Today, our examination of Part Three begins: The Life Of Jesus Christ For Our Peoples. The chapter topics ahead:
- The Mission Of The Disciples In The Service of Full Life (sections 347 through 379)
- Kingdom of God and Promoting Human Dignity (380 through 430)
- Family, Persons, and Life (431 through 475)
- Our Peoples and Culture (476 through 546)
We won’t leave the topic of missionary discipleship–don’t be concerned about that. These topics will carry us to the conclusion (547-554) of the document, and the largest single project this site has tackled.
347. “The pilgrim Church is missionary by her very nature, since it is from the mission of the Son and the mission of the Holy Spirit that she draws her origin, in accordance with the decree of God the Father.”(Ad Gentes 2) Hence, the missionary impulse is a necessary fruit of the life that the Trinity communicates to the disciples.
Vatican II is quoted but the citation has biblical roots that reach to the fulfillment of the Paschal Mystery, namely the Great commission given at the Ascension and the Pentecost event of Acts 2. This is the very identity of the Christian.
Remember to reference an English translation of the 2007 document from the Aparecida Conference here.