The Blood of Christ is at the centre of the life and ministry of the Missionary. This sign of God’s love gives definition to the missionaries’ understanding of God’s reign, to whom we are called and sent, the message and word we proclaim, how we are present with God’s people, what motivates within our spirit, and how we share life and mission in the Bond of Charity.
The missionary finds at the center of his vocation the Blood of Christ. This expression of God’s love calls him
- To the alienated, the poor, the disempowered — those yet to be included in the new Covenant.
- To the victims of oppression and violence and to the oppressors
- To stand in solidarity with those who suffer
- To those who experience inner conflict and a sense of unworthiness
- To be prophetic — to resist deceit, injustice, and whatever is contrary to God’s reign
- To affirm peoples in their dignity and worth
- To witness to evangelical hope
- To struggle for the coming of the kingdom.
Being Missionary characterizes his attitude and movement in ministry. Being missionary calls him
- To read the signs of the times and have a desire to be sent
- To be evangelized by the living Word of God present in the people and in the values of the culture to whom he is sent (he listens respectfully before he speaks), and by the revealed Word of God in Jesus Christ
- To evangelize in the proclamation of the Word, in witnessing by lifestyle, in promoting peace and justice, and in defending human rights and dignity
- To allow God’s Word to transform the patterns of human living
- To appreciate other models of church and to create other ways of being community
- To collaborative ministry with the laity
- To a celibate loving that enables a radical response to wherever and whomever the Blood calls us
(Taken from the North American Interprovincial Formation Policies, 1998)