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INTENTION : |
That the language of love and dialogue may always prevail over the language of conflict.
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The concept and practice of love and dialogue is the great new missionary reality of the post-conciliar era. It has changed the method of mission and even the identity of the missionary. To practice love is to dialogue.
Dialogue is in fact motivated by the understanding of the way God himself deals with us and acts in our midst. God enters into dialogue with every person in order to make his plan of salvation operative. God also works out a history of saving love not only with regard to individuals but also with regard to peoples and religions.
The Church as a whole and each individual missionary must take their inspiration from this divine way of operating and dealing with us. This is the outlook reflected by Paul VI in his encyclical Ecclesiam suam (1964). He envisions dialogue moving in circles with all human beings, according to both persons and groups: with the other members of one's own confession, with other Christians, with the followers of other religions, and even with atheists.
Basically, dialogue flows from love and respect for others. It sees not only the values present in others but the working of the Spirit in others. 'The Spirit is always the principal agent of mission', as Pope John Paul II's missionary encyclical, Redemptoris missio (1990), states. Dialogue not only respects others, it is also motivated by the understanding of the way God himself deals with us and acts in our midst. This is also an expression of love.
As a result of this dialogue the participants assume human values and the fruits of grace, thus fostering a process of ongoing inculturation. This outlook influences the whole of missionary activity, which must start from the concrete situation of the people not only for methodological reasons but for theological reasons as well.
No person and no group can be regarded as uncultivated ground, deprived of culture and the action of God. The Spirit is already present. He was there before the missionary arrived and in one way or another has caused his gifts to be fruitful. The missionary is destined to be the discoverer of this ancient story of salvation so that he or she can cooperate with it by bringing the gospel message and causing it to grow.
This does not reduce the urgency of mission. Rather, it qualifies it by requiring respect and discernment with regard to persons and groups. When we speak of dialogue, we do not mean merely talking together but a cultivation of interpersonal relations among individuals and groups to gain a better understanding and appreciation of one another, working together and enriching one another and thus promoting greater unity among peoples and religions. This is love too!
The dialogue method must be manifested in the whole of missionary and pastoral activity. It is through dialogue that an authentic church can emerge, one that promotes communion, evangelization, and inculturation and serves as a sacrament of salvation, the sign and the instrument of unity. It also has an influence on the way we live together in this world, moving us to make it a more fitting dwelling place for human beings. This is the global context into which dialogue fits.
Marcello Zago, OMI
International Bulletin
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