Sent to Proclaim Life

Responsive to the call of Christ
to proclaim the Good News to all creation
and animated by
the Church’s reminder
that mission to the nations is still
in its infancy
and that we stand on the threshold
of a new missionary age,
the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers
turn prayerfully to the Father of Mercies
through the Son and in the Holy Spirit
to ask continued participation
in the Trinity's missionary activity
in the world.

Since God's presence and love
invite all human beings
into the fullness of life through death,
even before the Gospel arrives,
we realize
that discovering and making known the Paschal Mystery
in every culture and language
is not merely one among other aspects
of evangelization
but the irreplaceable ground
of them all.

We carry out this sacred trust
as secular priests and lay brothers.
We value our commitment to celibate chastity,
and to the oath that dedicates us permanently
to the work of overseas mission
and to one another.

We are sons and members
of the Catholic Church in the United States,
a Church which enjoys a rich cultural and ethnic diversity.
We rejoice in further enriching it
with the gifts of the nations and peoples
among whom we serve
and in keeping it aware
that commitment to mission
is essential to being Church.

Aware that we do not stand alone
in our efforts to bring the Good News
to the nations,
we work toward the achievement
of common goals together with
local churches, other missionary institutes
and all people of good will.
We recognize that we have
a special bond of history and traditions
with the other missionary communities
with whom we share the name MARYKNOLL.

 Just as we do not stand alone
in what we are and do as missioners,
neither do we stand apart
from the various environments and contexts
that shape the lives of those
to whom we bring the Good News.

In our interdependent
yet fragmented and disconnected world,
Maryknollers seek to build up the Body of Christ
through presence and active witness
 in places where it is most broken.

In Africa and in Latin America,
 Asia and the Pacific,
we proclaim God's Word and Mercy to all,
often amidst innocent suffering which
reveals new faces of the Paschal Mystery.
Responding to God's presence
we joyfully celebrate our faith with people
through Eucharist, liturgy and prayer.
Among peoples, cultures and religions
we dwell in truth and hope,
to dialogue with and reverence
their contemplation of the divine.
We join the struggles for justice
of the poor, indigenous peoples, women and children
against economic, social and cultural oppression.
Through a commitment to inculturation
and an option for the poor
we search for new ways to be
the Church in service of God's Reign.

Everywhere
we are touched
by the triumph of the human spirit
  and enriched by encountering people's faith experience.
We join with them
announcing the healing, reconciling and liberating
Jesus.

With reverence for God's creation,
we also join efforts to protect
the integrity and sustainability
of the Earth.

Given our grounding,
our identity, our relationships,
and our reading of the world around us,
we draw upon the teaching of the Church
and the rich experience of our members
for the main aspects of
the evangelization process:

The Good News shared through
Presence and Witness,
as Christians live their faith
in the ordinary events of daily life.

The Good News embodied in
Human Promotion and Liberation,
as Christians stand in solidarity
with the poor and excluded members of society.

 The Good News experienced in
Liturgical Life, Prayer and Contemplation,
as Christians celebrate their
sacramental life and intimacy with God.

The Good News manifested through
Interreligious Dialogue,
as Christians experience the dialogue of salvation
with persons of other faith traditions.

The Good News expressed through
Proclamation and Catechesis,
as Christians explicitly communicate the Gospel
and welcome believers into the Church.

Integral evangelization incorporates
all these complementary aspects,
reaching fullness when
ordered to explicit proclamation,
whenever and wherever possible.

Everything we have been able to accomplish
as missioners and everything we hope to accomplish
fills us with gratitude toward
our Founders,
whose dream became the gift that
MARYKNOLL
is for all of us.
This same gratitude we extend also to all
who have gone before us,
priests and brothers who lived and died
to make this dream a reality.
We invite and welcome others
to live out this dream with us.

Conscious of the responsibilities
flowing from this vision,
we call upon the Holy Spirit,
the principal agent of mission,
Mary, Queen of Apostles,
and all the patrons of our Society,
to lead us into the future
renewed in a faith that moves mountains
a love that casts out fear
and a lively hope
that heralds
a New Springtime of Mission.