Leitourgia: The Missing Link in Evangelii Gaudium

Some Insights from Evangelii Gaudium

Francis’s very first words in Evangelii Gaudium go directly to the fundamental reason for proclaiming the Gospel—that people may encounter Jesus in person. ¹ From its very beginning, Francis invites all Christians to ‘a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ.’ ² They are invited to turn away from a pursuit of the possessions and pleasures which lead to a listless life, and live ‘in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ.’ ³ Responding to this invitation will bring one the joy which comes from the Lord. ⁴

Encountering Jesus, living in the Spirit, receiving the Spirit from the heart of Christ, receiving the joy which comes from the Lord—these are words which Christians need to hear. How many Christians speak of Jesus as if by hearsay? How many are living in the flesh rather than the Spirit? How many are joyless confirmations of Nietzche’s jibe that, for him, Christians ‘would have to sing better songs to make me believe in their Redeemer: his disciples would have to look more redeemed!’? ⁵

There are three things which have especially elicited my acclamation in Francis’s Exhortation. First, he gives some valuable insights into relatively untapped evangelical resources. Second, he makes some particular points which offer great assistance in the task of evangelizing. Third, he exhorts Christians with a final passionate plea for joyful, prayerful, spirit-filled evangelizers who have received the love of Jesus and want nothing more than to share that love with others.

An example of the first category is Francis’s teaching on the evangelizing power of popular piety. ⁶ He identifies peoples as ‘active collective subjects or agents of evangelization.’ ⁷ For him, popular piety is ‘a true expression of the spontaneous missionary activity of the people of God . . . an ongoing and developing process, of which the Holy Spirit is the principal agent.’ ⁸ According to Francis, this popular spirituality is not ‘devoid of content; rather it discovers and expresses that content more by way of symbols than by discursive reasoning, and in the act of faith greater accent is placed on credere in Deum than on credere Deum.’ ⁹ This spirituality is ‘the manifestation of a theological life nourished by the working of the Holy Spirit who has been poured into our hearts (cf. Rom 5:5).’ ¹⁰ Rather than greeting such a spirituality with a condescending dismissal, we should approach it as ‘a locus theologicus which demands our attention, especially at a time when we are looking to the new evangelization.’ ¹¹

In the second category of practical helps to evangelization, one example is Francis’s teaching on person to person witness. As someone whose community engages in street evangelization and parish visitation, if Francis were to join us on mission he would need very little instruction about how to evangelize. ¹² He recognizes the importance of impromptu evangelization—anyone, anywhere, anytime. ¹³ He knows the first step—listening. Evangelization must take place within ‘personal dialogue, when the other person speaks and shares his or her joys, hopes and concerns for loved ones, or so many other heartfelt needs.’ ¹⁴

Herein lies the essential difference between what Francis calls evangelizing and proselytizing. The latter is the attempt to evangelize without first engaging in a dialogue which involves a genuine listening to the other. It is also a ‘pelgian’ attempt to convince the other of the truth of the Gospel. Christians must witness to the Gospel in both deed and word, but it is the Holy Spirit who convinces the hearer of its truth. As an example of this, one could quote Francis’s reply to a young German girl during a meeting with Lutheran pilgrims to Rome. This girl had asked if she was required to reconcile her non-church going friends with going to church. Francis replied:

‘Do I have to convince these friends . . . of my faith? What must I say to convince them?’ Listen, the last thing you must do is to ‘speak.’ You have to live as a Christian, like a Christian: convinced, forgiven, and on a path. It is not licit to convince them of your faith; proselytism is the strongest poison against the ecumenical path. You must give testimony to your Christian life; testimony will unsettle the hearts of those who see you. And from this unsettling grows one question: but why does this man or this woman live like that? And that prepares the ground for the Holy Spirit. Because it is the Holy Spirit that works in the heart. He does what needs to be done: but He needs to speak, not you. Grace is a gift, and the Holy Spirit is the gift of God from whence comes grace and the gift that Jesus has sent us by His passion and resurrection. It will be the Holy Spirit that moves the heart with your testimony—that is the way you ask—and regarding that you can tell the ‘why,’ with much thoughtfulness. But without wanting to convince. ¹⁵

In this way, Francis reiterates the teaching of 1 Peter 3:15: ‘Always be prepared to make a defence to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence.’ Married with his teaching on evangelization in Evangelii Gaudium, we can see that Francis is not telling Christians that they should never explicitly share the Gospel about Jesus Christ, but rather advising them on when, why, and how they should speak.

As well as this first step, Francis also knows the succeeding ones.

Only afterwards is it possible to bring up God’s word, perhaps by reading a Bible verse or relating a story, but always keeping in mind the fundamental message: the personal love of God who became man, who gave himself up for us, who is living and who offers us his salvation and his friendship. This message has to be shared humbly as a testimony on the part of one who is always willing to learn, in the awareness that the message is so rich and so deep that it always exceeds our grasp. At times the message can be presented directly, at times by way of a personal witness or gesture, or in a way which the Holy Spirit may suggest in that particular situation. If it seems prudent and if the circumstances are right, this fraternal and missionary encounter could end with a brief prayer related to the concerns which the person may have expressed. In this way they will have an experience of being listened to and understood; they will know that their particular situation has been placed before God, and that God’s word really speaks to their lives. ¹⁶

As a final example, Francis recognizes the need for the active participation of the Holy Spirit in the work of evangelization. As he says:

Spirit-filled evangelization is not the same as a set of tasks dutifully carried out despite one’s own personal inclinations and wishes. How I long to find the right words to stir up enthusiasm for a new chapter of evangelization full of fervour, joy, generosity, courage, boundless love and attraction! Yet I realize that no words of encouragement will be enough unless the fire of the Holy Spirit burns in our hearts. A spirit-filled evangelization is one guided by the Holy Spirit, for he is the soul of the Church called to proclaim the Gospel. ¹⁷

The Lacuna in Evangelii Gaudium

Having said all this, although Evangelii Gaudium gives an excellent and inspiring exposition of the kerygmatic and diaconal aspects of evangelization in chapters three and four, it must also be said that there is an essential evangelical element which is largely absent—the place of leitourgia, the priestly aspect of the Church’s mission, in evangelization. Largely, but not entirely. In Chapter One on ‘The Church’s Missionary Transformation,’ although Francis does not use the terms priestly, prophetic, or royal, he does describe the Church as a community of missionary disciples in terms of its diakoinia, martyria, and leitourgia.

The Lord gets involved and he involves his own, as he kneels to wash their feet. He tells his disciples: ‘You will be blessed if you do this’ (Jn 13:17). An evangelizing community gets involved by word and deed in people’s daily lives; it bridges distances, it is willing to abase itself if necessary, and it embraces human life, touching the suffering flesh of Christ in others. Evangelizers thus take on the ‘smell of the sheep’ and the sheep are willing to hear their voice. An evangelizing community is also supportive, standing by people at every step of the way, no matter how difficult or lengthy this may prove to be [diakonia] . . . . The disciple is ready to put his or her whole life on the line, even to accepting martyrdom, in bearing witness to Jesus Christ, yet the goal is not to make enemies but to see God’s word accepted and its capacity for liberation and renewal revealed [martyria]. Finally an evangelizing community is filled with joy; it knows how to rejoice always. It celebrates every small victory, every step forward in the work of evangelization. Evangelization with joy becomes beauty in the liturgy, as part of our daily concern to spread goodness. The Church evangelizes and is herself evangelized through the beauty of the liturgy, which is both a celebration of the task of evangelization and the source of her renewed self-giving [leitourgia]. ¹⁸

Despite this, in order to give a complete picture of the Church’s mission, Evangelii Gaudium needs more on the liturgical dimension of evangelization. Why is this element not as substantially developed in the Exhortation as the other two? The reason may be that the identification of the mission of the Church as priestly, prophetic, and royal is not present in Evangelii Nuntiandi, and it is this document which, more than any other, has shaped Francis’s understanding of evangelization. ¹⁹ In Evangelii Gaudium, Francis refers to this Apostolic Exhortation of Paul VI’s no less than 13 times. Elsewhere, Francis has called it ’a very full text that has lost nothing of its timeliness,’ ‘that basic point of reference which remains relevant,’ and ‘to my mind the greatest pastoral document that has ever been written to this day.’ ²⁰

To be fair, Francis is aware of the need for a ‘priestly’ understanding of evangelization. In the final chapter of his Exhortation he states that:

Without prolonged moments of adoration, of prayerful encounter with the word, of sincere conversation with the Lord, our work easily becomes meaningless; we lose energy as a result of weariness and difficulties, and our fervour dies out. The Church urgently needs the deep breath of prayer, and to my great joy groups devoted to prayer and intercession, the prayerful reading of God’s word and the perpetual adoration of the Eucharist are growing at every level of ecclesial life. ²¹

He then goes on to say:

How good it is to stand before a crucifix, or on our knees before the Blessed Sacrament, and simply to be in his presence! How much good it does us when he once more touches our lives and impels us to share his new life! What then happens is that ‘we speak of what we have seen and heard’ (1 Jn 1:3). The best incentive for sharing the Gospel comes from contemplating it with love, lingering over its pages and reading it with the heart. If we approach it in this way, its beauty will amaze and constantly excite us. But if this is to come about, we need to recover a contemplative spirit which can help us to realize ever anew that we have been entrusted with a treasure which makes us more human and helps us to lead a new life. ²²

Although Francis is well aware of this aspect of mission, he also states that, in his Exhortation, ‘[he does] not intend to offer a synthesis of Christian spirituality, or to explore great themes like prayer, Eucharistic adoration or the liturgical celebration of the faith’ since he regards these issues as being dealt with already in ‘valuable texts of the magisterium and celebrated writings by great authors.’ ²³ Where can one find these valuable texts and celebrated writings? To which texts should one turn in order to grow in one’s understanding not only of the priestly aspect of the Church’s mission, but the prophetic and royal aspects as well? The following are some key examples: Lumen Gentium, Sources of Renewal by Karol Wojtyla, Christifideles Laici, Redemptoris Missio, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Evangelium Vitae, Tertio Millennio Adveniente, and Deus Caritas Est.

A 20th Century Missiological Dilemma—To Evangelize or to Humanize?

In order to demonstrate the thesis that Evangelii Gaudium requires a greater focus on leitourgia, first it will be necessary to outline a fundamental problem for Catholic missiology in the 20th century—the relationship between evangelization and human development in Catholic magisterial teaching in the five decades before Vatican II. In this teaching, ‘evangelization’ was a synonym for the mission of the Church. ²⁴ At the same time, the Church’s understanding of human development consisted in bringing about a just economic and social order. The Church had a responsibility to teach the Christian principles of a just social order, and suggest solutions to social problems, but this was not seen as being constitutive of its mission. The right ordering of the social order was seen as shaping society according to the principles of natural law. ²⁵ Human development lay within the confines of moral theology rather than ecclesiology or missiology.

With the rise of Catholic Action, concerns were expressed that the Church’s mission to evangelize should not be subverted. Hence Pius XI’s warning that the mission of the Church was to ‘evangelize, not to civilize.’ ²⁶ A growing awareness of the phenomenon of ‘dechristianization’ in Europe, especially of the working class, led to an attempt to combine Catholic Action’s concern for social action with an effort to ‘rechristianize’ countries formerly considered Christian.

This took two basic forms. The first was the attempt to develop an ‘incarnational sociology.’ ²⁷ The human person should be understood as an incarnate being, not only of body and soul, but also as socially enfleshed in a particular human environment. The mission of the Church was not simply to save ‘souls,’ but to save the whole human person in the midst of his or her ‘milieu.’ ²⁸ The second was an attempt to lift the understanding of evangelization presenting in early 20th-century papal teaching on missionary work in non-Christian countries, one which focused on the ‘salvation of souls,’ and deposit it intact in so-called ‘home missions’ such as the ‘Mission de France’ and the ‘Mission de Paris.’ ²⁹ When these two forms came into contact, the result was often one of ambiguity about the nature of mission, and sometimes even outright contradiction.

This ambiguity and contradiction could even happen within the same person. For example, in the writings of Jacques Loew, a prominent worker priest, we find a missiological model which is incarnational. We are called to participate in Christ’s work of restoring the unity of the human race. Thus, ‘the earthly task of every one of us . . . is to gather up again from every side the fragments of our world, to weld them together in the fire of charity and restore to them their broken unity. In this way does God re-create his original creation, re-form that which he originally formed.’ ³⁰ Yet, at the same time, he retains an older understanding of evangelization, the goal of which is exclusively spiritual, the making of converts. ³¹ Regarding the role played by human development, he refers to papal teaching on the detrimental effects of social and economic injustice on people’s salvation. ³² According to this model, human development can help or hinder the mission of the Church, but that mission can proceed without it. Sometimes Loew even set evangelization and human development in opposition to each other. He could define evangelization in a negative sense, as having no concern with the temporal, or as being merely spiritual. ³³ It could even be incompatible with human development. ‘As against the spirit of gain, they [missionary priests to the proletariat] strive to be wholly disinterested, not only on the material plane but in the priestly office itself—loving the people not in order to gain more converts but simply for their own sake, because they are our brothers.’ ³⁴ Evangelization, ‘making converts,’ is presented as a selfish activity, as somehow being for the sake of the evangelizers, whereas action for human development is seen as an act of disinterested love, ‘for their own sake.’

This implicit opposition between evangelization and human development present in Loew and others reaches an explicit nadir in the position of the French Dominican, Maurice Montuclard, founder of a movement for social reform called Jeunesse de L’Eglise. The essence of this position is that the oppressed and impoverished condition of the working classes rendered them substantially impervious to the Gospel. Consequently, it was necessary to postpone their evangelization until their social distress had been remedied. That is, humanization must come before evangelization. The workers would only be able to accept Christianity when they were no longer crushed under dehumanizing burdens. ³⁵ Thus:

We suggest that Christians try two successive phases of action; first give the workers freedom, and only then the Gospel. The first of these two phases has nothing to do with Christian principles. There is only one course open to us, to remain silent for a long time, perhaps for years, and in the meanwhile to play our part, perhaps share completely in the struggles and the latent culture of our working class, the class which we have often unintentionally deceived. ³⁶

He also states that: ‘We have given up the idea of converting them, because such an intention would arouse their suspicions and because we ourselves might not be able to keep it pure.’ ³⁷ More consciously than Loew, Montuclard saw evangelization as a self-serving activity.

How did the future Paul VI respond to this dilemma, specifically, to the proposition of Montuclard? First, he sought to rebut the claim that humanization should take priority over evangelization. He bestowed on evangelization the pre-eminent position in the Church’s mission. ³⁸ He sought to unite the evangelization and humanization by emphasizing the divinizing aspect of the incarnational model. Evangelization is the temporal mission of the Church, but its ultimate goal is transcendent, to have human nature raised up to divine nature. ³⁹ The mission of the Church is a continuation of Christ’s presence and mission in the world. The Church is ‘a sure and continuous incarnation of Christ,’ and its mission continues ‘the work of redemption.’ It springs from the royal priesthood conferred on every believer to participate in the work of Christ. ⁴⁰

The subsequent promulgation of Evangelii Nuntiandi by Paul VI in 1975 was a watershed in the Catholic Church’s understanding of its mission. It came as a climax to deliberations on that mission which had unfolded since Vatican II, especially in the 1971 Synod on Justice in the World and the 1974 Synod on Evangelization. It also became a point of departure for further development in the Church’s understanding of its mission. One of the major points which Evangelii Nuntiandi sought to establish was the relationship between evangelization and human development within the context of the Church’s mission. This had been a major point of investigation in the two previous Synods. In Paul VI’s view, the clarification of this relationship had been one of the successes of the 1974 Synod. ⁴¹ However, a comparison of the position on the place of human development in the mission of the Church, as found in the 1971 Synod, with that proposed by both the 1974 Synod and Evangelii Nuntiandi, reveals an apparent contradiction.

On this question, the Synod on Justice broke new ground. For the first time a magisterial document proclaimed that action for justice was a constitutive dimension of the Church’s mission. ⁴² However, the 1974 Synod defined the Church’s mission in different terms. It stated that ‘the task of evangelizing all peoples constitutes the essential mission of the Church.’ ⁴³ Paul VI concurred, declaring that evangelization was ‘the essential and primary mission of the Church.’ ⁴⁴ These terms ‘primary’ and ‘essential’ create some difficulties. ‘Primary’ implies that there can be other ‘secondary’ elements which are associated with the Church’s mission in some way, but which are not as important. ‘Essential’ implies that there can be other ‘non-essential’ elements which, if necessary, can be omitted.

Is human development such a secondary, non-essential phenomenon? Such an interpretation would contradict the claim of the Synod on Justice that action for justice is constitutive of the Church’s mission. Yet, in Evangelii Nuntiandi, liberation is not strictly identified with evangelization. Rather, it is presented as a duty not foreign to evangelization. ⁴⁵ Evangelii Nuntiandi also warns against a commitment to liberation which would reduce the Church’s mission to ‘the dimensions of a simply temporal project,’ and stresses ‘the need to restate clearly the specifically religious finality of evangelization.’ ⁴⁶

After the promulgation of Evangelii Nuntiandi, attempts were made to reconcile these apparently contradictory positions. For example, in commenting on the meaning of the phrase ‘a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel’ with reference to action for justice, the International Theological Commission stated that: ‘It seems to require a more exact interpretation according to which, limiting ourselves to the strict meaning of the words, it refers to an integral but non-essential part.’ ⁴⁷ This raises the question of how something can be simultaneously integral but non-essential. If something is an integral element of a whole, its absence causes a loss of integrity in the whole. Such an element cannot be left out, in which case, if non-essential means something which can be left out, the statement is contradictory. Even if ‘integral’ and ‘non-essential’ can be reconciled, human development is left as a less important aspect of the Church’s mission.

The cause of this magisterial dilemma lies in an attempt to balance two perceived needs. First, the insight of the Synod for Justice that, without human development, something necessary is lacking in the proclamation of the Gospel, a word which accomplishes that which it proclaims. Second, the conviction that the specific mission entrusted by Christ to the Church ultimately aims at a ‘religious’ or ‘spiritual’ end. That this dilemma remained after the promulgation of Evangelii Nuntiandi can be at least in part attributed to the fact that Paul VI, although he mentions that the Church is ‘a new presence of Jesus . . . [which] prolongs and continues him. . . [and] it is above all his mission and his condition of being an evangelizer that she is called upon to continue,’ did not make his earlier ‘incarnational’ insight, that the mission of the Church springs from the royal priesthood conferred upon every believer to participate in the work of Christ, the unifying principle of his Exhortation. ⁴⁸

How does Francis understand the relationship between Kerygma and Diakonia?

This understanding of the Church’s mission as a participation in the mission of Christ is almost entirely absent from Evangelii Gaudium. The relationship between the mission of Christ and the mission of the Church is expressed in terms of encounter, obedience, imitation, and assistance rather than participation. Thus: ‘Evangelization takes place in obedience to the missionary mandate of Jesus.’ ⁴⁹ It is the Church’s ‘closeness to Jesus’ which prompts its mission. ⁵⁰ Its mission is ‘focused on Jesus Christ, and her commitment to the poor.’ ⁵¹ A Christian’s mission is based upon having ‘encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus.’ ⁵² Christians are helped by Jesus. Thus: ‘A true missionary, who never ceases to be a disciple, knows that Jesus walks with him, speaks to him, breathes with him, works with him.’ ⁵³

How, then, are we to grasp and evaluate Francis’s understanding of the mission of the Church as proclamation of the Gospel, including its social dimension? In Evangelii Gaudium 176–85, Francis segues from his exposition of the proclamation of the Gospel into that of the social dimension of the Gospel, where he will concentrate on the two issues which he regards as fundamental to that dimension—the inclusion of the poor in society, and peace and dialogue. ⁵⁴ Earlier, when presenting the task of evangelization, he had stated that its essence is the explicit proclamation of Jesus as Lord, the ‘joyful, patient and progressive preaching of the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.’ ⁵⁵ Now he begins by saying that evangelization means making the kingdom of God present in the world. ⁵⁶

Although in this introductory section Francis makes reference to the writings of Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, and the Aparecida Document, the first quotation is from Evangelii Nuntiandi: ‘[Any] partial or fragmentary definition which attempts to render the reality of evangelization in all its richness, complexity and dynamism does so only at the risk of impoverishing it and even of distorting it,’ in order to justify his presentation of the social dimension of evangelization. ⁵⁷ This quotation comes from the very beginning of Paul VI’s explanation of what evangelization is. Francis goes on to say that: ‘The kerygma has a clear social content: at the very heart of the Gospel is life in community and engagement with others. The content of the first proclamation has an immediate moral implication centred on charity.’ ⁵⁸ Here, the social dimension of the Gospel is seen as a part of the kerygma. One must proclaim this social dimension, and then live it out. This is the approach taken by Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi. Therein he stated that ‘evangelizing means bringing the Good News into all strata of humanity, and through its influence transforming humanity from within and making it new.’ ⁵⁹ When we look at the content of evangelization in Evangelii Nuntiandi, along with witnessing to the Father’s love, the message of salvation in Jesus Christ, and the proclamation of hope in eternal life, Paul VI also includes as ‘not foreign’ to evangelization liberation from all that keeps people on the margin of life, ‘famine, chronic disease, illiteracy, poverty, injustices in international relations and especially in commercial exchanges, situations of economic and cultural neo-colonialism.’ ⁶⁰ For Paul VI, evangelization is necessarily linked to human advancement. ⁶¹ However, he does not collapse evangelization into human development, nor does he place them on an equal footing, but maintains that human liberation is ultimately spiritual—‘it cannot be contained in the simple and restricted dimension of economics, politics, social or cultural life; it must envisage the whole man, in all his aspects, right up to and including his openness to the absolute, even the divine Absolute.’ ⁶² Francis is of the same mind as Paul VI when it comes to the supreme importance of the spiritual aspect of human development. Thus, he says:

I want to say, with regret, that the worst discrimination which the poor suffer is the lack of spiritual care. The great majority of the poor have a special openness to the faith; they need God and we must not fail to offer them his friendship, his blessing, his word, the celebration of the sacraments and a journey of growth and maturity in the faith. Our preferential option for the poor must mainly translate into a privileged and preferential religious care. ⁶³

A second key point for Francis’s understanding of how social development is a part of the kerygma is that the kerygma is not just addressed to isolated individuals. ‘Our redemption has a social dimension because “God, in Christ, redeems not only the individual person, but also the social relations existing between men.”’ ⁶⁴ The Gospel ‘is not merely about our personal relationship with God.’ ⁶⁵ Our religion should not ‘be regulated to the inner sanctum of personal life.’ ⁶⁶ Nor should we have a ‘pelagian’ attitude to human advancement. Rather, it is achieved by the ‘liberating work of the Spirit.’ ⁶⁷ Human advancement depends on evangelization, since:

[We] cannot achieve fulfilment of salvation purely by our own efforts. From the heart of the Gospel we see the profound connection between evangelization and human advancement, which must necessarily find expression and develop in every work of evangelization. Accepting the first proclamation, which invites us to receive God’s love and to love him in return with the very love which is his gift, brings forth in our lives and actions a primary and fundamental response: to desire, seek and protect the good of others. ⁶⁸

The relationship between evangelization and human development is that of the second great commandment. Thus, Francis says that ‘the service of charity is also a constituent element of the Church’s mission and an indispensable expression of her very being.’ ⁶⁹

The ultimate goal of the human development brought about by evangelization is the salvation of every aspect ‘of man’s concrete life, both personal and social.’ ⁷⁰ The final goal of the proclamation and living out of the social dimension of the Gospel is eschatological—the gathering up of all things in Christ. According to Francis:

The Father desires the salvation of every man and woman, and his saving plan consists in ‘gathering up all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth’ (Eph 1:10). Our mandate is to ‘go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation’ (Mk 16:15), for ‘the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God’ (Rom 8:19). Here, ‘the creation’ refers to every aspect of human life; consequently, ‘the mission of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ has a universal destination. Its mandate of charity encompasses all dimensions of existence, all individuals, all areas of community life, and all peoples. Nothing human can be alien to it.’ ⁷¹

We can see that Francis does an admirable job of relating the service of charity, diakonia, to the proclamation of the kerygma. He links all human development with its eschatological goal. However, could the link between the two have been reinforced by a development of proclamation and the service of charity as also, and fundamentally, an exercise in leitourgia?

Wojtyla/John Paul II on the Threefold Mission of the Church

Earlier, a list was given of key texts for understanding the threefold mission of the Church. In what follows, the focus shall be limited to Sources of Renewal, Lumen Gentium, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In Sources of Renewal, when Wojtyla looked at the mission of the Church in detail, he employed the teaching of Lumen Gentium to emphasize that the Church’s mission is a sharing in the priestly, prophetic, and royal mission of Christ. ⁷² When Francis presents the themes which he will discuss at length in Evangelii Gaudium, he states that he will be presenting some guidelines for a new phase of evangelization on the basis of the teaching of Lumen Gentium. ⁷³ Yet, although his third theme is ‘the Church, understood as the entire People of God which evangelizes,’ when he comes to address that theme in section I of the ‘Proclamation of the Gospel,’ he makes no mention of or allusion to the ‘priestly’ and ‘prophetic’ presentation of the People of God’s mission as presented in Chapter 2 of Lumen Gentium. ⁷⁴ In contrast, for Wojtyla, Christ’s priesthood and our share in it were central to the teaching of Vatican II about the Church, the human race and the world. ⁷⁵ Moreover, it is the priestly mission of Christ and of Christians which most fully and simply expresses who they are. He states that: ‘There is . . . good reason to consider participation in the priesthood of Christ and the attitude that derives therefrom, before turning to the prophetic and kingly aspects. While all these aspects indicate the orientation of the Conciliar enrichment of faith in respect of the attitudes of every Christian, it is participation in the priesthood of Christ which denotes the simplest and most complete attitude.’ ⁷⁶ However, exactly why this is so, what this ‘good reason’ is, is not stated.

For Wojtyla, every Christian participates in the priesthood and therefore the sacrifice of Christ. ⁷⁷ Through this participation Christians can join with Christ in offering their entire selves and the whole world to God. All the baptized have been consecrated to offer spiritual sacrifices to God, and indeed, to offer their whole selves to God as a sacrifice. Every action of a Christian, especially participation in the Eucharist, if done in the Spirit, becomes a spiritual sacrifice to God and consecrates the world to God. ⁷⁸ All the work, prayers, apostolic labours, hardships, family life, and even leisure which is done ‘in the Spirit . . . become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’ ⁷⁹ During the Eucharist these sacrifices are offered to the Father. This offering of themselves and the world to God expresses the essence of faith, for in faith human persons respond to God’s self-revelation and commit their entire selves to God. ⁸⁰

According to Wojtyla, the prophetic mission of Christ, as the incarnate Word, is ‘to express the divine truth in human language.’ ⁸¹ Because the Church participates in this mission it has a responsibility to the Word of God. Wojtyla said that a ‘prophet is one who speaks in the name of the Lord, who knows the truth contained in the word of God; he bears it in himself, imparts it to others and guards it as his dearest heritage.’ ⁸² According to Wojtyla, Vatican II placed participation in the prophetic mission of Christ on a par with participation in Christ’s priesthood. ⁸³ What makes the prophetic mission distinct is ‘the sense of responsibility towards the gift of truth contained in Revelation.’ ⁸⁴ This sense of responsibility is expressed through the sensus fidei. There should be a close harmony between the faith of the faithful and the teaching office of the Church. Both manifest the truth of God and share in the ‘munus propheticum [prophetic office] of Christ.’ ⁸⁵ Drawing upon Lumen Gentium, John Paul II stated that the lay faithful, not just the pastors of the Church, ‘are given the ability and responsibility to accept the gospel in faith and to proclaim it in word and deed.’ ⁸⁶ In doing this they prophetically point to the future consummation of all things in Christ, allowing the power of the Gospel to shine out in their lives and witness to their hope of future glory. ⁸⁷

Wojtyla’s understanding of the royal mission of the Church was based on his understanding of the kingship of Christ. Drawing on Lumen Gentium, he began with the point that Christ’s kingship is based on his obedience to his Father. It is because of his obedience unto death that the Father has glorified him as king forever. ⁸⁸ There are two aspects to the Christian’s sharing in this kingship. The first is that Christians are called to a ‘royal freedom,’ a freedom from the ‘rule of sin.’ ⁸⁹ They are meant to have the same freedom as Christ has in conquering sin and having a ‘kingly self-rule.’ ⁹⁰ Through this holiness the Christian ‘helps to bring about Christ’s kingdom.’ ⁹¹ The second aspect has two dimensions. The first is that Christians are called to participate in the mission of the servant-king. This consists of ‘serving Christ in others,’ so that Christians ‘may in humility and patience bring their brethren to that king.’ ⁹² This kingship and the development of Christ’s kingdom are further expressed in the Christian’s relationship with the world. ⁹³ They are linked with God’s original plan to ‘subdue the earth’ (Gen 1:28), and involve the transformation of the world through science, technology and civilization. In this way we share in the ‘munus regale [royal office] of Christ.’ ⁹⁴ One can posit an unstated relationship between these two aspects. If one has not been set free from the rule of sin, one will be unable to serve Christ in others with humility and patience, or renew the earth rather than exploit it. ⁹⁵

Finally, Wojtyla claimed that the ‘attitudes’ arising from sharing in the threefold mission of Christ are interrelated. He stated that, ‘It should be noted at the outset that these attitudes inter-penetrate and in a certain sense determine one another. They form, so to speak, an organic complex within the fundamental attitude of testimony.’ ⁹⁶ However, he did not specify how these attitudes interpenetrate. Rather, he stated that they are difficult to ‘separate and distinguish with precision.’ ⁹⁷

The Threefold Mission in Lumen Gentium

Some light can be shed upon how the ‘attitudes’ arising from the threefold mission of Christ interpenetrate and determine one another by looking at the teaching on this threefold mission in Lumen Gentium and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In Lumen Gentium this teaching is presented in chapter two on the Church as the people of God, and chapter four on the laity. At first glance this teaching presents us with some difficulties. For one thing the teaching as a whole is not presented in an integrated way. That in the chapter on the people of God is ‘asymmetrical,’ since it only explicitly mentions the priestly and prophetic offices, while that in the chapter on the laity explicitly deals with all three offices, the priestly, prophetic, and royal.

In the chapter on the laity, the explanation of how lay people participate in the three offices is clear and orderly. First Christ, the supreme and eternal Priest, gives lay people,

a sharing in His priestly function of offering spiritual worship for the glory of God and the salvation of men . . . . For all their works, prayers and apostolic endeavours, their ordinary married and family life, their daily occupations, their physical and mental relaxation, if carried out in the Spirit, and even the hardships of life, if patiently borne—all these become ‘spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’ (1 Pet 2:5). Together with the offering of the Lord’s body, they are most fittingly offered in the celebration of the Eucharist. Thus, as those everywhere who adore in holy activity, the laity consecrate the world itself to God. ⁹⁸

As the great Prophet, Christ continues to fulfil his prophetic office through the laity.

[They] go forth as powerful proclaimers of a faith in things to be hoped for (cf. Heb. 11:1), when they courageously join to their profession of faith a life springing from faith. This evangelization, that is, this announcing of Christ by a living testimony as well as by the spoken word, takes on a specific quality and a special force in that it is carried out in the ordinary surroundings of the world. ⁹⁹

Finally, Christ the King shares his royal power, his royal freedom, with the faithful, so that ‘they might conquer the reign of sin in themselves (cf. Rom. 6:12). Further, He has shared this power so that serving Christ in their fellow men they might by humility and patience lead their brethren to that King for whom to serve is to reign.’ ¹⁰⁰

[Since the Lord] wishes to spread His kingdom also by means of the laity, namely, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace . . . . The faithful . . . must assist each other to live holier lives even in their daily occupations. In this way the world may be permeated by the spirit of Christ and it may more effectively fulfil its purpose in justice, charity and peace. ¹⁰¹

The above is all neatly cut and dried. The reader is presented with a description of three distinct offices. Yet when we look at the earlier teaching on the participation of the people of God in the mission of Christ we do not find the same ‘orderliness.’ Beginning with Lumen Gentium 10, although ostensibly this section concerns Christians’ participation in the priesthood of Christ, in fact, participation in all three offices is addressed. ¹⁰² It is addressed, one could say, from a priestly perspective. Not only are Christians to offer ‘spiritual sacrifices,’ they must also carry out the prophetic task of proclaiming the power of God and giving an account of the hope that is in them. They carry out a royal task by virtue of the fact that they are not just priests, but ‘royal priests’ and ‘holy kings.’ They are a ‘kingdom,’ a ‘spiritual house,’ and a ‘holy priesthood.’ They have been called out of darkness into the ‘royal freedom’ of the marvellous light of God. The people of God exercise their priesthood not only by their participation in the Eucharist and other sacraments, but by the prophetic witness of a royal holy life, sacrificial self-denial, and a prophetic and royal active charity. ¹⁰³

The teaching in Lumen Gentium 12 on Christians’ participation in the prophetic office of Christ also demonstrates an understanding which is not limited to what one may think of as being strictly prophetic. It addresses all three offices from a prophetic perspective. The prophetic office involves more than a ‘supernatural discernment of matters of faith,’ and a verbal witness to this faith in Christ. It includes a ‘living witness’ to Christ which is carried out especially by a royal ‘life of faith and charity,’ as well as by the priestly offering to God of ‘a sacrifice of praise, the tribute of lips which give praise to His name.’ ¹⁰⁴

Although the teaching of Lumen Gentium on the people of God offers us no complete triptych, no explicit exposition of the royal office of Christians, we should regard this as a casualty of composition by committee. The implicit attention given to explaining how the priestly and prophetic offices can be carried out in a royal way is enough to show us that baptized Christians can also participate in the royal office in priestly and prophetic way.

The Threefold Mission and Leitourgia in the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Some light can be shed on how participation in the priesthood of Christ denotes the simplest and most complete ‘attitude’ to mission. The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives some indication as to why the priestly office should be considered first. Unlike Lumen Gentium, the Catechism addresses the threefold office in three places rather than two. The section on the laity is akin to Lumen Gentium 34–36. It too looks at these three offices as discrete missions. ¹⁰⁵ Also, the section on the Church as the People of God, unlike Lumen Gentium 10–13, looks at the three missions in the same, more discrete manner to be found in Lumen Gentium 34–36. ¹⁰⁶ However, at the beginning of Part Two of the Catechism, ‘The Celebration of the Christian Mystery,’ in addressing the question, ‘What does the word liturgy mean?’ liturgy is presented as the activity which unites the threefold office.

The word ‘liturgy’ originally meant a ‘public work’ or a ‘service in the name of/on behalf of the people.’ In Christian tradition it means the participation of the People of God in ‘the work of God’ (cf. Jn 17:4). Through the liturgy Christ, our redeemer and high priest, continues the work of our redemption in, with, and through his Church. In the New Testament the word ‘liturgy’ refers not only to the celebration of divine worship but also to the proclamation of the Gospel and to active charity (cf. Lk 1:23; Acts 13:2; Rom 15:16, 27; 2 Cor 9:12; Phil 2:14–17, 25, 30). In all of these situations it is a question of the service of God and neighbour. In a liturgical celebration the Church is servant in the image of her Lord, the one ‘leitourgos’ (cf. Heb 8:2, 6); she shares in Christ’s priesthood (worship), which is both prophetic (proclamation) and kingly (service of charity). ¹⁰⁷

What is revealing about this passage is that it recognizes that the primary Christological meaning of leitourgos and leitourgia is priestly, and then recognizes that all other Christian ministry, be it prophetic proclamation or royal service of charity, is also leitourgia, carried out by one acting as a leitourgos, a priestly service carried out by a priest. In short, the priesthood of Christ is expressed in three ways. As well as being a sacrifice offered by a priest, it is simultaneously an act of prophetic proclamation and a royal service of charity.

Leitourgia in the New Testament

Is this a valid reading of what Scripture reveals about this ‘ministry’? In the Scriptural passages referred to we certainly see a priestly service indicated. Zechariah returns home when his time of service (leitourgías) in the Temple is ended (cf. Luke 1:23), and it is while the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch are ministering (leitourgoúnton) to the Lord and fasting that the Holy Spirit commands the setting aside of Paul and Barnabas for the prophetic work of proclaiming the Gospel to new hearers (cf. Acts 13:1–2). The proclamation of the Gospel is even explicitly presented as a priestly, and indeed, sacrificial act. Thus, Paul justifies his writing to the Christians of Rome to remind them of some important doctrines on the grounds that he is ‘a minister (leitourgòn) of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Rom 15:16).’ Finally, the royal service of charity is regularly spoken of liturgically. So Philippians 2:25 states: ‘I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister (leitourgòn) to my need,’ and Philippians 2:30 says: ‘for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete your service (leitourgías) to me.’ The royal service of charity is also linked with the priestly office. Thus, like the link between worship and proclamation presented in Acts 13, it is because the Gentiles have shared in the spiritual blessings given to the Jewish Christians, blessings which have come through the liturgical action of Christ, that ‘they [the Gentiles] ought to be of service to them [the Jewish Christians] in material blessings’ (Rom 15:27). Also, regarding the offering for the saints in Jerusalem, ‘the rendering of this service not only supplies the wants of the saints but also overflows in many thanksgivings [eùcharistion] to God’ (2 Cor 9:12), charity leading to worship. Although not mentioned in the Catechism, there is also James 1:26–27: ‘If anyone thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is vain. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.’ Here ‘religion’ is defined in terms of the royal mission, holiness and charity, especially to the poor and afflicted. However, the term almost always translated as ‘religion’ in this passage is thréskeia, which originally meant ‘cultic, ritual worship.’ ¹⁰⁸ In fact, in Colossians 2:18 the identical term is translated as ‘worship.’ Hence charity is an act of worship. This royal service is even spoken of in sacrificial terms. Thus, when Paul exhorts the Christians of Philippi to live holy lives (cf. Phil 2:12–16), he is willing ‘to be poured out as a libation upon the sacrificial offering of [their] faith’ (Phil 2:17), that is to say, the faith that they live out, shining ‘as lights in the world [and] holding fast the word of life’ (Phil 2:15–16). Later in the same epistle, when he thanks the Philippians for their financial support, Paul writes in these terms: ‘I have received full payment, and more; I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God’ (Phil 4:18). Another place in which we can find what Benedict XVI calls kerygma-martyria, leitourgia, and diakonia is at the Last Supper in John. ¹⁰⁹ First, Jesus performs a diakonia when he washes his disciples’ feet. Then he engages in kerygma, proclaiming the truth of salvation to them. Finally, he engages in leitourgia, glorifying the Father and interceding for all his disciples, present and future. All three of these elements are martyria, a witness to his disciples regarding the truth about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and also themselves (cf. John 13–17).

Since the mission of the Church finds its ultimate expression in leitourgia, it must be a visible witness ad maiorem Dei gloriam—always and everywhere. Francis is aware that the final goal of evangelization is eschatological. As he states: ‘The Father desires the salvation of every man and woman, and his saving plan consists in “gathering up all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph 1:10).’ ¹¹⁰ Furthermore, he sees this goal as also doxological. The ultimate goal of one’s personal encounter with Jesus is union with him, and this means that ‘we seek what he seeks and we love what he loves. In the end, what we are seeking is the glory of the Father; we live and act ‘for the praise of his glorious grace’ (Eph 1:6).’ ¹¹¹

Conclusion

In Evangelii Gaudium, Francis makes some valuable contributions to helping Christians engage in the mission of the Church. Yet, because he follows essentially the missiological lead given by Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi, and because he does not emphasize that the mission of the Church involves our participation in the mission of Christ, not only does he not do full justice to the priestly aspect of that mission which, along with the prophetic and royal aspects, is given at least equal prominence in the documents of Vatican II, the writings of John Paul II, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, but he neglects to stress that the prophetic and royal aspects are also a participation in the mission of Christ. Francis thinks of mission in terms of a diptych, kerygma and diakonia, with the kerygma being the integrating principle of the two, rather than a triptych, leitourgia, kerygma, and diakonia, with leitourgia being the integrating principle of all three. If the priestly aspect of the Church’s mission is neglected, it may be difficult to hold together the other two, what Francis calls the proclamation of the Gospel and the social dimension of evangelization. All three aspects of the mission of Christ and the Church, the priestly, prophetic, and royal, are meant to be united, not just in the Church as a whole, but in the life of each Christian. The threefold mission is one mission. It is a liturgical mission. As such, it is a mission with one doxological goal—ad maiorem Dei gloriam. Although one can analytically dissect this mission, it must be exercised synthetically. As Christians we must discover how offering priestly worship in the Spirit can prophetically evangelize, how priestly sacrifice can be a royal service to others, how prophetically evangelizing can be a priestly glorification of God, how prophetic evangelization can be royal service to others, how royal service to others can prophetically proclaim the Gospel, and how royal service to others can be an act of priestly worship. The Christian must learn how to be a ‘minister [leitourgòn] of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service [hierourgounta] of the gospel [eùangélion] of God, so that the offering [prosphorá] of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified [hegiasméne] by the Holy Spirit’ (Rom 15:16).