Missionaries of hope among the peoples

17th Missionary Day

Christ's disciples are the first called to train themselves to be "artisans" of hope and restorers of a humanity that is often distracted and unhappy.

For this, it is necessary to renew within ourselves the Easter spirituality, which we live in each Eucharistic celebration and especially in the Easter Triduum, the center and summit of the liturgical year. We are baptized in the death and redemptive resurrection of Christ, in the Lord's Easter that marks the eternal spring of history. We are, therefore, "people of spring," with a gaze always full of hope, to share with everyone, because in Christ "we believe and know that death and hatred are not the last words" about human existence.

Let us therefore renew the mission of hope through prayer, especially prayer with the Word of God and, in particular, with the Psalms, which are a great symphony of prayer composed by the Holy Spirit. The Psalms teach us to have hope in the midst of adversity, to recognize signs of hope, and to have a constant "missionary" desire that God be praised by all peoples. By praying, we keep alive within ourselves the spark of hope, kindled by God so that it may become a great fire, illuminating and warming all those around us, also through concrete actions and gestures inspired by that same prayer.

Finally, evangelization is always a communal process, like the character of Christian hope. This process does not end with the first proclamation and baptism, but continues with the building of Christian communities through the accompaniment of each baptized person on their journey along the paths of the Gospel. In modern society, belonging to the Church is never a reality acquired once and for all. Therefore, the missionary action of transmitting and forming the maturity of faith in Christ is "the paradigm of all the work of the Church."«

(Pope Francis, message for the year 2025)