It is always the same mission which by the working of the Son and the Holy Spirit is passed on to the Church of Christ as a task in function of the salvation of humankind. The command To continue his mission on earth for the benefit of all nations and all generations, Jesus gathered together in the Holy Spirit the community of his disciples, the Church, and before ascending to heaven entrusted to them his very mission. The solemn command of Jesus is like a passing over of power and of the missionary task to the Church, from God to humankind. This fact is worthy of great attention on our part because it contains a great dynamic thrust for the missionary activity of the Church. It is the Lord, the Kyrios , who speaks to us with full authority.
Teaching necessarily includes proclamation, catechesis and kerygma .
Jesus Christ, who has died and is risen, the Lord of the cosmos, of time and history, assures his active presence in missionary work until the end of time. The mission entrusted to him by the Father, and carried out by him in the power of the Spirit during his time on earth, is now entrusted to his disciples, to his Church, though it still continues to be his work. Certainly we have our own tasks and our own particular Churches. Each Bishop, therefore, should be personally involved in the mission ad gentes . Dear brothers, if we are too accustomed to concentrating our attention on the needs of our own Diocese, on the shortage of priests and of the means at our disposal, now is the moment to open up our hearts to a more global vision, to renew the grace of our episcopal consecration, to commit ourselves decidedly to the mysterious work that Jesus Christ carries on in the world, as we enter the third millennium.