parishes. However, they were of their very nature voluntary. No one could force adults to attend these classes.

In this section of the apostolic exhortation, the Pope uses a term that has become an integral part of the push toward "new evangelization"; namely, "continuing formation." Rather than sitting back and expressing the opinion that one is not prepared to be an evangelist, the Holy Father wishes us to consider the place of continuing formation in our Catholic lives. The following sections of the exhortation will take up this topic in more depth.

However, before he goes into the basics of continuing formation, the Holy Father highlights the basis of our vocation as evangelists, as missionary disciples; namely, our encounter with Jesus Christ. Just as the first disciples began to preach after they had encountered Jesus, we are also called upon to make Jesus known to others. It is part of our baptismal commitment to pass on to others that which we have received.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator