Cardinal Tagle: Every apostolic mission is the work of Christ

By Lisa Zengarini

The National Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) have gathered this week for their Annual General Assembly taking place in the city of Ciampino, on the outskirts of Rome.  

Topics discussed

The session kicked off on 31 May and will run until 6 June with the participation of some 100 Directors from the five continents, as well as the President, the Secretaries General of the four PMS (the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, the Holy Childhood Association and the Missionary Union of Priests and Religious) and the person in charge of the Administration.

The topics to be discussed include the revision of the Statutes of the PMS pursuant to  Pope Francis’ Apostolic Constitution “Praedicate evangelium " reforming the Roman Curia, synodality and the past year’s activities.  

Mission  and synodality

The proceedings were introduced by the President of the Pontifical Mission Societies, Archbishop Emilio Nappa, who doubles as Adjunct Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization. In his introductory remarks, reported by Fides Agency, Archbishop Nappa highlighted the charism of their founders, evangelization and synodality as the keywords that should guide the PMS in their path forward as called by Pope Francis.

Speaking at the opening of the session was also Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. The Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery recalled that every authentic apostolic mission is the work of Christ, who acts by grace and in the lives and hearts of His disciples, thus making Himself "perceptible" to others.

Speaking off-the-cuff, the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization offered participants three points of reflection to accompany their discussions, taking his cue from the Gospel of the day on the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth.

Any authentic apostolic work is always the work of God

The Gospel story - Cardinal Tagle said – recounts the meeting of two pregnant women who experience two inexplicable pregnancies from a human point of view: those of Jesus and John the Baptist.  God himself – he commented - intervened in their lives, in view of a mission. Mary’s and Elizabeth’s question of "How is this possible" implies acknowledging that human capacity cannot accomplish what can only be done by God. This admission, Cardinal Tagle noted, applies to any authentic apostolic work, which is always the work of God carried out "in vessels of clay", as St. Paul recalls in his Second Letter to the Corinthians.  

The action of the Holy Spirit

The Pro-Prefect then reflected on the joy manifested by Elizabeth and John the Baptist himself in her womb at Mary's arrival, signalling that Jesus’ presence, although not visible. was already "perceived" by others. This, Cardinal Tagle said, tells us that the disciples of Christ are called to confess and bear witness to their faith "openly", but there are situations and circumstances in which they also bear witness to Him in a  silent way, and that those around us will be able to "perceive" the presence and the work of Christ in us thanks to the action of the Holy Spirit. This is why, he stressed, missionary work has its source in prayer and in the encounter with Jesus.

God does great things that we are called to share

In the third point of his reflection, Cardinal Tagle dwelt on Mary’s Magnificat, praising the Lord who "does great things”. In this way – he noted - Mary shows that the grace of God is never only for myself, but for everyone and that “Happiness is authentic only when it is shared".

Therefore, Cardinal Tagle concluded, any mission undertaken in the name of Christ "can never be separated from the encounter with Jesus, from taking Jesus with us and in us", so He can make Himself "perceptible" to the people we meet, and that the work of God may "shine on every occasion".

On Saturday, June 3, after the Holy Mass presided over by Cardinal Tagle,in St. Peter's Basilica, participants in the Assembly will be received by Pope Francis. In the afternoon, the meeting will move to the Mater Ecclesiae College of Castel Gandolfo, where participants will join  a conference on "Synodality and Mission" .