THE MISSION OF "BRIDGING DIALOGUE"

Based on the vision of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines which directly involves the Filipino-Chinese Apostolate, those who work for the strengthening and advancing of efforts pertinent to the missions in the Philippines and beyond the shores have to develop two important missionary thrusts namely: "bridging" and "dialogue." These two missionary thrusts are not only relevant to the mission of the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society but they are rooted in the history of evangelization of the Chinese in the Philippines. Bridging and Dialogue provided new thoughts, new perspectives, new reflections, new missionary efforts, and new missionary spirituality to the Society.

The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines no. 109 mentioned the following words:

"And here on our own land is a vast field of mission related to the Filipino-Chinese apostolate. Less than 20% of the Chinese in the Philippines have had some effective evangelization. The progress made in evangelizing through the educational and pastoral work of the Filipino-Chinese apostolate is a great encouragement. We need to intensify this. But we must look beyond our shores and take note of the missionary opportunities opened by the contacts that our Filipino-Chinese brothers and sisters have with East Asian Chinese communities, including the People's Republic of China whose openness to religion remains fluid. We need to provide encouragement, support, and personnel to this important mission."

The Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society developed "bridging" and "dialogue" in its missionary efforts and missionary paths both in the Philippines and abroad. Since its birth in 1997, the Society developed a missionary path that leads to articulate today its mission and pastoral theology as well as shape its missionary spirituality. For 40 years now, the Society constantly draws itself toward peoples, cultures, events, institutions and religions to become more missionary in the 21st century. As an instrument of bridging and dialogue, the LRMS continues to hope for a meaningful and fruitful future yet faithful to the founding thought, mission, and charism it upholds and receives from its founders.