CALLED ‘TO MISSION’
‘The Mission’ is a 1986 British period drama film about the experiences of a Jesuit missionary in 18th-century South America. The film is a rather complex one, though compelling and spiritually stirring. In essence, it is about the stand that the Spanish Jesuits take to protect the identity of a remote South American tribe (the Guarani Indian people). The film is intertwined in the political pressures of a colonial power, the predatory racism of European settlers who are pro-slavery, and the pragmatic needs of the Jesuits (and the Church).
‘The Mission’ is based on historical facts surrounding the 1750 Treaty of Madrid, in which Spain ceded part of its territories in Paraguay to Portugal, mainly the areas where the Jesuits had their missions. The interesting aspect of this movie is that there is an important subtext: the impending suppression of the Society of Jesus in most parts of Western Europe (beginning in 1759, formalised in 1773, and which ended only in 1814). The film portrays the resilience of the Guarani people despite all odds and the efforts of the Jesuits to accompany them in order to protect their rights, their customs, and above all to prevent them from being swallowed by the lucrative slave-market of that time. The film deals with bureaucratic hassles, political and religious machinations, intrigue, greed for power and profits among other human frailties; however, at the same time it also focuses on the challenges and hostilities that one has to face when one attempts to take on the system, the powers, and other stake. Above all, it is a film about prophetic witnessing; the trials and the hardships one has to face when the disciples of Jesus actually demonstrate that unflinching courage to go forth to the peripheries and identify completely with the people who are suffering.
The Catholic Church observes ‘World Mission Day’ on Sunday, 19 October. There is an added significance this year because it is the Jubilee Year and the focus is on becoming ‘pilgrims of hope’. Above all, given the fact that the Synodal process was completed just a year ago, the emphasis continues to be on the Synodal Journey with the three interrelated dimensions of communion, participation, and mission!
One of the last messages our beloved Pope Francis gave the Church and the world before he was called to eternal life was his message for ‘World Mission Day 2025’. In the opening paragraph, he says, “For World Mission Day in the Jubilee Year 2025, the central message of which is hope, I have chosen the motto: ‘Missionaries of Hope Among all Peoples’. It reminds individual Christians and the entire Church, the community of the baptized, of our fundamental vocation to be, in the footsteps of Christ, messengers and builders of hope. I trust that it will be for everyone a time of grace with the faithful God who has given us new birth in the risen Christ “to a living hope” (cf. one Pet 1:3-4). Here, I would like to mention some relevant aspects of our Christian missionary identity, so that we can let ourselves be guided by the Spirit of God and burn with holy zeal for a new evangelizing season in the Church, which is sent to revive hope in a world over which dark shadows loom”.
Pope Francis contextualises his message in the grim realities of today and in the issues that afflict the ordinary person. He says, “impelled by this great hope, Christian communities can be harbingers of a new humanity in a world that, in the most “developed” areas, shows serious symptoms of human crisis: a widespread sense of bewilderment, loneliness, and indifference to the needs of the elderly, and a reluctance to make an effort to assist our neighbours in need. In the most technologically advanced nations, “proximity” is disappearing: we are all interconnected, but not related. Obsession with efficiency and an attachment to material things and ambitions are making us self-centred and incapable of altruism. The Gospel, experienced in the life of a community, can restore us to a whole, healthy, redeemed humanity.”
In this, the last quarter of this Jubilee Year 2025, it is important that one also revisit the Bull of Indiction ‘Spes Non Confundit’ (Hope does not disappoint) dated 9 May 2024. In it, Pope Francis clearly spelled out the various groups that seemed to have succumbed to despair. He throws out a direct challenge to all: if we are serious about this Jubilee Year, we must have the prophetic courage to address the root causes of all that is wrong in our world today. We must be witnesses. As pilgrims, we must embrace hope in its entirety, to be a witness to all around us and to ensure that this hope becomes a reality for those who need it the most. That is Mission and a call to Mission!
The second part of the Synodal Report ‘A Synodal Church in Mission’, reiterates the non-negotiable that we are ‘All Disciples, All Missionaries’. There is absolutely no debate in the truth that the ‘Church is mission’, stating, “Rather than saying that the Church has a mission, we affirm that the Church is mission. “As the Father has sent me, I also send you” (Jn 20:21): The Church receives from Christ, the Father’s Envoy, and its own mission. Sustained and guided by the Holy Spirit, she proclaims and bears witness to the Gospel to those who do not know or accept it, with that preferential option for the poor that is rooted in Jesus’ mission. In this way, it contributes to the coming of the Kingdom of God, of which it “constitutes the germ and the beginning” (cf. LG 5). A clear paradigm shift, saying that ‘the Church IS Mission!’
For some, the words ‘Mission’ and ‘Missionary’ are anathema and used derogatively; for others, it is suspect: a Christian activity to proselytise and to indulge in ‘conversion activity. This could not be farther from the truth. The word ‘mission’ is not the monopoly of any one group. It belongs to all of humankind. In general, the meaning of ‘mission’ is an important task, duty, or purpose that a person or group is assigned to complete. It can refer to a specific official job, a vocation or calling in life, a diplomatic or religious delegation, or a specific objective like a space flight or a military assignment. Today, several Hindu groups like the ‘Ramakrishna Mission’ and ‘Chinmaya Mission’ have it in their names. It helps focus on their key programmes like social service, education, and spiritual outreach. The corporate sector and most organisations worth their salt have a meaning essentially because of their ‘mission statement’
‘Mission’, therefore, is all-embracing: it belongs to all; it cannot be exclusive or become the monopoly of one religion or ideology! An oft-used quote says, “Life is a mission, not a career. A career is a profession, a mission is a cause. A career asks: what is in it for me? A mission asks: How can I make a difference?” In a world that is overwhelmed with hate, violence, injustice, and despair, we are all called to make that difference. In a nutshell and in essence, like in the film, ‘The Mission,’ every human has a calling and responsibility to be a ‘missionary of hope among all peoples!’
(Fr Cedric Prakash SJ is an internationally renowned human rights, reconciliation and peace activist- writer. Contact: cedricprakash@gmail.com )
