Mission Link – May 2009

Renewing the Missionary Spirit

In the early 19th century in France, a young woman, Pauline Jaricot, had a vision. She saw two oil lamps – one, empty; the other full. In her dream, the full lamp was filling up the empty one, making it fit once again for use. Pauline interpreted the full lamp to represent the growing faith of the Missionary Church of her day – probably the Americas and China. She thought the empty lamp referred to the waning faith of the Church in her own country of France. She believed that the vibrant faith of these growing churches could “fill up” and renew the faith in France. In response to this dream, Pauline began to gather together small groups of factory workers. She asked each member of the group to offer daily prayer and a weekly sacrifice for the Church’s worldwide missionary work. The groups would share stories of faith in foreign lands and reflect on their own story of faith. This humble beginning of cooperating with God’s mission and renewing faith became a lay movement that spread across France and the rest of Europe. Eventually, this movement became adopted by the universal Catholic Church and founded as the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. The first fruit of this movement in 1822 went to support the missions of Kentucky and the vast diocese of Louisiana which then extended from the Florida Keys to Canada. Today the Society for the Propagation of the faith is present in every Catholic diocese in the world.

The legacy of Pauline Jaricot’s insight into the vision of the two lamps still holds true today. Participating in God’s mission renews the faith of the Church. There is a mutual exchange of gifts that happens when we offer ourselves in prayer, sacrifice and sharing faith with the Church in mission. Prayer unites with God and one another. Making a sacrifice for another can open up our hearts to compassion. Sharing stories of faith strengthens the Church. A missionary spirituality is one that is nourished by the universal dimensions of our faith and trusting that God calls each of us to participate in prayer, sacrifice and sharing faith in ways and places that only we can. Together, we form the Body of Christ which extends to the ends of the earth.