Vatican II Decree on the Church's Missionary Activity (AG 2). Therefore, every local church and diocese is to be both mission sending and mission receiving. The local churches of the “global South” used to be considered the “missions,” and now they are the most vital centers for mission sending. And the Catholic Church in North America and Europe, which used to see itself only as mission sending, is now in great need of what Pope John Paul II called “re-evangelization.”
Joy of the Gospel
More recently, Pope Francis in The Joy of the Gospel (EG) has described the church as “a community of missionary disciples” (24), as women and men who have personally experienced God's love, salvation, and justice, and who then want and need to share that with others. “Such a community has an endless desire to show mercy, the fruit of its own experience of the power of the Father's infinite mercy” (24).
Jesus taught us about God's love, which embraces all people, including the “impure” lepers and tax collectors, which calls us to treat everyone as our neighbor and brother or sister, including our enemies, and which requires all of us as sinners to turn from our old ways to the new life of God. Jesus Christ was God's love, forgiveness, salvation, healing, justice, and compassion, and he reestablished the right relationship with God through his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus embodied the mission of God's mercy, and we Christians need to continue to do the same. People today search and yearn.
Schroeder, Roger P.. What Is the Mission of the Church?: A Guide for Catholics--Revised and Expanded Edition (Kindle Locations 173-177). Orbis Books. Kindle Edition.
