Renzo baptizing a young child
Renzo De Luca - Province of Japan Reflections On Mission
Since the Vatican II, the Church began to feel that the salvation our Lord has promised to everyone, "subsists in" the Church but not exclusively in it. As God "wants everyone's Salvation" (Cf.1Tim.2,4), we realize that God must have other ways to make the Good News known to the millions of people who don't know it yet. So, to be a Missionary today is also to know and accept that God is already working in some hidden way in the place you go, wherever it may be. You have to be ready to accept that the Mission doesn't depend on you. At the same time, to be a Missionary is to feel that you are called in a special way to cooperate in God's work among the people.
Here are some things that I got from my personal experience in Japan, and that may be helpful for people who are thinking of becoming Missionaries (Priests, Religious, Lay people, etc.)
1. Learn the Language:
It is amazing how much of the culture of each region is involved in its language. Even if you speak the second language of the people you are with, you should try to learn their first language as well as you can. After some years of being in a foreign country, the people expect you to know the language somewhat well, and you can feel how the attitude changes when they hear you speaking in their native tongue. After all, the way you learn a language is the greatest witness of how much you love those people. If you really want to talk something serious, your language will very often be the limit of what you can share. If you really are there to share your faith in Jesus Christ, consider that a shallow language will transmit only a shallow image of Him. So, take the Language seriously from the start. Don't think it will come naturally just by living in the place you are. Give it enough time. (Just for a reference, we use 2 full years to study Japanese.) I would even advise anyone who can not learn the language of a place to consider changing place.
2. Think of staying for life:
Even if you are a temporary Missionary, go thinking you are going to stay there all your life. The feeling that if something doesn't work you can always go back, very often is a hindrance to get inside a culture or to get deep commitment to the people. In other words, think that the people in the place you go are so good that you would like to become one of them. With the time you will realize that you will be always a foreigner, but one who really enjoys living in the place you go.
3. Don't try to "play native":
This feeling is often true in people who have stayed for some years in a Mission place: to think that you really became one of them, sometimes to act as if you were "more native than the natives." My personal experience tells me that the people don't like it. Actually, I realize that they don't want you to become a native. They want you to share with them things you may have and they don't (one of which will be your faith) in a language and in a way they can understand (which is already to say a lot).
So, are you still reading? Maybe you are serious about Mission. What I wrote may sound very hard, but I can tell you, I have never been happier in my life here in Japan. Being a Missionary is a wonderful call God gives us, and I wish every Christian can answer it in his/her own way. As everything else God does, you can be sure God will help you all the way if you trust in the Lord's power.
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Page Last Updated: November 25,1998
