MISSIONARY CALL AND
ENGAGEMENT
Andre John C. Apilado, MAEd-EM
Saint Louis College
City of San Fernando, La Union
• REFLECTION
• Recall a time in your life when you felt hostile
to some people just because you do not belong
to the same group, religion or socio-economic
status.
• Describe how you felt then, and explain also
why you should have not felt that way.
• DEEPENING
• Our differences may be the cause of our
hostility or dislike towards one another.
• But when we come to know one another
better, the dislike usually disappears.
• DEEPENING
• Differences should not separate us from one
another because ultimately, we are all
human beings with the same dignity.
• It is along this line of thinking that Paul
writes his letter to the Galatians.
Equality in Faith
(Galatians 3:26-29)
26 For through faith you are all
children of God in Christ Jesus
27 For all of you who were baptized
into Christ have clothed yourselves
with Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither
slave nor free person, there is not male and
female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are
Abraham’s descendant, heirs according to the
promise.
• In ancient times, so much was at stake in
the distinction between Gentile and Jew,
women and men, slave and free men.
• Always, the Gentile, the woman and the
slave are at receiving end of oppression
within society.
• Yet Paul writes that in Christ Jesus, everybody
is equal because we have been given the same
Spirit and we are all sons and daughters of
God.
• Because of this basic equality, our differences
cannot be the source of division and
discrimination.
• Rather, these should enrich the community
because of the variety of talents and
charisms that flow from such differences.
• The differences in function in the Church
do not do away with the basic equality
among the members.
• The fact, beauty and challenges of
difference: Paul’s “Unity in Diversity”
• At the beginning of one of his earliest
letters, Saint Paul already began to
stress the need for unity in the church.
• He urged: “I appeal to you, brothers and
sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that all of you be in agreement and
that there be no divisions among you, but
that you are united in the same mind and
the same purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
• Saint Paul also encourages the people of
Ephesus to make “every effort to maintain the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”
(Ephesians 4:3).
• He tells the people of Philippi to stand “firm in
one spirit, striving side by side with one mind
for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27).
• Saint Paul uses the great analogy of the
body to describe the unity that should
characterize the Church.
• Though we are many, we “are one body in
Christ, and individually we are members of
one another” (Romans 12:5).
• This unity does not mean that we are
all the same, instead, “as in one body
we have many members, and not all
the members have the same function,
so we, who are many, are one body”
(Romans 12:4-5).
• In fact, the Holy Spirit recognizes
and wants this beautiful diversity of
members and “we have gifts that
differ according to the grace given to
us” (Romans 12:6).
• This diversity of members and of gifts
does not threaten the unity of the
Church so long as we remember that
we are “all children of God through
faith” (Galatians 3:26).
• We become children of God in baptism.
• In baptism we become “members of the
household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).
• We are joined together and grow “into
a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians
2:21).
• By sharing in the same baptism and
believing that there is “one Lord, one
faith, one baptism, one God and
Father of all” then our unity is
assured (Ephesians 4:5-6).
• By holding firm to the Faith we
have received we build up the
Church in love (cf Ephesians
4:16).
• This unity of faith and baptism binds
us together so strongly that “there is no
longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer
slave or free, there is no longer male
and female” (Galatians 3:28).
• This does not mean that our differences are
obliterated, but that there is something even
more powerful that holds us together in one
Church and what holds us together is that
all of us “are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians
3:28).
• Nature and Principles of Dialogue of Life
• One of the aspects of the renewed Church with
a renewed mission that the Second Plenary
Council of the Philippines envisioned is a
Church that enters into dialogue with other
religions and cultures, a “dialogue of life”.
• Dialogue of life as a missionary thrust has
gained a wider acceptance in the Philippine
Church.
• In places where Christians are the majority, like
the Philippines, there is a tendency to impose
religious practices and beliefs on the non-
Christians.
• The Southern Mindanao peace and
justice issue between Muslims and
Christians cannot be resolved by force,
but perhaps by way of continuous
dialogue of life with them.
• The Second Plenary Council of the
Philippines exhorts the Church: “We
in the Church must be the first to
start undoing past effects of our
mutual grievances.”
• For whatever is true and holy in
non-Christian cultures and religions
is accepted by the Catholic Church
since it “often reflect[s] a ray of that
truth which enlightens all men.”
• Filipino Catholics, therefore, should
“acknowledge, preserve and
encourage the spiritual and moral
truths found among non-Christians,
also their social life and culture.”
• The Second Plenary Council of
the Philippines provides
guidelines for this inter-religious
dialogue.
• It must be based firmly on the fact that
salvation in Jesus Christ is offered to
all, and that the Church is the ordinary
means of salvation since she possesses
the fullness of the means to salvation.
• This makes possible “openness in
understanding the religious convictions
of others. [For] ‘dialogue based on hope
and love will bear fruit in the Spirit’”
(Catechism for Filipino Catholics 75).
• As missionaries, we can engage in a
dialogue of life by:
1. Not making fun of the beliefs and
practices of another who is different
from us in terms of religion, culture
and upbringing;
2. Showing an accepting attitude
towards those who are different from
us;
3. Being open to ideas and perspectives
different from ours; and
4.Joining ecumenical activities for
the good of the community.
