MISSIOLOGY

The Call to mission is one of the evidences of the love of God, who communicates with us God’s own unique creation. God inspires us, challenges us; God guides, directs, strengthens and thrusts us forward, again and again. The Church’s mission, indeed her missionary nature and her very existence, have the mission of Jesus Christ as their immediate point of reference and their first source. But then from his he send by God the Father (cf. Jn 3:16) and then from his he sent the Holy Spirit to the Church, as the first and living gift (cf. Jn 15:26).

Missionary spirituality is the expression of one’s experience of God through Jesus Christ and the spirit in a specific way of Christian living, prayer, asceticism and apostolate that makes the Christian more like Christ the missionary. It is the missionary’s specific way to God, human maturity and Christian holiness. Thus, REDEMPTORIS MISSIO demands a specific spirituality, and its applies in particular to all those whom God has called to be missionaries (cf. RM 87). Missionary spirituality consists in constantly growing in the discipleship of Jesus and helping others to become and grow into true disciples of Jesus.

Fr. K. J. Anbunathan

Theological reflection on evangelization may be centered on the nature of mission, on evangelizing activity and on the spirit with which it must be carried out. It is always theological reflection that seeks to clarify concepts and present an orderly, complete and clear summary of them. We usually call the study of its nature the theology of mission or of evangelization. We call reflection on evangelizing activity pastoral theology, whereas spirituality is a theological reflection on the “Spirit” that the evangelizer must have. In this way, “Jesus Christ, the “light of the nation” shines upon the face of the Church”, which he sends forth to the whole world to proclaim the gospel to every creature. In this course we study the various dimensions of the theology of evangelization.

Basic Bibliography

Bosch, J. Transforming Mission, New York, 1994. Glasser & Gavaran, M.C. Contemporary theologies of Mission, Grand Rapids, 1983. International Secretariat Pontifical Missionary Union, Mission for the Third Millennium, Rome, 1993. Muller, Karl. Mission Theology, Dortmund, 1987. Power, John. Mission Theology Today, Dublin, 1970. Tippet, Alan. Introduction to Missionary, New York, 1980. Vadakumpadan, Paul. Evangelization Today, Shillong, 1989.

Fr. K. J. Anbunathan