JOYFULLY ALIVE IN MISSION (2001)
The local churches of Asia, though a small minority (2.9%) of the population in this vast
continent of nearly four billion people, continue to explore their missionary vocation.
This desire to be “local-churches-in-mission” manifests itself in a variety of initiatives
and concrete responses; it is a faith-filled endeavor, helping to define the concrete shape
the Church will have in the third Christian millennium, the ”Asian millennium” in the
vision of Pope John Paul II.
AMSAL, the organization of the Asian Missionary Societies of Apostolic Life, recently
gathered for its third biennial continental assembly in India; previous gatherings were
held in Thailand (1997) and the Philippines (1999). The Missionary Society of Saint
Thomas the Apostle hosted this colloquium in Kottayam, Kerala, India (November 3-6,
2001). AMSAL is composed of six “Asian-born” missionary groups (all founded in the
Vatican II era): Mission Society of the Philippines: MSP (1965); Missionary Society of
Thomas the Apostle: MST (1968); Catholic Foreign Mission Society of Korea: KMS
(1975); Mission Society of Heralds of Good News: HGN (1984); Thailand Mission
Society: TMS: (1990); and, Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society: LRMS (1997).
In addition to their uniqueness as “Asian-born” mission societies of the Vatican II era,
these six missionary communities reflect a specific charism: Mission Society of
Apostolic Life. These characteristics describe their identity and contribution: Ad Gentes,
Ad Exteros, and Ad Vitam. Such societies direct their efforts of evangelization ad gentes
(to those who have not yet heard the liberating and salvific Good News of Jesus Christ),
ad exteros (to peoples outside their own country, cultural milieu, and language group),
and ad vitam (though a life-long commitment to this unique form of missionary witness).
Ecclesia in Asia (44) specifically recommended “the establishment within each local
Church of Asia, where such do not exist, of missionary societies of apostolic.”
The AMSAL 2001 assembly explored the broad theme of spirituality and mission with
presentations by Joseph Tekkekarott, MST (“Missionary Spirituality”) Matthew
Vellanickal (“Missionary Formation”), Saturnino Dias (“New Commitments in
Mission”), and James Kroeger, MM (“Post Vatican II Waves of Renewal in Mission”).
Presentation were followed by group discussions, seeking to understand particular
ramifications for seminary formation and field mission praxis.
Characteristic of the AMSAL assemblies are the mission exposure/excursions (some have
joking called these field trips “missionary tourism”). In short, in addition to the formal
meetings and discussions, the assembled missionaries visit the various apostolates and
programs of the host mission society. AMSAL 2001 included a visit the St. Thomas
Apostolic Seminary in Kottayam, the tomb and pilgrim center of Blessed Sister Alphonsa
(beatified in 1986), St. George’s church (continuously existing as a parish since the
800s), the MST Minor Seminary and the MST Generalate. At the minor seminary, the
AMSAL members were offered a musical-cultural program by both the seminarians and
visiting dancers; this was followed by a well-prepared banquet. All five members of the
MST General Council, led by Superior Thomas Parayady, provided warm hospitality and
were for the entire duration of the assembly .
Each biennial AMSAL gathering is a combination of old and new participants, since new
members are chosen at chapters for general council leadership in the six member
societies. It was also observed that some participants at previous meetings have become
bishops. From the group gathered in Thailand (1997) Sebastian Vadakel MST (India)
and Petrus Turang (Indonesia) have been ordained bishop. Participants in the Philippine
assembly (1999) have also received an Episcopal appointment; they are Filipinos Edwin
de la Pena, MSP and Luis Tagle. Of course, the group speculated: who is next?
Prayer and Liturgy are woven in to the dynamic flow of assembly. At this 2001
gathering the liturgy was celebrated in both the Latin and Syro-Malabar Rites. A short
business meeting concluded the sessions. Planning was done for the next international
gathering of the Missionary Societies of Apostolic Life (MISAL) to be hosted by the
Paris Foreign Society in Paris (April 27 – May 2, 2002) on the theme of Lay Associates
in Clerical Mission Societies.
Father Bonaventura Jung of the Korean Foreign Mission Society generously volunteered
to host the next continental assembly of AMSAL in Seoul, during the first week of
September 2003; the topic chosen is: The Impact of Missionary Societies within their
local Church: Successes and Difficulties. The current practice of AMSAL leadership
was reaffirmed; James Kroeger continues as the AMSAL Secretary-Convenor and
coordinates activities with the superior general of the host society.
During the November days of the AMSAL colloquium, many insights were shared and
garnered. An atmosphere of gratitude and missionary fulfillment pervaded the meetings,
outings, liturgy, and fellowship. Repeatedly, the group returned to the theme of joy and
enthusiasm in the mission vocation and spirituality. Someone recalled that in the same
year of 1975 pope Paul VI, a great missionary pope, wrote two apostolic exhortations,
Gaudete in Domino (May 9, 1975) and Evangelii Nuntiandi (December 8, 1975). There
is an intimate linkage between Christian joy and Gospel proclamation.
Participants reflected on the words of Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi (80): “Let us
preserve the delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing, even when it is in tears that
we must sow. May it mean for us… an interior enthusiasm that nobody and nothing can
quench. May it be the great joy of our consecrated life. And may the world of our time
which is searching, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, be enabled to receive
the Good news not from evangelizers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or
anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervor, who have first
received the joy of Christ, and who are willing to risk their lives so that the Kingdom may
be proclaimed and the Church established in the midst of the world.”