MISSIONARY SPIRIT IN LMI
Formation of Missionary Disciples

The Lorenzo Mission Institute fosters missionary formation to prepare seminarians for future mission work both in the Philippines and abroad. It is aware of the universal mission God has entrusted to the local church in the Philippines and the nature of mission it has to undertake. 

Ad Gentes says: “the Church, sent by Christ to reveal and to communicate the love of God to all men and nations, is aware that there still remains a gigantic missionary task for her to accomplish” (AG 10). In the preparation of future missionaries, the Lorenzo Mission Institute strives to live out the expectations of the church regarding formation, training, orientation, and education regarding the mission of the Church.

1. Missionary Spirituality- Every missionary spirituality is directed first towards the sanctification and holiness of life of the missionary. Thus, every seminarian of the Lorenzo Mission Institute follows a specific path of missionary formation leading towards the holiness of life. The call to universal holiness is the very reason for the existence of mission in the Church. John Paul II asserts that: “The Church’s missionary spirituality is a journey toward holiness” (RM 90). We are sent where we are needed for the mission of the Church participates in missio Dei.

        a. Missionary Spirit. John Paul II specified that the missionary expresses that desire for the salvation of souls (salus animarum) and “love for the Church as Christ did” (RM 89). Thus, the seminary is the venue for developing the missionary spirit and the desire to develop holiness of life. He said: “Those who have the missionary spirit feel Christ's burning love for souls, and love the Church as Christ did” (RM 89).

        b. Holy Missionaries. John Paul II reminded us that the world needs today is the “new ardor for holiness” among missionaries and those who work most closely with missionaries. A new desire for holiness is more than any technique of mission. He said: “It is not enough to update pastoral techniques, organize and coordinate ecclesial resources, or delve more deeply into the biblical and theological foundations of faith” (RM 90).

        c. Inspired by Missionaries. To develop missionary spirit is to be inspired by the great missionaries of the Church. In the case of the Lorenzo Mission Institute, the seminarians develop special devotion and inspiration from St. Lorenzo Ruiz, St. Francis Xavier, St. Therese of Lisieux, and St. John Paul II. Missionary spirit is learning from those who had the experience of mission and their missionary spirituality. John Paul II encouraged us to look back on how the early church’s holiness and its missionaries became inspiring paths towards the conversion of the people. “let us remember the missionary enthusiasm of the first Christian communities. Despite the limited means of travel and communication in those times, the proclamation of the Gospel quickly reached the ends of the earth. And this was the religion of a man who had died on a cross, “a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles!” (1 Cor 1:23) Underlying this missionary dynamism was the holiness of the first Christians and the first communities” (RM 90).

        d. Contemplative in Action. Missionaries learn to reflect and interpret the signs of the times in the light of the Gospel. “He finds answers to problems in the light of God's word and in personal and community prayer (RM 91). Besides, “for their part, missionaries should reflect on the duty of holiness required of them by the gift of their vocation, renew themselves in spirit day by day, and strive to update their doctrinal and pastoral formation (RM 91). Every seminarian has to be trained to rely and to live his missionary formation through the influence of the Gospel. He constantly listens to the Word of God more than himself. He has to be dependent on the inner voice of God that speaks to him from within so that every action will be according to the will of God.

       e. Renunciation. Each missionary has the capacity to renounce himself for the sake of Christ and mission. Seminary formation requires self-emptying in order to learn to detach and renounce oneself for Christ. It is only in self-emptying that a missionary can be available to others. Similar words are said by John Paul II when he wrote: “The missionary is required to “renounce himself and everything that up to this point he considered as his own, and to make himself everything to everyone” (RM 88). He learns to live a life of poverty in order “to be free for the Gospel” (RM 88). Pope Francis reminded us that “seminaries cannot accept candidates on the basis of any motivation whatsoever, especially if those motivations have to do with affective insecurity or the pursuit of power, human glory or economic well-being” (Evangelii Gaudium 107).

2. Missionary Disposition. The 2016 Ratio Fundamentalis wishes to develop among seminarians the disposition towards future mission in their priestly ministry. It says that the elements of formation namely: human, intellectual, spiritual, and pastoral should be “grounded in community and missionary in spirit.” Several words and phrases are used to describe and encourage among seminarians to foster missionary disposition:

a) missionary disciples. By becoming pastors to the community they are sent, they become missionaries. Thus, the seminary should form them to be missionary disciples “in love with the Master, shepherds with the smell of the sheep who live in their midst to bring the mercy of God to them.”

b) missionary zeal.  The priest is a member of the People of God. He has to cultivate, exercising his pastoral responsibility with humility as an authorative leader, teacher of the Word and minister of the sacraments, practicing his spiritual fatherhood fruitfully” (Ratio Fundamentalis, no. 33).

c) missionary impulse. The Ratio Fundamentalis expects that the areas of formation develop a “missionary drive” that is pertinent to priestly ministry. Since mission is the goal of the areas of seminary formation, and it is also the “thread” that binds, animates, and gives life to the dimensions of formation, it allows the priest who has been formed humanly, intellectually, spiritually and pastorally to live his ministry fully” (Ratio Fundamentalis, no. 91).

3. Missiology Courses. Courses in Missiology are to be offered in seminaries to provide doctrinal formation regarding the mission of the priest both in life and ministry. Missiology courses are need to fulfill the vision of the Church that “all the priests, must have a missionary heart and mind and be open to the needs of the Church and of the world” (Directory on the Life and Ministry of Priests, no. 14). In the past, the Pontifical Urban University was established for missiology. Pope Benedict XV mentioned in his Encyclical Maximum Illud on November 30, 1919 that this university in Rome should offer missiology to prepare missionaries for their specific apostolates. He said: “Because of these demands of the apostolate, the students whom the Lord has called to sacred studies must acquire proficiency in all the branches of learning while they are being trained for their future work. These branches will include both sacred and profane subjects, anything they might need on the missions. We want this procedure adopted, as is proper, in the courses given at the Urbanianum, the Pontifical College of the Propagation of the Faith. We also enjoin the directors of this College to make adequate provision for the teaching of the science of missiology, a branch of study that from now on is to be included in their curriculum” (Maximum Illud, no. 23).

        a. Universality. To provide a sufficient grasp of the contemporary world and its implications to the methods of mission, a course in missiology has to be offered in the seminary. The 2016 Ratio Fundamentalis used the words “a course in missiology cannot be omitted” (Ratio Fundamentalis, no. 171) in order to imbue in every seminarian the sense of universality. Missiology provides that orientation among seminarians the understanding of the universality of the Church which is linked with the universality of salvation offered to us by Christ. Missiology is needed enforce more “genuine formation in the universality of the Church and the promotion of its evangelizing impulse, not just as missio ad gentes, but also as new evangelization” (Ratio Fundamentalis, no. 171).

        b. Dialogue. The Lorenzo Mission Institute strives to offer a conducive atmosphere of dialogue. An experience of local cultures in the seminary is an advancement. i) Yet, one of the most important aspects of dialogue to be fostered in formation is the capacity to dialogue with the present context and circumstances. Optatam Totius expects that “the students, correctly understanding the characteristics of the contemporary mind, will be duly prepared for dialogue with men of their time” (OT 15). It is important for seminarians to be able to discern the needs of men today. This can happen only when there is openness, the willingness to listen and the capacity dialogue with people in the spirit of charity. Optatam Totius further said that pastoral knowledge and training “are to be developed in the students which especially contribute to dialogue with men, such as the ability to listen to others and to open their hearts and minds in the spirit of charity to the various circumstances and needs of men” (OT 19). ii) another area of missiology that is needed in our times is the study of religions. It prepares seminarians to dialogue with followers of other religions. Optatam Totius expects that seminaries like the Lorenzo Mission Institute offer courses on different religions in order to appreciate the deep longings and quests of the human hearts expressed in different forms of religion. It says: “let them also be introduced to a knowledge of other religions which are more widespread in individual regions, so that they may acknowledge more correctly what truth and goodness these religions, in God's providence, possess, and so that they may learn to refute their errors and be able to communicate the full light of truth to those who do not have it” (OT 16).

        c. Specialization. John Paul II encouraged seminaries to make missiology as an important part of their studies in theology. “Theological training cannot and should not ignore the Church’s universal mission, ecumenism, the study of the great religions and missiology” (RM 83). It is also equally important that seminarians and priests in missionary institutes have specialized studies in missiology. The Pope recommended: “I recommend that such studies be undertaken especially in seminaries and in houses of formation for men and women religious, ensuring that some priests or other students specialize in the different fields of missiology” (RM 83).

        d. Competence. John Paul II reminded us that the need to relate and apply the fruits of the relationship between faith and reason in the current situation of the world today is crucial. Seminarians and priests are expected to be able to learn fundamental theology which includes moral theology, the study of social doctrines, and religions to be competent enough to face the challenges of society today. To build relationships and dialogue with other religions is a concern in the Church today therefore, as we study other fields of theology “it is likewise true of the study of missiology, ecumenism, Judaism, Islam and other religions” (Pastores Dabo Vobis 54)