Baptised & Sent / Church Teachings

WHY MISSION?

The witness that the Lord gives of Himself and that Saint Luke gathered together in his Gospel - "I must
proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God" - without doubt has enormous consequences, for it sums up
the whole mission of Jesus: "That is what I was sent to do.’ These words take on their full significance if one
links them with the previous verses, in which Christ has just applied to Himself the words of the prophet
Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good
news to the poor."
Going from town to town, preaching to the poorest - and frequently the most receptive - the joyful news of the
fulfilment of the promises and of the Covenant offered by God is the mission for which Jesus declares that He
is sent by the Father. And all the aspects of His mystery - the Incarnation itself, His miracles, His teaching, the
gathering together of the disciples, the sending out of the Twelve, the cross and the resurrection, the
permanence of His presence in the midst of His own - were components of His evangelizing activity.
(Evangelii Nuntiandi, 6)
The Church knows this. She has a vivid awareness of the fact that the Saviour’s words, "I must proclaim the
Good News of the kingdom of God," apply in all truth to herself: She willingly adds with St. Paul: "Not that I
boast of preaching the gospel, since it is a duty that has been laid on me; I should be punished if I did not
preach it" It is with joy and consolation that at the end of the great Assembly of 1974 we heard these
illuminating words: "We wish to confirm once more that the task of evangelizing all people constitutes the
essential mission of the Church." It is a task and mission which the vast and profound changes of present-day
society make all the more urgent. Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her
deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize, that is to say, in order to preach and teach, to be the channel
of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ's sacrifice in the Mass, which is the
memorial of His death and glorious resurrection.
(Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14)
“While respecting the beliefs and sensitivities of all, we must first clearly affirm our faith in Christ, the one
Saviour of mankind, a faith we have received as a gift from on high, not as a result of any merit of our own.
We say with Paul, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has
faith" (Rom 1:16). Christian martyrs of all times - including our own - have given and continue to give their
lives in order to bear witness to this faith, in the conviction that every human being needs Jesus Christ, who
has conquered sin and death and reconciled mankind to God.
Confirming his words by miracles and by his resurrection from the dead, Christ proclaimed himself to be the
Son of God dwelling in intimate union with the Father, and was recognized as such by his disciples. The
Church offers mankind the Gospel, that prophetic message which responds to the needs and aspirations of the
human heart and always remains "Good News." The Church cannot fail to proclaim that Jesus came to reveal
the face of God and to merit salvation for all humanity by his cross and resurrection.
To the question, "why mission?" we reply with the Church's faith and experience that true liberation consists
in opening oneself to the love of Christ. In him, and only in him, are we set free from all alienation and doubt,
from slavery to the power of sin and death. Christ is truly "our peace" (Eph 2:14); "the love of Christ impels
us" (2 Cor 5:14), giving meaning and joy to our life. Mission is an issue of faith, an accurate indicator of our
faith in Christ and his love for us.
The temptation today is to reduce Christianity to merely human wisdom, a pseudo-science of well-being. In
our heavily secularized world a "gradual secularization of salvation" has taken place, so that people strive for

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the good of man, but man who is truncated, reduced to his merely horizontal dimension. We know, however,
that Jesus came to bring integral salvation, one which embraces the whole person and all mankind, and opens
up the wondrous prospect of divine filiation. Why mission? Because to us, as to St. Paul, "this grace was
given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Eph 3:8). Newness of life in him is the
"Good News" for men and women of every age: all are called to it and destined for it. Indeed, all people are
searching for it, albeit at times in a confused way, and have a right to know the value of this gift and to
approach it freely. The Church, and every individual Christian within her, may not keep hidden or monopolize
this newness and richness which has been received from God's bounty in order to be communicated to all
mankind.
This is why the Church's mission derives not only from the Lord's mandate but also from the profound
demands of God's life within us. Those who are incorporated in the Catholic Church ought to sense their
privilege and for that very reason their greater obligation of bearing witness to the faith and to the Christian
life as a service to their brothers and sisters and as a fitting response to God. 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.
(Redemptoris Missio 11)
In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples (cf. Mt
28:19). All the baptized, whatever their position in the Church or their level of instruction in the faith, are
agents of evangelization, and it would be insufficient to envisage a plan of evangelization to be carried out by
professionals while the rest of the faithful would simply be passive recipients. The new evangelization calls
for personal involvement on the part of each of the baptized. Every Christian is challenged, here and now, to
be actively engaged in evangelization; indeed, anyone who has truly experienced God’s saving love does not
need much time or lengthy training to go out and proclaim that love. Every 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”. If we are not convinced, let us look
at those first disciples, who, immediately after encountering the gaze of Jesus, went forth to proclaim him
joyfully: “We have found the Messiah!” (Jn 1:41). The Samaritan woman became a missionary immediately
after speaking with Jesus and many Samaritans come to believe in him “because of the woman’s testimony”
(Jn 4:39). So too, Saint Paul, after his encounter with Jesus Christ, “immediately proclaimed Jesus” (Acts
9:20; cf. 22:6-21). So what are we waiting for?
(Evangelii Gaudium, 120
Question for Reflection
1. Pope St Paul VI said that the Church “exist in order to evangelise.” How is mission and evangelisation
connected to one another?

2. Why is the “mission an issue of faith” as St John Paul II indicated?

3. Pope Francis has called for each Christian to be a “missionary disciple.”

a. What does this mean?

b. What can you do to live out this call?

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MISSION OF THE LAY FAITHFUL

The laity are gathered together in the People of God and make up the Body of Christ under one head.
Whoever they are they are called upon, as living members, to expend all their energy for the growth of the
Church and its continuous sanctification, since this very energy is a gift of the Creator and a blessing of the
Redeemer.
Now the laity are called in a special way to make the Church present and operative in those places and
circumstances where only through them can it become the salt of the earth. Thus every layman, in virtue of the
very gifts bestowed upon him, is at the same time a witness and a living instrument of the mission of the
Church itself "according to the measure of Christ's bestowal".
Besides this apostolate which certainly pertains to all Christians, the laity can also be called in various ways to
a more direct form of cooperation in the apostolate of the Hierarchy. This was the way certain men and
women assisted Paul the Apostle in the Gospel, laboring much in the Lord. Further, they have the capacity to
assume from the Hierarchy certain ecclesiastical functions, which are to be performed for a spiritual purpose.
Upon all the laity, therefore, rests the noble duty of working to extend the divine plan of salvation to all men
of each epoch and in every land. Consequently, may every opportunity be given them so that, according to
their abilities and the needs of the times, they may zealously participate in the saving work of the Church.
(Lumen Gentium, 33)
We return to the biblical image of the vine and the branches, which immediately and quite appropriately lends
itself to a consideration of fruitfulness and life. Engrafted to the vine and brought to life, the branches are
expected to bear fruit: "He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit" (Jn 15:5). Bearing
fruit is an essential demand of life in Christ and life in the Church. The person who does not bear fruit does
not remain in communion: "Each branch of mine that bears no fruit, he (my Father) takes away" (Jn 15: 2).
Communion with Jesus, which gives rise to the communion of Christians among themselves, is an
indispensable condition for bearing fruit: "Apart from me you can do nothing" (Jn 15:5). And communion
with others is the most magnificent fruit that the branches can give: in fact, it is the gift of Christ and His
Spirit.
At this point communion begets communion: essentially it is likened to a mission on behalf of communion. In
fact, Jesus says to his disciples: "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should
go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide" (Jn 15:16).
In the context of Church mission, then, the Lord entrusts a great part of the responsibility to the lay faithful, in
communion with all other members of the People of God. This fact, fully understood by the Fathers of the
Second Vatican Council, recurred with renewed clarity and increased vigour in all the works of the Synod:
"Indeed, Pastors know how much the lay faithful contribute to the welfare of the entire Church. They also
know that they themselves were not established by Christ to undertake alone the entire saving mission of the
Church towards the world, but they understand that it is their exalted office to be shepherds of the lay faithful
and also to recognize the latter's services and charisms that all according to their proper roles may cooperate in
this common undertaking with one heart".
The lay faithful, precisely because they are members of the Church, have the vocation and mission of
proclaiming the Gospel: they are prepared for this work by the sacraments of Christian initiation and by the
gifts of the Holy Spirit.
In a very clear and significant passage from the Second Vatican Council we read: "As sharers in the mission
of Christ, priest, prophet and king, the lay faithful have an active part to play in the life and activity of the
Church... Strengthened by their active participation in the liturgical life of their community, they are eager to
do their share in apostolic works of that community. They lead to the Church people who are perhaps far

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removed from it; they earnestly cooperate in presenting the Word of God, especially by means of catechetical
instruction; and offer their special skills to make the care of souls and the administration of the temporal
goods of the Church more efficient".
Through evangelization the Church is built up into a community of faith: more precisely, into a community
that confesses the faith in full adherence to the Word of God which is celebrated in the Sacraments, and lived
in charity, the principle of Christian moral existence. In fact, the "good news" is directed to stirring a person to
a conversion of heart and life and a clinging to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour; to disposing a person to
receive Baptism and the Eucharist and to strengthen a person in the prospect and realization of new life
according to the Spirit.
Certainly the command of Jesus: "Go and preach the Gospel" always maintains its vital value and its ever-
pressing obligation. Nevertheless, the present situation, not only of the world but also of many parts of the
Church, absolutely demands that the word of Christ receive a more ready and generous obedience. Every
disciple is personally called by name; no disciple can withhold making a response: "Woe to me, if I do not
preach the gospel" (1 Cor 9:16).
(Christifideles Laici, 32-33)
The direct duty to work for a just ordering of society, on the other hand, is proper to the lay faithful. As
citizens of the State, they are called to take part in public life in a personal capacity. So they cannot relinquish
their participation “in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas,
which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the common good.” The mission of the lay
faithful is therefore to configure social life correctly, respecting its legitimate autonomy and cooperating with
other citizens according to their respective competences and fulfilling their own responsibility. Even if the
specific expressions of ecclesial charity can never be confused with the activity of the State, it still remains
true that charity must animate the entire lives of the lay faithful and therefore also their political activity, lived
as “social charity”.
(Caritas Deus Est, 29)
My mission of being in the heart of the people is not just a part of my life or a badge I can take off; it is not an
“extra” or just another moment in life. Instead, it is something I cannot uproot from my being without
destroying my very self. I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world. We have
to regard ourselves as sealed, even branded, by this mission of bringing light, blessing, enlivening, raising up,
healing and freeing. All around us we begin to see nurses with soul, teachers with soul, politicians with soul,
people who have chosen deep down to be with others and for others. But once we separate our work from our
private lives, everything turns grey and we will always be seeking recognition or asserting our needs. We stop
being a people.

(Evangelii Gaudium, 273)

Question for Reflection
1. As laity, what is your role in the mission of the Church?

2. What are the ways the laity can make the mission of the Church alive in society?

3. How can I live out “My mission of being in the heart of the people”?

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MISSION TO BE A SAINT
With the further passing of time, a far wider field for missionary work began to appear. William of Rubruck
pointed it out when he carried the fire of the Faith to the Mongols. Soon afterward Blessed Gregory X sent out
the first missionaries to China. Disciples of Francis of Assisi followed them and founded there in China a
sizable community of Christians, a community that a short time later, unfortunately, went down under the
blows of a persecution.
Upon the discovery of America, an army of apostolic men set out for the New World. This great host, which
included that glorious son of St. Dominic, Bartholomew de Las Casas, undertook there the twin tasks of
protecting the unfortunate natives from human oppression and wresting them from their grinding subjection to
the powers of darkness. To the same period belongs the work of Francis Xavier, a missionary worthy of
comparison with the Apostles themselves. For Christ's glory and the salvation of souls he spent himself
relentlessly in the Fast Indies and in Japan. And when he died he was on the threshold of the Chinese Empire,
attempting to enter it. It was as though, at the price of his death, he was breaking open for the Gospel a way
into those vast territories that in years to come would be the arena where the sons of numerous religious
orders and missionary congregations would, in the pursuance of their apostolate, contend with all the
formidable obstacles thrown against them by shifting conditions and varying circumstances.
(Maximum Illud, 3-4)
Christ, on the eve of his passion, assured Peter: "I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail" (Lk
22:32). He then told him to strengthen his brothers and sisters in that same faith. Conscious of the duty
entrusted to the Successor of Peter, Benedict XVI proclaimed the present Year of Faith, a time of grace which
is helping us to sense the great joy of believing and to renew our wonder at the vast horizons which faith
opens up, so as then to profess that faith in its unity and integrity, faithful to the memory of the Lord and
sustained by his presence and by the working of the Holy Spirit. The conviction born of a faith which brings
grandeur and fulfilment to life, a faith centred on Christ and on the power of his grace, inspired the mission of
the first Christians. In the acts of the martyrs, we read the following dialogue between the Roman prefect
Rusticus and a Christian named Hierax: "‘Where are your parents?’ the judge asked the martyr. He replied:
‘Our true father is Christ, and our mother is faith in him’". For those early Christians, faith, as an encounter
with the living God revealed in Christ, was indeed a "mother", for it had brought them to the light and given
birth within them to divine life, a new experience and a luminous vision of existence for which they were
prepared to bear public witness to the end.
(Lumen Fidei, 5)
A Christian cannot think of his or her mission on earth without seeing it as a path of holiness, for “this is the
will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thess 4:3). Each saint is a mission, planned by the Father to reflect and
embody, at a specific moment in history, a certain aspect of the Gospel.
That mission has its fullest meaning in Christ, and can only be understood through him. At its core, holiness is
experiencing, in union with Christ, the mysteries of his life. It consists in uniting ourselves to the Lord’s death
and resurrection in a unique and personal way, constantly dying and rising anew with him. But it can also
entail reproducing in our own lives various aspects of Jesus’ earthly life: his hidden life, his life in
community, his closeness to the outcast, his poverty and other ways in which he showed his self-sacrificing
love. The contemplation of these mysteries, as Saint Ignatius of Loyola pointed out, leads us to incarnate them
in our choices and attitudes. Because “everything in Jesus’ life was a sign of his mystery”, “Christ’s whole life
is a revelation of the Father”, “Christ’s whole life is a mystery of redemption”, “Christ’s whole life is a
mystery of recapitulation”. “Christ enables us to live in him all that he himself lived, and he lives it in us”.
The Father’s plan is Christ, and ourselves in him. In the end, it is Christ who loves in us, for “holiness is
nothing other than charity lived to the full”. As a result, “the measure of our holiness stems from the stature

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that Christ achieves in us, to the extent that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we model our whole life on his”.
Every saint is a message which the Holy Spirit takes from the riches of Jesus Christ and gives to his people.
To recognize the word that the Lord wishes to speak to us through one of his saints, we do not need to get
caught up in details, for there we might also encounter mistakes and failures. Not everything a saint says is
completely faithful to the Gospel; not everything he or she does is authentic or perfect. What we need to
contemplate is the totality of their life, their entire journey of growth in holiness, the reflection of Jesus Christ
that emerges when we grasp their overall meaning as a person.
This is a powerful summons to all of us. You too need to see the entirety of your life as a mission. Try to do
so by listening to God in prayer and recognizing the signs that he gives you. Always ask the Spirit what Jesus
expects from you at every moment of your life and in every decision you must make, so as to discern its place
in the mission you have received. Allow the Spirit to forge in you the personal mystery that can reflect Jesus
Christ in today’s world.
May you come to realize what that word is, the message of Jesus that God wants to speak to the world by your
life. Let yourself be transformed. Let yourself be renewed by the Spirit, so that this can happen, lest you fail in
your precious mission. The Lord will bring it to fulfilment despite your mistakes and missteps, provided that
you do not abandon the path of love but remain ever open to his supernatural grace, which purifies and
enlightens.

(Gaudate et Exsultate, 19-24)

Question for Reflection

1. Who is my favourite saint for mission? Why?

2. In many parts of the world today, Christians are experiencing intense persecution and even martyrdom. As
secularism gains power, Christians are expected to practice their faith in private and live their public lives
according to rules of political correctness and “tolerance.” Letting one’s faith inform one’s business
decisions or political activity is often seen as forcing one’s faith on others, rather than as a right to be
protected. The signs of the times point to a world increasingly hostile to the Church. Have you or
someone you know experienced persecution for your faith? What happened? How did you respond?

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MISSIONARY PARISH
I dream of a “missionary option”, that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the
Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably
channelled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation. The renewal of
structures demanded by pastoral conversion can only be understood in this light: as part of an effort to make
them more mission-oriented, to make ordinary pastoral activity on every level more inclusive and open, to
inspire in pastoral workers a constant desire to go forth and in this way to elicit a positive response from all
those whom Jesus summons to friendship with himself. As John Paul II once said to the Bishops of Oceania:
“All renewal in the Church must have mission as its goal if it is not to fall prey to a kind of ecclesial
introversion”.
The parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility, it can assume quite
different contours depending on the openness and missionary creativity of the pastor and the community.
While certainly not the only institution which evangelizes, if the parish proves capable of self-renewal and
constant adaptively, it continues to be “the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and
daughters”. This presumes that it really is in contact with the homes and the lives of its people, and does not
become a useless structure out of touch with people or a self-absorbed group made up of a chosen few. The
parish is the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing God’s word, for growth in
the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration. In all its activities
the parish encourages and trains its members to be evangelizers. It is a community of communities, a
sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a centre of constant missionary
outreach. We must admit, though, that the call to review and renew our parishes has not yet sufficed to bring
them nearer to people, to make them environments of living communion and participation, and to make them
completely mission-oriented.
Other Church institutions, basic communities and small communities, movements, and forms of association
are a source of enrichment for the Church, raised up by the Spirit for evangelizing different areas and sectors.
Frequently they bring a new evangelizing fervour and a new capacity for dialogue with the world whereby the
Church is renewed. But it will prove beneficial for them not to lose contact with the rich reality of the local
parish and to participate readily in the overall pastoral activity of the particular Church. This kind of
integration will prevent them from concentrating only on part of the Gospel or the Church, or becoming
nomads without roots.
Each particular Church, as a portion of the Catholic Church under the leadership of its bishop, is likewise
called to missionary conversion. It is the primary subject of evangelization, since it is the concrete
manifestation of the one Church in one specific place, and in it “the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church
of Christ is truly present and operative”. It is the Church incarnate in a certain place, equipped with all the
means of salvation bestowed by Christ, but with local features. Its joy in communicating Jesus Christ is
expressed both by a concern to preach him to areas in greater need and in constantly going forth to the
outskirts of its own territory or towards new sociocultural settings. Wherever the need for the light and the life
of the Risen Christ is greatest, it will want to be there. To make this missionary impulse ever more focused,
generous and fruitful, I encourage each particular Church to undertake a resolute process of discernment,
purification and reform.
Pastoral ministry in a missionary key seeks to abandon the complacent attitude that says: “We have always
done it this way”. I invite everyone to be bold and creative in this task of rethinking the goals, structures, style
and methods of evangelization in their respective communities. A proposal of goals without an adequate
communal search for the means of achieving them will inevitably prove illusory. I encourage everyone to
apply the guidelines found in this document generously and courageously, without inhibitions or fear. The
important thing is to not walk alone, but to rely on each other as brothers and sisters, and especially under the
leadership of the bishops, in a wise and realistic pastoral discernment.

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The Catholic faith of many peoples is nowadays being challenged by the proliferation of new religious
movements, some of which tend to fundamentalism while others seem to propose a spirituality without God.
This is, on the one hand, a human reaction to a materialistic, consumerist and individualistic society, but it is
also a means of exploiting the weaknesses of people living in poverty and on the fringes of society, people
who make ends meet amid great human suffering and are looking for immediate solutions to their needs.
These religious movements, not without a certain shrewdness, come to fill, within a predominantly
individualistic culture, a vacuum left by secularist rationalism. We must recognize that if part of our baptized
people lack a sense of belonging to the Church, this is also due to certain structures and the occasionally
unwelcoming atmosphere of some of our parishes and communities, or to a bureaucratic way of dealing with
problems, be they simple or complex, in the lives of our people. In many places an administrative approach
prevails over a pastoral approach, as does a concentration on administering the sacraments apart from other
forms of evangelization.
At a time when we most need a missionary dynamism which will bring salt and light to the world, many lay
people fear that they may be asked to undertake some apostolic work and they seek to avoid any responsibility
that may take away from their free time. For example, it has become very difficult today to find trained parish
catechists willing to persevere in this work for some years. Something similar is also happening with priests
who are obsessed with protecting their free time. This is frequently due to the fact that people feel an
overbearing need to guard their personal freedom, as though the task of evangelization was a dangerous
poison rather than a joyful response to God’s love which summons us to mission and makes us fulfilled and
productive. Some resist giving themselves over completely to mission and thus end up in a state of paralysis
and acedia.
Let us go forth, then, let us go forth to offer everyone the life of Jesus Christ. Here I repeat for the entire
Church what I have often said to the priests and laity of Buenos Aires: I prefer a Church which is bruised,
hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being
confined and from clinging to its own security. I do not want a Church concerned with being at the centre and
which then ends by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures. If something should rightly
disturb us and trouble our consciences, it is the fact that so many of our brothers and sisters are living without
the strength, light and consolation born of friendship with Jesus Christ, without a community of faith to
support them, without meaning and a goal in life. More than by fear of going astray, my hope is that we will
be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security, within
rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving
and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: “Give them something to eat” (Mk 6:37).
(Evangelii Gaudium, 27-30, 33, 63, 81 & 49)
Question for Reflection
1. What is my understanding of Pope Francis call for “A Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because
it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from
clinging to its own security”?

2. Identify the situation in my parish. In what way, I/We can turn our parish into mission mode? Identify
what we can continue doing, how we can do differently or what can we start doing?

Current Parish Activities Parish in Mission Mode

Continue doing?

Do differently?

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Start doing?

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LIST OF CHURCH TEACHING ON MISSION

1. Maximum Illud (That Momentous)- On the Propagation of the Faith Throughout the World
a. Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XV, November 30, 1919
b. http://www.svdcuria.org/public/mission/docs/encycl/mi-en.htm
2. Rerum Ecclesiae (The History of the Church)- On Promoting the Sacred Missions
a. Encyclical Letter of Pope Pius XI, February 28, 1926
b. http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_28021926_rerum-
ecclesiae.html
3. Evangelii Praecones (The Preachers of the Gospel) — On Promoting Catholic Missions
a. Encyclical Letter of Pope Pius XII, June 2, 1951
b. http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_02061951_evangelii-
praecones.html
4. Princeps Pastorum (Prince of the Shepherds) — On the Missions, Native Clergy, and Lay Participation
a. Encyclical of Pope St John XXIII, November 28, 1959
b. http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-xxiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_j-
xxiii_enc_28111959_princeps.html
5. Ecclesiam Suam (Paths of the Church) – On The Church
a. Encyclical of Pope St Paul VI, August 6, 1964
b. http://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_06081964_ecclesiam.html
6. Lumen Gentium (Light of the Nations) - Dogmatic Constitution On The Church, Second Vatican Council,
November 21, 1964
a. http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-
ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html
7. Nostra Aetate (In Our Time) - Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, Second
Vatican Council, October 28, 1965
a. http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-
ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html
8. Ad Gentes (To the Nations) - Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church , Second Vatican Council,
December 7, 1965
a. http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-
ii_decree_19651207_ad-gentes_en.html
9. Gaudium Et Spes (The Joy and Hope) – Pastoral Constitution On The Church In The Modern World, Second
Vatican Council, December 7, 1965
a. http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-
ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html
10. Evangelii Nuntiandi (In Proclaiming the Gospel) –On Evangelization in the Modern World
a. Apostolic Exhortation of Pope St Paul VI, December 8, 1975
b. http://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-
vi_exh_19751208_evangelii-nuntiandi.html
11. Christifideles Laici (The Lay Members Of Christ's Faithful People) - On Vocation and Mission in the Church
and in the World
a. Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Pope St John Paul II, December 30, 1988
b. http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-
ii_exh_30121988_christifideles-laici.html
12. Redemptoris Missio (Mission of the Redeemer)- On The Permanent Validity Of The Church's Missionary
Mandate
a. Encyclical, Pope John Paul II, December 7, 1990 (25th Anniversary of Ad Gentes)
b. http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-
ii_enc_07121990_redemptoris-missio.html
13. Deus Caritas Est (God is Love) - Of Christian love
a. Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, 25th December 2005

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b. http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-
caritas-est.html
14. Caritas In Veritate (Charity in Truth) - On Integral Human Development In Charity And Truth
a. Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, 29th June 2009
b. http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-
xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate.html
15. Lumen Fidei (Light of Faith) – On Faith
a. Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis, 29th June 2013
b. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20130629_enciclica-
lumen-fidei.html
16. Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) - On The Proclamation Of The Gospel In Today’s World
a. Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis, 24th November 2013
b. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-
ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html
17. Gaudate et Exsultate (Rejoice and Be Glad) - On The Call To Holiness In Today’s World
a. Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis, 19 March 2018
b. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-
ap_20180319_gaudete-et-exsultate.html
18. Dominus Iesus (Jesus is Lord) - On The Unicity And Salvific Universality Of Jesus Christ And The Church
a. Declaration by Congregation For The Doctrine Of The Faith, August 6, 2000
b. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/
rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000806_dominus-iesus_en.html
19. Placuit Deo (It pleased God) - On Certain Aspects of Christian Salvation
a. Letter by Congregation For The Doctrine Of The Faith, February 22, 2018
b. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/
rc_con_cfaith_doc_20180222_placuit-deo_en.html
20. Dialogue And Proclamation - Reflection And Orientations On Interreligious Dialogue And The Proclamation
Of The Gospel Of Jesus Christ
a. Pontifical Council For Inter-Religious Dialogue,
b. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/
rc_pc_interelg_doc_19051991_dialogue-and-proclamatio_en.html
21. Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)
a. “Mission - a requirement of the Church's catholicity” – Refer CCC849-856
b. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P29.HTM
22. Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCCC)
a. Refer Questions: CCCC 150, 154, 172, 173, 175, 321
b. http://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html
23. Compendium Of The Social Doctrine Of The Church
a. Pontifical Council For Justice And Peace
b. Refer to CSDC 3 & CSDC49-104
c. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/
rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html
24. Baptized and Sent: The Church of Christ on Mission in the World
a. Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples & Pontifical Mission Societies, 2018-2019
b. http://www.october2019.va/en/mmsott2019/la-guida.html

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