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Whoever
fears him and acts uprightly |
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The
theme of the 5th International Mission Conference held in
conjunction with the 21st anniversary of Couples for Christ in
Manila was “casting the net deeper and wider.” The message of the
conference was that Couples for Christ was being called by God to go
farther into “deeper water” and to cast a “wider net” in order to
“catch the fish” that heretofore had not been brought into the
community. After the conference, I felt that our elders were opening up to
the possibility of mission ad gentes for Couples for Christ –
that they too were sensing the desire of the Holy Spirit for Couples for
Christ to gradually address the evangelization of our non-Christian
brothers and sisters. During
the same anniversary celebration, the delegation from Cambodia headed by
Sis Marichu gave us a beautiful gift – a statue of the Virgin Mother
dressed in typical Khmer costume carrying the Child Jesus. As I looked at
the statue, with Mary wearing a typical Khmer headdress, I thought, “How
difficult indeed it is to introduce what is considered to be a basically
Western concept of Christianity into ancient Eastern cultures dominated
primarily by Buddhist thoughts and concepts.” At the same time, I
recalled the words of Pope Paul VI in Ad Gentes Divinitus regarding
the billions of people, particularly in Asia, who had not yet or had
barely heard the Gospel message: “They constitute large and distinct
groups united by enduring cultural ties, ancient religious traditions, and
strong social relationships. If the Church is to be in a position to offer
all men the mystery of salvation and the life brought by God, then it must
implant itself among all these groups in the same way that Christ by his
incarnation committed himself to the particular social and cultural
circumstances of the men among whom he lived.” My
brothers and sisters, I believe that Couples for Christ’s mission ad
gentes should have initially two components. First, it should
initially focus on the evangelization of non-Christians who are married to
Christians. In the case of Thailand, this work would be carried out
primarily in the urban areas, where there are thousands of Buddhist Thais
married to Catholic Filipinos and other expatriates. Second, it should
gradually expand into the predominantly poor, rural and tribal
non-Christian communities. The evangelization of these communities would
be accomplished primarily through the social ministries, in particular
through Gawad Kalinga.
I
have just finished reading the book of Fr. Nicolas Standaert, S.J.
entitled “Inculturation: The Gospel and Cultures.” In his book,
Fr. Standaert describes how the Jesuits had to change their missionary
methods in order to progress in their evangelization of China during the
1500s. China proved from the beginning to be a difficult mission. It was
Fr. Alessandro Valignano, who was then in charge of the Jesuit mission in
the Far East, who came to the conclusion that mission methods should
change if they were to attain any measure of success. Fr.
Valignano’s missionary method consisted basically of four elements. The
first was adaptation – the missionaries were to adapt thoroughly to
Chinese culture. Second was a focus on the evangelization of the elite.
The idea behind this was that when the elite became Christian the others
would follow. Third was to bring knowledge of science and technology to
attract the interest of the elite. And the fourth was an attitude of
openness and tolerance towards Chinese culture and values. My
brothers and sisters, our mission ad gentes in Couples for Christ
ought to derive inspiration from the account of Peter’s vision prior to
the conversion of Cornelius as related in the Book of Acts (Acts 10:1-49).
In his vision, Peter is offered a large sheet containing all sorts of
four-legged animals and reptiles and various kinds of birds. A voice tells
him, “Slaughter and eat” (Acts 10:13). But as an observant Jew,
Peter resists, being aware of the cultural prescription of Leviticus 11 on
clean and unclean food. Only when he is invited to be the guest of
Cornelius, a Gentile, does the meaning of the vision become clear to him. The
invitation to Peter comes from an alien culture. Prompted by his own
vision, Cornelius has sent two of his servants and a devout soldier to
invite Peter to his house where he has gathered his relatives and friends.
As Peter enters the house, the meaning of his own vision becomes clear,
and he declares, “You know that it is unlawful for a Jewish man to
associate with, or visit, a Gentile, but God has shown me that I should
not call any person profane or unclean.” (Acts 10:28). The words of
Peter bring out sharply the meeting of two different cultures. They
reflect the conversion of the missionary – that a missionary, in order
to fulfill the mission that God has set for him, must adapt to the culture
of the people he wishes to convert. And therefore Peter declares, “In
truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever
fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34-35). Fr.
Standaert’s book brings out three main points. The first is that the
message of Christ is universal and addressed to all cultures. It is
therefore possible and necessary for it to become “incarnate” in all
cultures. The second is that when the Gospel is accepted in a new culture,
there automatically occurs a new interpretation. The ideas are cut to size
and interpreted in terms of the new culture, and the new interpretation
may differ widely from the original one. This determines eventual
acceptance or rejection. And the third point is that for Christianity, the
real issue is not whether the Gospel is inculturated but whether the
inculturation is sufficiently Christian. The
second component of our mission ad gentes will be our social
ministries, in particular our work for and among the poor in Gawad Kalinga.
In order for Couples for Christ to be able to “implant itself among the
non-Christian groups,” it should bring Gawad Kalinga into the poor rural
and tribal communities of Thailand, Cambodia and other predominantly
non-Christian countries. The success of Gawad Kalinga in the Philippines
should be replicated in these countries. This strategy is in line with the
exhortation of Pope Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi: “It is
therefore primarily by her conduct and by her life that the Church will
evangelize the world, in other words, by her living witness of fidelity to
the Lord Jesus – the witness of poverty and detachment, of freedom in
the face of the power of this world, in short, the witness of sanctity.”
Our
best “witness of sanctity” while working with non-Christian
communities will not be found primarily in our prayer meetings, teachings
and retreats. We can be “living witness of fidelity to the Lord Jesus”
only if we follow the command that our Lord gave to the lawyer after
relating the parable of the good Samaritan, “Go and do likewise”
(Lk 10:37). My
brothers and sisters, let me close by urging you to reflect on the words
of Pope Paul VI: “It would be useful if every Christian and every
evangelizer were to pray about the following thought: men can gain
salvation in other ways, by God’s mercy, even though we do not preach
the Gospel to them; but as for us, can we gain salvation if through
negligence or fear or shame – what St. Paul called ‘blushing for the
Gospel’ – or as a result of false ideas we fail to preach it? For that
would be to betray the call of God, who wishes the seed to bear fruit
through the voice of the ministers of the Gospel; and it will depend on us
whether this grows into trees and produces its full fruit.” May
the Blessed Mother, dressed in an Asian costume or as the Virgin of
Guadalupe, appear in our hearts and in the hearts of all our non-Christian
brothers and sisters so that the message of her Son, our Lord and Savior,
may be made known and accepted. Amen. |
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