Our community just concluded an intense but fulfilling 2 weeks of joy-filled evangelising mission in the name of the Catholic Church. If that combination of words sounds jolting to your ears, I get it. Yet we were privileged to watch as Jesus ‘did his thing’, encountering young people with his love and transforming lives with his Spirit. We watched it unfold in Brisbane and then a week later in Sydney. It never gets old.
The name of the conference - ‘Ignite’ - was originally a descriptor of what we hoped God would do in the hearts of all those who came. But 22 years later I suspect God had a deeper plan in mind. ‘Ignition’ is a pretty accurate description of what God has been doing in our hearts as a Catholic mission community – igniting the spark of mission in our hearts, a spark based on a deep love for young people, their families and the Church in this country.
Many drawn to the fire are younger; hungry to know that they have a purpose and meaning in life, hungry to know that God sees them, has a plan for their lives and can be experienced by them personally. How many of us can say we are hungry to know those things? “He fills the hungry with good things but sends the rich away empty” Mary sang (Lk 1:52).
Sent Communities
On World Mission Day, Pope Francis said “the Church, the community of Christ’s disciples, has no other mission than that of bringing the Gospel to the entire world by bearing witness to Christ.” He concluded like a boy beating his drum, waiting for its rhythm to break through; “I continue to dream of a completely missionary Church, and a new era of missionary activity among Christian communities.” He’s been saying this for years now. But is it getting through? Are we ‘completely missionary’ yet?
“I continue to dream of a completely missionary Church, and a new era of missionary activity among Christian communities.”
If the word apostle means ‘sent one’, then to recover our apostolic identity we need to see ourselves as a ‘sent church’, a community of sent ones.
At the end of every Mass we are already told ‘go, you are dismissed’, which could be paraphrased, ‘Get out of here! Go and be the presence of Jesus in the world’. One thing we know about Jesus though is he wasn’t shy about the good news. He lived it, demonstrated it and looked for opportunities to talk about it. So why are we Catholics so timid?
I think many of us are stuck in paralysis. We need someone to come alongside and nudge us to get moving, to get our internal river flowing, to feel that first impulse of doing something exciting for God. Being reluctant creatures, we need help activating our evangelising ‘pulse’. Initiatives like Alpha and Divine Renovation are ideal for parishes that don’t know where to start. In Brisbane Australia, spaces like Emmanuel City Mission play this role perfectly for university students. Volunteers come along initially to serve, which leads to a friendly smile, which leads to a caring conversation, and before long the door of faith often opens by itself. Similarly, events like Ignite Conference enable people to invite friends and family to experience Catholicism - and more importantly Jesus - in a vibrant, attractive environment.
So is that it? Invite our unchurched friends to conferences and programs and hope someone else on the stage or video brings up the name of Jesus? I don’t think we get off the hook that easy. Each of us need to ask the Holy Spirit to get our own ‘internal river’ moving and free us from our personal paralysis. With the support of a sent community though, this is not as daunting. If you’re going to go out on a limb doing mission, it’s better to do it with others. It’s more fun! It helps you overcome your fears and insecurities. And it’s the way God planned it to be.
May the Lord make us all a Sent Church and raise up more ‘sent communities’ for the world!