Vigils Reading – Pope St John Paul II

A reading from “Redemptoris Missio” by

POPE ST JOHN PAUL II

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The Church’s universal mission is born of faith in Jesus Christ, as stated

in our Trinitarian profession of faith: “I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the

only begotten Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father… For us and for our

salvation he came down from heaven…” The redemption event brings salvation

to all. “For each one is included in the mystery of the redemption and with each

one Christ has united himself forever through this mystery.” It is only in faith

that the Church’s mission can be understood and only in faith that it finds its

basis.

If we go back to the beginnings of the Church, we find a clear affirmation

that Christ is the one Savior of all, the only one able to reveal God and lead to

God. In reply to the Jewish religious authorities who question the apostles

about the healing of the lame man, Peter says: “By the name of Jesus Christ of

Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this

man is standing before you well… And there is salvation in no one else, for there

is no other name under heaven given by which we must be saved”. This

statement, which was made to the Sanhedrin, has a universal value, since for all

people – Jews and Gentiles alike – salvation can only come from Jesus Christ.

The universality of this salvation in Christ is asserted throughout the New

Testament. St Paul acknowledges the risen Christ as the Lord. He writes:

“Although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth – as indeed there

are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’ – yet for us there is only one God, the Father,

from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ,

through whom are all things and through whom we exist”. One God and one

Lord are asserted by way of contrast to the multitude of “gods” and “lords”

commonly accepted. Paul reacts against the polytheism of the religious

environment of his time and emphasizes what is characteristic of the Christian

faith: belief in one God and one Lord sent by God.

In the Gospel of St John, this salvific universality of Christ embraces all

the aspects of his mission of grace, truth and revelation: the Word is “the true

light that enlightens every person”. And again: “no one has ever seen God; the

only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known”. God’s

revelation becomes definitive and complete through his only-begotten Son… In

this definitive Word of his revelation, God has made himself known in the fullest

possible way. He revealed to mankind who he is. This definitive self-revelation

of God is the fundamental reason why the Church is missionary by her very

nature. She cannot do otherwise than proclaim the Gospel, that is, the fullness

of the truth which God has enabled us to know about himself.