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| Children praying in Jiangmen Seminary Chapel (Source: Whithworth University) |
In Rerum ecclesiæ, prayer as an “all-important help” holds a kind of primacy among the means to further the missions. Pius XI exhorts the Catholic bishops to introduce habitual missionary prayers among their flocks, since the work of the missionaries will be in vain “if God by His grace does not touch the hearts of the heathen in order to soften and attract them to Himself”.
There are several
pious practices that were established in the wake of the great missionary
encyclical and missiologists made many pastoral suggestions for practicing
missionary prayer especially in parishes. I will touch on some of them briefly
in the hope that they may contribute to a resurgence of missionary spirituality.
Missionary prayers centered around the liturgy
The “Pope
of the Missions” puts special emphasis on missionary prayer being habitual in
nature. Therefore, the liturgical year with its recurring seasons and feasts
serves as a constant reminder to remember the missions in our prayer
intentions. The liturgical texts of Advent express mankind’s longing for the
Redeemer; they also remind us that the number of those who have not come to
know Him and have not yet become children of God in Holy Baptism is still
enormous. The feast of St. Francis Xavier, the great patron saint of the
missions, also falls in the early days of Advent. His prayer for the
conversion of unbelievers or one of the many approved prayers addressed to
him could be said publicly after Mass.
In the first half of the 20th century, the solemnity of Epiphany was
celebrated with an increasing focus on the calling of the gentiles to the Faith.
This is another day where Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours could be offered
for the propagation of the Faith.
To unite all parishes and dioceses in prayer for the missions, Pope Pius XI
created World Mission Sunday. Often the focus of this feast has been a
collection of donations for a specific work, which is another indispensable help
for the missions. The all-important help of prayer should not be forgotten on
this day, even emphasized more strongly than any material help. Latin Mass
communities will do well to observe the former obligation of adding the
orations of the Mass for the Propagation of the Faith to those of the Sunday
after Pentecost celebrated on that date. We shall also not forget the other patron
saint of the missions, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, who through her fervent zeal worked
tirelessly for the missions without ever leaving Carmel. In addition, the 1970
calendar contains feasts of more recently canonized missionary saints, many of
whom gave their life for Christ in martyrdom, especially in East Asia. Holy
founders of missionary societies like St. Arnold Janssen deserve to be
mentioned here as well.
We cannot
move on to the next form of prayer without mentioning Mass stipends and Holy
Communion being offered as a spiritual aid for the missions. Pius XI himself
was the first priest to commit to offering Mass every 15th of the
month as part of the Pium opus of Masses and prayers for the conversion of
China, an initiative started by the Trappist monk Fr. Louis Brun. This was
soon enthusiastically supported by the bishops of China, who urged the faithful
to join this association as well. Members could register themselves with the Pium
opus to either celebrate a Mass (as a priest), or have a Mass offered (as a
layperson) once a year in this intention or, in place of a Mass, to receive Holy
Communion twelve times a year.[1]
A similar work is the Mission Mass Association of the Society of the Divine
Word, founded with the broader intention of offering Masses for all
unbelievers. Fr. Hermann Fischer, S.V.D. suggested that daily communicants
offer up one Holy Communion a week for the missions.
Personal prayer
There are evidently
countless ways Catholics can integrate missionary intentions in their personal
prayer life. Msgr. Peter Nilles suggests adding a short prayer for the missions
to the daily family prayers. Such a practice will fulfill the desire of Pius XI
that children be accustomed to praying for the conversion of non-Christians. The
mysteries of the Holy Rosary can be meditated in their missionary dimension,
such as remembering that Christ died for all men when praying the sorrowful mysteries.
Another idea is to make short aspirations whenever we see something that
reminds us of the missions, like praying for Muslims to embrace belief in the Most
Holy Trinity when we walk past a mosque or for the conversion of India when we
see Indian food at the supermarket.
Uniting prayer and suffering
The Day
of Suffering for the Missions was already practiced during the pontificate of
Pius XI and Pius XII publicly called upon the sick, especially
chronically ill persons, to offer up their sufferings for the missions. In his
missionary encyclical Redemptoris missio, Pope John Paul II also asked pastors
to encourage the sick to make use of their crosses for the missions and
mentions the observance of that day on Pentecost.
Conclusion
In his missionary encyclical, Pope Pius XI wrote:
“Everyone can pray, of this fact there can be no question. Everyone, therefore,
has at hand and can make use of this all-important help, this daily nourishment
of the missions.” May the prayer for the missions in its many forms become dear to us all.
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