Missionary activity is an essential part of the Church because it is identical with the nature of the Church. "The Church's universal mission is born of faith in Jesus Christ... proclaiming Christ and bearing witness to him" [1:4-8]. The missionary activity of the Church is focused in two directions: on those who have heard the Gospel but live a life far removed from Christ, and on those peoples who have never met Christ [1:33]. The Second Vatican Council sought to renew the Church in the light of the needs of the contemporary world. The Council emphasized the Church's "missionary nature." Pope John Paul II issued Redemptoris Missio (The Mission of the Redeemer) [1] to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Ad Gentes, the Second Vatican Council's Decree on the Church's Missionary Activity [2]. The purpose of Redemptoris Missio is to remind us of our participation in the missionary activity of the Church.

The pope writes: "I wish to invite the Church to renew her missionary commitment. Missionary activity renews the Church, revitalizes faith and Christian identity, and offers fresh enthusiasm and new incentive. Faith is strengthened when it is given to others!" [1:2].

Sacred Scripture tells us how important missionary activity was to the infant Church. There was an urgency about the need to spread the Gospel: "For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!" (1 Cor 9:16). The fledgling Church was missionary by its very nature. The Apostles were witnesses of the resurrection of Christ and our salvation. The spread of that message was the spread of the Church. The acceptance of the message was the growth of the Church. [5]

The Lord Jesus sent his apostles to "every person, people and place on earth" [1:31]. And yet one need not travel far from home in order to find opportunities for missionary work. Jesus conducted most of his ministry in Galilee, a region only 65 miles from Bethlehem, the town of his birth. Every Catholic who reaches out to someone who has never experienced Christ or to someone who has drifted away from the practice of the faith is a missionary. It is in this latter category that each one of us may find fertile missionary ground. [5]

Those who are within Catholic Church ought to sense their privilege and for that very reason their greater obligation to bear witness to the faith and to the Christian life. They should be ever mindful that "they owe their distinguished status not to their own merits but to Christ's special grace; and if they fail to respond to this grace in thought, word and deed, not only will they not be saved, they will be judged more severely"[3:14]. This obligation is particularly present for those of us who live in countries with Christian roots, but with societies "far removed from Christ and his Gospel." The pope describes these countries as areas "in need of re-evangelization."[1:31]

The number of those who do not know Christ and do not belong to the Church is constantly on the increase. Our holy father notes that since the end of the Second Vatican Council their number has almost doubled. "When we consider this immense portion of humanity which is loved by the Father and for whom he sent his Son, the urgency of the Church's mission is obvious" [1:2].

The mission of the Church knows no boundaries. The Church was "sent by Christ to reveal and communicate the love of God to all people and nations" [2:10]. Nevertheless, growing cultural sensitivity and new theological ideas raise the question: "Is missionary work among non-Christians still relevant? Has it not been replaced by inter-religious dialogue? Is not human development an adequate goal of the Church's mission? Does not respect for conscience and for freedom exclude all efforts at conversion? Is it not possible to attain salvation in any religion? Why then should there be missionary activity?" [1:4]

"No one comes to the Father, but by me" (Jn 14:6). The pope takes seriously this statement by Jesus. He seeks to reconcile the fact that only Jesus saves with a respect for other religions, and the idea that Jesus can save even those who do not explicitly seek him.

Therefore, the pope writes, "The universality of salvation means that it is granted not only to those who explicitly believe in Christ and have entered the Church. Since salvation is offered to all, it must be made concretely available to all. But it is clear that today, as in the past, many people do not have an opportunity to come to know or accept the gospel revelation or to enter the Church. The social and cultural conditions in which they live do not permit this, and frequently they have been brought up in other religious traditions. For such people salvation in Christ is accessible by virtue of a grace which, while having a mysterious relationship to the Church, does not make them formally part of the Church but enlightens them in a way which is accommodated to their spiritual and material situation. This grace comes from Christ; it is the result of his Sacrifice and is communicated by the Holy Spirit. It enables each person to attain salvation through his or her free cooperation." [1:10]

Many people call for dialogue between religions, and rightly so. But, according to the pope, it would be a false dialogue if people did not state their beliefs plainly. It would show a lack of respect for other religions if they did not point out that there are differences as well as similarities between religions. One cannot dialogue if one does not have a clear sense of what one believes. One has to have something to say if one wants to dialogue. The pope writes: "While respecting the beliefs and sensitivities of all, we must first clearly affirm our faith in Christ, the one Savior of humanity, a faith we have received as a gift from on high, not as a result of any merit of our own" [1:11]. Sharing our knowledge of the Gospel with others in no way detracts from the human person's freedom. The respect that is owed to people of every culture requires that we share the gifts of Christ, "the One in whom God has made himself fully known and has shown us the path to himself." [1:3]

Recently, I returned from my first medical mission abroad. The group of doctors and nurses with whom I traveled to the Philippines was made up of many faiths, including a large majority of Catholics. We went abroad to "serve humanity". An admirable motto that reflects the desires of the group (myself included) to meet the basic needs of the people that we served, improving their health and in doing so helping them to achieve a better life.

Setting out on this trip I received a lot of support from friends and colleagues. However, I had a certain amount of hesitation to use the term "mission." There is a certain amount of negative historical connotations surrounding this word [1:30]. On several occasions people asked me: "Does your group have any religious affiliation?" Most seemed relieved when the answer was "no".

Missionary activity, according to Pope John Paul II, includes the passing on of doctrine [1:4-8]. Every member of the Church, in whatever state of life and vocation, is called to missionary activity. As a Catholic in a markedly Christian nation, I found many opportunities to share my faith with the people that I visited. We attended Mass together, and the officials of government that sponsored our work even opened our mission with a prayer at a convocation before the whole community as is the custom in the province. These marks of faith deeply touched me.

The pope goes on to say that missionary activity "has but one purpose: to serve [mankind] by revealing to him the love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ." [1:2]. In situations of poverty on an intolerable scale the community of believers in Christ is challenged by these inhuman situations: "the proclamation of Christ and the kingdom of God must become the means for restoring the human dignity of these people" [1:37]. In our heavily secularized world, the holy father notes that missionary activity is on the decline. Let us join him in praying for an increase in missionary activity "to the nations" (ad gentes). First of all, we pray for ourselves and other Christians to bear witness to our faith to the people around us. And second of all, we pray that we in this most prosperous nation demonstrate to people in distant lands that we do believe that Christ calls us to be responsible to those who are most vulnerable.