Recently, I had the privilege of visiting our international mission parishes, which are located in Bánica and Pedro Santana, Dominican Republic. Since 1991, our diocese, in collaboration with the Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana, has supported these parish communities of more than 13,000 faithful. We provide priests, volunteers and material support for the dayto- day administration of the parishes, and we offer tuition support for students attending college in Santo Domingo, assistance with food and medical expenses for families, and sponsorship of seminarians preparing for the priesthood.
My visit to Bánica highlighted for me a key feature of our Catholic faith: we are all missionary disciples. By virtue of our Baptism, we share the call to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. Pope Francis reminds us that “(e)very Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are ‘disciples’ and ‘missionaries,’ but rather that we are always ‘missionary disciples’ ” (“ Evangelii Gaudium,” n. 120).
We live out this missionary discipleship in many different ways. Some are called to live as missionaries by being heralds of the Gospel for communities who do not yet believe in Christ. There, the faith is planted for the first time and begins to grow. Others are called to support and minister to growing church communities where some additional assistance from other local churches, like our own diocese, might be needed. This is the wonderful kind of missionary work I experienced in Bánica.
In addition, we are all called to spread the Gospel by bearing witness to Christ in our everyday lives. Wherever we are, we can find ways to communicate Jesus and the salvation he offers to all people. These diverse kinds of missionary activities exist side by side in the Church’s life, working together to contribute to the ministry entrusted to us by Christ Jesus.
The Eucharist gives unity to these diverse expressions of missionary discipleship. Wherever this great Sacrament is celebrated — here in Arlington, in Bánica and everywhere in the world — “from the rising of the sun to its setting”— Christ Himself is really, truly and substantially present. He makes present His one Sacrifice so that
peoples of every place may encounter the forgiveness of sins won by His Cross and may live in the joy of His Resurrection. Through the celebration of the Mass, our local churches and the universal Church are made one by the Holy Spirt, and nourished by His very Body and Blood, each and every one of us is sent into the world to live as missionary disciples.
May we accept this wonderful challenge of being missionary disciples in the world and in the Church, until our Savior comes again.
