Day FIVE: Passion for the people and their cultures

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Text from the Cardinal:

“Be all things to all people to redeem some of them.”

[A Missionary] ought to approach the local people through all external habits, by language first, clothing and food, in accordance with the example of the Apostle: “I made myself everything to all to save them all”(I.52) (translated from the Latin Bible).

Reflection:

To draw them to Christ, we must not make others like ourselves, but make ourselves similar to them. This deep conviction underpinned the early stages of Africa’s evangelisation: in relation to Arabs and Muslims, to the peoples of Central Africa, of the Middle East in the Holy Land. Lavigerie opposed the the excessive Italianisation of the Curia, which he said undermined the Catholicity of the Church. He also opposed the systematic Latinisation of Orthodox converts to Catholicism. Lavigerie insisted on the learning of local languages and the study of local cultures. For him It was a matter of respect for the people and societies as well as for apostolic effectiveness. The study of the language was to hold the first rank among all the concerns of the Missionaries until they spoke it perfectly (I.135). As for Saint Paul, “to all” means to announce the Good News: to any person, no matter their culture, religion, sex, and economic or intellectual development, with a preference option for the poorest.

Intention:

We pray for the openness of heart and mind so that we may be able to welcome the different other, not as a threat, but as a source of wealth. Let us open our doors of our of hearts to the outsider in the spirit of universal brotherhood and sisterhood.