Being Witnesses of Mercy – DEPART

One chapter at a time from the book by Nino Savarino, Governor of the Misericordia di Rosolini, friend of spazio + spadoni and collaborator in various projects and the blog.

From Psalm 121 (120) song of ascents

I lift up my eyes to the mountains: where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. The Lord will keep you from all harm, he will watch over your life. The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Come, let us set out. Let us bring the good news everywhere

Pope Francis said: “I take this opportunity to thank the men and women missionaries who, responding to Christ’s call, left everything behind to travel far from their homeland and bring the Good News where people have not yet received it or have only recently welcomed it.

Dearest friends, your generous dedication is the tangible expression of the commitment to the mission ad gentes that Jesus entrusted to his disciples: «Go therefore and make disciples of all nations» (Mt 28:19).

Let us therefore continue to pray and thank God for new and numerous missionary vocations for the work of evangelization to the ends of the earth.

And let us not forget that every Christian is called to take part in this universal mission through personal evangelical witness in every environment, so that the whole Church may continuously go forth with her Lord and Master toward the ‘crossroads of the streets’ of today’s world.

May all of us, the baptized, be ready to set out once again, each according to our own condition in life, to spark a new missionary movement, just like in the dawn of Christianity!”.

Going out into the world to proclaim the Gospel: this is Jesus’ invitation.

Going to the ends of the earth, to distant places. Yet also going right around the corner from home, because there too the Lord is unknown. God is the “forgotten one” in places you wouldn’t imagine: at school, at work, among friends. Even within the family.

Setting out means stepping outside, going right where Jesus is needed most. One does not always need to travel thousands of miles. The journey is an existential journey. For this reason, we cannot consider ourselves exempt from setting out. For this reason, we cannot delegate “setting out” solely to “official” missionaries.

We are all missionaries, in every corner of the world, to tell all our brothers and sisters that they are not alone, that they are not naked. Our journey will be wonderful if it is a true going out to the crossroads of every street to proclaim to all the Good News of Jesus’ merciful love and tell everyone “I am close to you”.

What can we do in practice?

Clothing the naked

“And the other thing is clothing the naked: what does it mean if not restoring dignity to those who have lost it? Certainly by providing clothes to those who lack them; but let us also think of the women victims of trafficking cast onto the streets, or the other, too many ways of treating the human body as merchandise, even children. And likewise, being without work, a home, or a fair wage is a form of nakedness; or being discriminated against because of race or faith: these are all forms of ‘nakedness’, in front of which as Christians we are called to be attentive, vigilant, and ready to act.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us not fall into the trap of closing in on ourselves, indifferent to the needs of our brothers and sisters and concerned only with our own interests. It is precisely to the extent that we open up to others that life becomes fruitful, societies regain peace, and people recover their full dignity. And do not forget that lady, do not forget that migrant who smelled, and do not forget the driver whose soul the migrant changed.” (Pope Francis, General Audience, October 26, 2016)

Food for thought

Is this not, rather, the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? (Isaiah 58:6-7)

Source and image: Nino Savarino, “Witnesses of Mercy”, 42-44