In our time, the limits of man continue to manifest themselves, despite the enormous advances of science and technology in the world of globalization. It is not only death (the clearest and most common limit), but the persistence of hunger and disease, of ignorance, of injustice, the impossibility of doing everything we would like to do, no matter how good it may seem to us. Our mind, our heart, our capacity of work and our time have their limits. We are not God. But we also do not function as we would perhaps expect.

Sophocles said that man is panta poros aporon, open to all things, but at the same time closed. In a Christian perspective, St. Paul observed: "I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do" (Rom 7:19). We are "wounded" in our intelligence, in our will and in our desires and attitudes. And to this we should add the confusion and manipulation to which we are continually subjected. All this makes us slow to perceive truth, goodness and beauty. And this is often sample in the strange blindness to perceive the needs of others, even those closest to us. And also to forgive, as can be seen in the movie "The Quartet" (D. Hoffman, 2012).

At the present time, three aspects should be emphasized: the mission statement effectively corresponds to all Christians, according to our conditions and circumstances in the Church and in the world; the Christian mission statement is an essential aspect of the Education in faith; this mission statement requires today first of all the witness and mercy.

1. We Christians have received the good news (the Gospel) that God loves us and the commission or mission statement to announce it to the world. Christian means anointed, like Christ and in Christ, for this mission statement. As Pope Francis has pointed out, it is "a gift that cannot be kept for oneself, but must be shared. If we want to keep it only for ourselves, we will become isolated, sterile and sick Christians" (Message for workshop World Missions, October 20, 2013).

With this good news and the mission statement to announce it to everyone, we Christians also have the drive and energy to do so, going out of ourselves and even, as the Pope insists, going to the "peripheries," especially to those who have not had the opportunity to know Christ. "The strength of our faith, at the level of staff and community, is also measured by the ability to communicate it to others, to spread it, to live it in charity, to bear witness to the people we meet and who share with us the journey of life" (ibid.).

This need and its permanent relevance have been perceived by the saints of all times. This is why the "missions" exist, which the Second Vatican Council wanted to integrate into the great and unique Christian mission statement , in this evangelizing commitment that involves us all, because "the 'boundaries' of the faith do not only cross places and human traditions, but the heart of every man and every woman" (ibid.).

2. In other words, "we are all sent on the paths of the world to walk with our brothers and sisters, professing and bearing witness to our faith in Christ and becoming heralds of his Gospel" (ibid). This mission statement, the mission statement of Christians, is not simply a program to be achieved at a more or less long deadline , but also a horizon that we must have in all our daily activities, here and now. This brings us to a second point. In the Education of faith it is essential to form Christians for their mission statement; for a mission statement that they can and should carry out already as children, among relatives and friends, neighbors, companions of work and simple acquaintances.

However, evangelization encounters obstacles both outside and within the ecclesial community. At times," the Pope acknowledges, "fervor, joy, courage and hope in proclaiming the message of Christ to all and helping the people of our time to find it are weak. At other times it is thought that to evangelize is to violate freedom; rather, if it is carried out with clarity and respect, it is a service and a tribute to human freedom (cf. Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 80). In an environment such as ours, which emphasizes violence, lies and error, it is urgent that this good news resounds.

Third and finally, evangelization requires first and foremost the witness of life. Evangelization is not an appeal to follow or adhere to a doctrine or merely human interests. It is a proposal to people's reason and freedom. It is a matter of helping them to be open to the material and spiritual needs of others, so that they are moved to compassion and effective love, with deeds. And this can only be proposed through witness (that is, example and coherence manifested in life and words) and mercy.

 Indeed, the Gospel of Christ is "advertisement of the nearness of God, of his mercy, of his salvation". We must be able to proclaim "that the power of God's love is able to overcome the darkness of evil and lead to the way of good". This is the missionary nature of the Church and, therefore, the mission statement of Christians: it is "the witness of life that illuminates the way, that brings hope and love" (Pope Francis, Message for the workshop World Missions, October 20, 2013; cf. also his speech to committee pontifical for the promotion of the new evangelization, October 14, 2013).

Published in ALMUDI