While some are called to go out into the mission fields, others follow Christ into the mission “while never leaving home,” he said.
“There are others who follow the example of St. Francis Xavier who went to the ends of the earth to missionize, and others follow the example of St. Therese of Lisieux, and both are called to be missionaries to save souls,” he said.
Credit: Seed Consolata
The Nairobi-based Apostolic Nuncio lauded those, like St. Allamano, who “prepare the groundwork for the young men and women for the great missionary work they are called for.”
He went on to reflect on the life of holiness that St. Allamano insisted upon, noting that the IMC and MC founder, who passed on in February1926 was convinced that the mission deserved the best from the missionaries.
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Credit: Christ Our Joy
Recalling St. Allamano’s famous motto, “First saints and then missionaries”, Archbishop van Megen expressed regret that holiness is not always insisted upon in what he described as “the modern Church.”
Credit: Seed Consolata
“The holiness of life, of sanctity, are not words we use easily. We’d rather speak about skills and competencies,” he said, and added, “All of us, in our different situations and responsibilities, are called to be missionaries. Some through prayer and by educating their children in a Christian way, or by living their Christian life in their neighbourhood and in their communities.”
He called for the missionary spirit to also inspire Diocesan Seminaries for the young men in formation to be courageous enough to cross the frontiers of life and go to “the peripheries.”
“We all need to be inspired and guided by the needs of the mission, which is outgoing, not inward-looking,” the Apostolic Nuncio since March 2014 following his appointment to Sudan said.
Credit: Seed Consolata
He explained, “It is not about saving our lives but about sacrificing them for the Church, indeed for Christ himself.”
“A church that is inward-looking, having eyes only for its challenges and problems is a Church that is doomed to fail, lacking the vigour to go out into the world to announce the good news, which is the basic vocation of every Christian of the entire Church,” he said.
Credit: Seed Consolata
According to Archbishop van Megen, holiness and missionary life were interchangeable for St. Allamano. He said that according to St. Allamano, “one can only be holy when a missionary; and one can only be an effective missionary when holy.”
Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.