2.6.    Consecrated life “living memory” of the missionary Christ

            To describe the identity and spirituality of the “missionary”,  it is necessary to shed light on the semantic field of the word.  In Italian, for example, the five words of Greek and Latin origin: (apostolo) apostle, (messo) messenger, (missionario) missionary, (mandato) mandate,  (inviato) messenger/envoy have fundamentally the same Biblical meaning .

            In Sacred Scripture, when the word is used in a religious sense, the mandating subject is God. The mission is first of all a reality received from God. It is he, who, conferring the mission, creates the identity of the missionary. A person cannot present himself as an apostle or missionary of God if he has not been sent by him. Every missionary must accept the conditions and rules of behavior established by God.

            Surely, God respects the freedom and responsibility of his messenger. He asks of him a personal involvement in the fulfillment of his mission. He wants him to become a collaborator or acting subject in the realization of the mission.

            This Biblical, theological and spiritual dynamism of the mission is what we find also in the Gospel figure of Christ. New Testament texts, in fact, show that Christ can justly be defined the “missionary of the Father” (VC 22a; 77), “Apostle of the Father” (VC 9b), “sent into the world” (VC 72a), “sent into the world” (VC 72c), “sent in mission”. (VC 76)

            Christ proclaimed himself apostle of God, sent to complete the mission as prophet and evangelizer in his name and with the power of the Spirit. (Lk 4: 18-19)  In the parable of the vineyard, he presents himself as the Son-envoy. (cf Mt 21:33-37) Christ is the apostle of the fullness of time; “when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son” . (Gal 4:4-5; cf Rm 8:3) Every Christian must have an attitude of faith, love and supreme fidelity to the “Son”, (Heb 1:2) who is “the apostle” (Heb 3:1) of the new covenant. (Cf Heb 8:6)

            The source of apostolic movement is found in God Father, and more concretely in his merciful love.  In perfect tune with the Father, the Son becomes apostle for love of humanity, in order to bring eternal life to human beings: “…God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.” (Jn 3:16-17)

            The apostolic mission of Jesus cannot be reduced to just the limits of his preaching and healing activity. His entire life of witnessing love and service is part of his apostolate.

This witness reaches its highest degree in the hour of his supreme sacrifice in behalf of humanity. On the cross Jesus shines as the greatest apostle-martyr of love toward the Father and toward humanity.

            Every baptized person must fulfill the mission entrusted to him by the Trinity in baptism. Still, to state that among the members of God’s people, there is not a diversity of mission, because all Christians have one same and identical mission, signifies not respecting either Biblical information, nor the Church’s teaching on mission.

            Consecrated persons are called, with “special vocation”, (VC 14b) to a life of “total conformation” (VC 18c) to “him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world” (Jn 10:36) and “who is at one and the same time consecrated to the glory of the Father and sent into the world for the salvation of his brothers and sisters.” (VC 72c)  In accord therefore with their “special consecration”, (VC 30t; 31d) consecrated persons receive and fulfill a “special mission”, (VC 17a; 35c) “a particular mission”, (VC 31c) which has a special positive and eminently Christological character:  “The task of devoting themselves wholly to ‘mission’ is therefore included in their call; indeed, … consecrated life becomes mission, as was the whole of Jesus’ life.” (VC 72a)

            The more perfect the conformation of the consecrated person to the Apostle Christ, the more fruitful will his apostolic presence become: “The more consecrated persons allow themselves to be conformed to Christ, the more Christ is made present and active in the world for the salvation of all.” (VC 72b) The more they allow themselves to become like Christ Servant, the better they will exercise their apostolic service: “The consecrated life eloquently shows that the more one lives in Christ, the better one can serve him in others…” (VC 76)

            The variety of the mystery of  the Apostle-Christ is the most immediate and inexhaustible font of apostolic charisms in the Church. A single founder or a single institute cannot embrace all the richness of that mystery. It is necessary to know how to nourish carefully the particular Christological gift received and dedicate one’s energies and organization to representing with special effect one or another aspects of the many-faceted mystery of Christ-Apostle. For example: some religious men and women dedicate themselves specifically to witnessing “the mysterious apostolic fruitfulness,” (VC 8b) of the “praying” Christ; (VC 8a; 14c; 24b; 32d) others bowing over human suffering, offer clear witness to Christ, “divine Samaritan”, (VC 83b) who in his ministry of mercy revealed the merciful love of the Father to suffering humanity; others are the living presence of Christ Teacher. (cf VC 96a; 97a)

            In that sense, consecrated persons are called to make present in the Church the evangelic splendor of Christ’s missionary way of life. “ Consecrated persons…in fact, have the task of making present … the chaste, poor, obedient, praying and missionary  Christ. (Cf LG 44; 46) (VC 77) Consecrated life is, therefore, the “living memory” also of Christ missionary.