“It is the nature of the Church to be Missionary”
Vatican Council II

News from around Texas

These words, which are taken from the document “Ad Gentes, of Vatican Council II, describing the Mission of the Church, are the basis for the existence of the Texas Mission Council, which is to promote Mission both here and abroad (Evangelization). But missionary programs, to be understood and appreciated, must make the Gospel known in terms of the culture of those who are receiving the Gospel in the today’s world.

Mission, in terms of the conditions of our times, was defined at Vatican Council II in 1963, not as something that the Church should do, but rather as something that is the essence of being Church.

The essence of Church is to be an extension of the Mission of Jesus himself to spread the Gospel to the entire world. Pope Paul VI, the Holy Father who concluded the work of Vatican II that Pope John XXIII had begun, also gave us the tools for effective missionary work today in his famous Apostolic Exhortation: “Evangelii Nuntiandi” in 1975, in which he stressed the need to bring the Gospel to peoples around the world in terms of their own culture.
“Therefore every effort must be made to ensure a full evangelization of culture, or more correctly of cultures”. Evangelii Nuntiandi # 20

For this reason, the TMC recommends immersion experiences for US Catholics so they can understand other people’s culture, and appreciate how the Gospel will come alive for others in terms of those other cultures.

In order to introduce such a cultural appreciation in the busy schedule of the 21st Century, the TMC, in its 2009 annual conference, will concentrate on helping those who join us, to understand and develop an appreciation of other people in terms of their own culture. And to do this effectively, the 2009 conference will offer talks and dialogues by three experts to demonstrate this relevance of culture in the mission of the Church.

• Dr. John Donahue of Trinity University will address the academic details of culture.
• Dr. Arturo Chavez of MACC, The Mexican American Catholic College (formerly a cultural center) will address the cultural priorities of our next door neighbors in Latin American.
• Dr. Sharolyn Durodula of Texas A&M University will conclude these dialogues by addressing the theme of culture as a lens through which we see and respond to others.

As is our custom, the 2009 conference is open to all who are interested in Evangelization, the mission of the Church. This invitation is for full time missioners as well as others who wish to participate in the work of Evangelization from their own homes and parishes.

TMC’s emphasis on short Immersion Experiences is geared to the time available to Catholics today whose free time is limited to short periods, often only on week ends, but who wish to expand their faith by gaining a deeper understanding Faith in the culture of their neighbors. Mexico, which is quite convenient for Immersion experiences for the people of Texas, offers a place to communicate directly with others and gain an appreciation of their cultural values in today’s often limited free time.

MARYKNOLL MISSION TALES with CULTURAL OVERTONES

Sati, a friend of mine among the Asmat people with whom I work here in West Papua, Indonesia, bought a “batik” shirt from a trader across the river. It was decent enough except that one button had been ripped off, leaving a gaping tear. In lieu of the missing button, Sati used a piece of twine to fasten it. Pointing to what I thought was an unseemly repair job, I asked what happened. “Nothing” he said. “The hole was there when I bought it”.
“Why don’t you return it?” I asked. Sati could not follow my logic. “Look, all the rest of the shirt is perfect”, he said, while proudly strolling through the village in his new attire.
This Asmat way of thinking extends beyond clothing to a philosophy of life, including how they judge others. Here is an example of the thinking of this culture about judging the conduct of others.
Once one of our parish catechists took another man’s wife for his spouse. Brimming with anger, I called the parish leaders together to help me decide what to do. I was all in favor of coming down on the catechist with “fire and brimstone”, but I stood alone. The others, of course, all agreed that what he did was wrong. “But you should also look at all of his good points.” “He had been a good catechist, and he led our fight against the injustices of the logging company”.
As the litany went on, I slouched in my chair. Mind you, not one of them condoned what their neighbor had done. It’s as if they are trying to get me, as it were, not to focus only on the missing button.

Fr. Vincent Cole, M.M

TMC 2009 Conference Schedule
TMC 2009 Registration Form