On March 19, the feast of St. Joseph, the General Government held a Zoom meeting with the itinerant missionaries. Just over 100 itinerant missionaries, consecrated and lay, from the five conferences participated.
The Superior General, Fr. Rogério Gomes, shared his message with the missionaries in the context of the Year of Mission, which has as its theme for reflection: “The Lord who sends us as missionaries and pilgrims of hope in a wounded world.”
In his message he highlighted some of the causes of the loss of the missionary impulse today, also underlining that “we are called to be a living presence of God’s love” and that “the popular mission is a profound expression of the living presence of Christ through his itinerant Church, close to the people, especially those who need it most: the poor, the marginalized and the forgotten of society.”
We do not only do mission, but “we are mission, we are missionaries” and this is what defines our missionary identity. He also emphasized that “we are challenged to adopt new methods, languages and strategies so that the Good News of the Gospel continues to reach the poor and abandoned, according to the Redemptorist charism.”
Within the meeting there was space for dialogue, questions, and comments, where participants had the opportunity to interact with Father Rogerio and the General Government. Some expressed the challenges of the Redemptorist mission in their concrete contexts, others expressed concerns about the formation and participation of the confreres in the popular missions. Others highlighted elements of hope, such as the presence and participation of our Redemptorist lay people in the mission.
The meeting concluded with a greeting and a message from each of the general consultors. Father General acknowledged the participation of the confreres and lay people from all over the world and gave his final blessing, concluding the meeting.
Fr. Cristian Bueno, CSsR.
