1. The urgency and appropriateness of the proclamation for our time
Undoubtedly proclamation enjoys high priority in the Church's missio ad gentes. The Apostle Paul is convinced that faith comes from hearing: "How can they believe if they have not heard? And how can they hear if no one proclaims it to them?" (Rom 10,14). In his encyclical Redemptoris Missio (RMi) the Pope refers to the Council Decree Ad Gentes (AG) and reaffirms the unequivocal principle "Proclamation is the permanent priority of the mission" (44).
The relevance and urgency of proclamation are in direct proportion to its content: "what" and above all "to whom" must the Church proclaim? The missionary proclamation consists in announcing "Salvation is offered to every human being in Jesus Christ" (Cf. AG 13). Standing before the Sanhedrin Peter and John were not afraid of saying that only in Jesus, dead and risen, was there salvation (Cf. Acts 4,11-12). Paul cast aside specious Jewish and Hellenistic arguments and confessed unambiguously - I know only Jesus Christ Crucified, the Power and the Wisdom of God (Cf. I Cor 1, 22-25; 2,2).
From his perspective at the beginning of the third millennium the Pope calls on the Church "to start again from Christ." We won't find a response to the challenges that face us today in magic formulas - "it is not a formula that will save us, but a Person - and the confidence He instill in us: I am with you!" (NMI 29).
Proclaiming Christ to the nations is the raison d'κtre of our missionary vocation - it is an essential element of our Institute. To return to this principle means we must concentrate on what is essential and avoid setting too many goals for our mission. That discernment of our missio ad gentes exercised conscientiously by the Tenth General Chapter (XCG) allows us to gather the Institute's vital strengths and direct them effectively towards this "supreme goal" (Cf. Letter of G. Allamano, December 18, 1920). In this way we avoid the risk of trying to do too many things unsuccessfully which can gradually lead to the negation of the missionary nature of our Institute and the betrayal of our Founder's original plan.

2. Jesus Christ, the unique and universal Savior

In I Timothy, Paul says with conviction: "one alone is God, and one only is the mediator between God and man: the man Jesus Christ" (2,5). The indispensable element of all evangelization is the explicit proclamation of Christ Jesus: "There is not genuine evangelization if the name, teaching life, promises, Kingdom and Mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, are not proclaimed" (Evangelii Nuntiandi - EN 22). It is significant that the first part of Redemptoris Missio is entitled "Jesus Christ, the Only Savior." John Paul II reminds us that no one goes to the Father except through Him (Cf. John 14,6). We find that same clarity in NMI "It is the primary task of the missio ad gentes to announce that it is in Christ, "the Way, and the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6), that people find salvation" (56). This proclamation with conviction is the first and most important gift we can and will offer to humanity.
It is consoling that the identity of heralds of Salvation in Christ is rooted in our original charism. For Allamano proclaiming the truth revealed in Christ was the obligatory way of leading men to salvation. The Founder emphasized Euntes Docete forcefully and frequently; he made constant reference to the classical Pauline text Romans 10,14-15 (Cf. Conf I, 264, 483, 497, 501, 608; II, 19; III, 285, 625).
We find a current synthesis of our charism in article 17 of the Constitutions: "Proclaiming the Good News to people who have not yet been evangelized" occupies first place in the list of activities that correspond to our identity and our goal. This was already the case in our Chapter Documents from 1969 (Doc. '69), nos. 15-20; it is still true in the Acts of the Tenth General Chapter, p. 36.

3. Jesus Christ, Total Salvation

As missionaries we are called to proclaim - and consequently to provide "total" salvation to humankind. Christ came to save the whole man, his whole being (body and soul), all his dimensions (temporal, spiritual, earthly and immortal) and all his relationships (with God, with himself, with other human beings and with the world): the whole man, all men and all their history.
The point of departure for the proclamation - like the gift it offers - is the supernatural dimension of salvation (transcendental salvation); this dimension is never separated from, much less in opposition to the earthly dimension (immanent salvation). In Evangelii Nuntiandi Paul VI writes: "These include links of an anthropological order, because the man who is to be evangelized is not an abstract being […] They also include links in the theological order, since one cannot dissociate the plan of creation from the plan of Redemption […] They include links of the eminently evangelical order, which is that of charity: how in fact can one proclaim the new commandment without promoting […] the true, authentic advancement of man?" (31).
We are already familiar with this description of total salvation since it corresponds to our own tradition. We will therefore make only a few comments.
Above all - transcendental salvation. This is the central nucleus of our Founder's original inspiration. He thought of his missionaries as "collaborators with Redemption" and placed great emphasis on the Pauline text "Dei adiutores sumus [we are collaborators with God] (I Cor 3,9). He frequently quoted the words attributed to Dionysius Areopagite "Omnium divinorum divinissimum est cooperari Deo in salutem animarum [of all divine actions the most divine is to cooperate with God in saving souls]" (Conf III, 469; cf. I. 43, 83, 128, 264, 363, 481, 608, 621, 650; II, 19; III, 101, 247, 625). In EN Paul VI is forcefully affirming the same idea when he writes: "And not an immanent salvation, […] but a salvation which exceeds all these limits in order to reach fulfillment in a communion with the one and only divine Absolute: a transcendent and eschatological salvation, which indeed has its beginning in this life but which is fulfilled in eternity." (27).
But if we limited our discussion to the transcendental dimension of salvation we would miss something. Our discussion must include the immanent dimension - the promotion of human welfare; this is an "integral part" of the proclamation. We must establish a proportionality in our work. As Paul VI tells us: "But evangelization would not be complete if it did not take account of the unceasing interplay of the Gospel and of man's concrete life, both personal and social. This is why evangelization involves an explicit message, adapted to the different situations constantly being realized, about the rights and duties of every human being, about family life without which personal growth and development is hardly possible, about life in society, about international life, peace, justice and development- a message especially energetic today about liberation" (EN 27). This earthly dimension of salvation is profoundly rooted in our history. We cannot forget our Founder's commitment to instilling a need for completeness and proportionality in the apostolic service of his missionaries (Cf. Lett. Circ. October 2, 1910 and June 10, 1923). The Holy Father refers to this in his message for our centenary: "From the very beginning your missionaries have joined concrete efforts to promote human welfare - especially among the poor and the outcast - to evangelization. It is an apostolic style I would call "integral"; it takes into consideration all the needs of human beings. Your founder, strengthened by faith and blessed with sane practicality, did not doubt that people would embrace a religion that not only promised a better life in the future, but would make them happy here on earth as well […]. Continue to follow with confidence and coherence that path which distinguishes your religious family. Stay true to your characteristic way of being missionaries" (4).

4. The Missionary, Herald of Salvation

The 1999 Chapter gave us a very simple and practical criterion for being heralds: "Conscious that he is a privileged subject of the announcement, the Consolata Missionary must constantly develop in himself the sentiments proposed by our Founder" (XCG 43). On the basis of this criterion I would propose certain obvious attitudes I believe are in line with Allamano's teaching.

a. Above all commit oneself to living a personal and heartfelt relationship with Jesus Christ, the definitive Word and the first Missionary of the Father. This is a question of coherence of life: we are only asked to proclaim "who" and "what" we have heard, seen, contemplated and touched with our own hands (Cf. I John 1,1), otherwise our message would be empty and consists of pure speculation. With regard to this aspect it is helpful to recall the personal experience of our Father Founder. He refers constantly to the example of Christ in his attempt to describe the virtues necessary for a missionary. He repeats Christ's name frequently and always with reverence. This indicates that his communion with the Lord was spontaneous, felt and continual. He invites us to imitate St. Paul who uses the name of Jesus over and over in his letters (Cf. Conf I, 244, 434, 576, II,33). He adds, "When you pronounce this most sacred name you must feel it like taste - it is food. Say it as often as you can." (Conf I, 245). "You should not only have the spirit of Our Lord - you must have the thoughts, words and actions of Our Lord." (Conf. III, 16). In NMI the Pope makes this principle the foundation of a new missionary thrust: "Those who have come into genuine contact with Christ cannot keep Him for themselves - they must proclaim Him" (40).

b. A second attitude: the courage to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. We hope to be able to say with the Apostle Paul: "I am not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of whoever believes: (Rom 1,16). In RMi John Paul II answers the question - Why missions? - with this simple affirmation: "to us, as to St. Paul, 'it has been given to proclaim to pagans the inscrutable riches of Christ' (Eph. 3,8)" (11). In NMI he is still more explicit: "We should not fear that it will be considered an offence to the identity of others what is rather the joyful proclamation of a gift meant for all, and to be offered to all with the greatest respect for the freedom of each one: the gift of the revelation of the God who is Love, the God who 'so loved the world that he gave his only Son' (John 3:16) " (56).
The Consolata Missionary who is aware of his duty and responsibility to proclaim Christ must cultivate in himself those attitudes that Allamano wished to find in his missionaries. The XCG lists them:
- "The missionary must identify himself with the Gospel by constantly living in a state of search, dialogue and challenge, allowing himself to be questioned by the Gospel he preaches to others;
- must make Sacred Scripture "his sacred book" and the object of his daily meditation ; as announcer of the Word, he must become the first listener;
- must be convinced of the need of ongoing education. Let him remember that, what our Founder said of an ignorant priest, is even truer of a missionary: 'he has a mouth with which to spread Word of God but because of his ignorance he keeps it shut. In a certain sense, this causes less harm, because by speaking he'd only talk nonsense' (SL, 144);
- the missionary who wants to grow spiritually, and intends to do a vital and appropriate form of evangelization, must meditate on the Word of God. He has to reflect on documents of the Church, and consider the events happening in the world. People, cultures, nature and art become for him open books that must continuously be re-read, books on which to pray, alone and within the Christian community. (XCG 44).
That same courage that moves a missionary to express his faith in Christ can support him on those occasions that he must bide his time and wait for the appropriate moment to proclaim his faith. RMi considers the ability to wait patiently for the right time to make one's proclamation a prerequisite and characteristic of every evangelist (Cf. 52, 57). In his missio ad gentes the evangelist will encounter a variety of cultures and language communities that will oblige him to wait long and patiently before he can carry out effective evangelization. He must learn to persevere in his commitment, to wait watchfully for the times God determines and to accept the challenges of cultural and social diversity.

c. We can add a third attitude to this list: conviction of the validity of our vocation as missionaries ad gentes and as Consolata Missionaries. In RMi the Pope affirms that the missionary's vocation is special and life-long, a paradigm of the Church's missionary commitment because it is radical and total. "Missionaries […] should revive the grace of their specific charism and courageously press on, preferring […] to seek the lowliest and most demanding places" (66).
Reviving the grace of our charism means reaffirming our identity as missionaries ad gentes in the broad and nuance meaning of this phrase so amply explained in the last Chapter (Cf. XCG 45ff). We should never for a moment doubt that we have been "chosen to proclaim the gospel of God" (Rom 1,1,); we must hold firm to the mandate of our Founder: "Give yourselves to the work of evangelization toto corde et omnibus viribus [with your whole heart and all your strength]. It is for this special goal that you have chosen the path of the missionary to become saints, and have come to our institute""(Circular Letter October 2, 1910).
Reviving the grace of our charism means cultivating a sense of "belonging" to the Institute and embracing all its characteristics. The Founder frequently and enthusiastically called on us to feel the joy, the pride of being a Consolata Missionary: "We can boast of two names […] that of Our Lady and that of our goal (missionaries). Either of these two would have been sufficient" (Conf I, 619; Cf. I, 553, III, 337, 347, 349; Conference to Sisters I, 428; II, 666).
The joy of belonging to the Consolata Missionary Family moves us not just to love our vocation but to share it with others. The Pope's message to the Institute challenges us on our commitment to vocation promotion: "Carry on your commitment to vocation work which is one of the reasons for your foundation, and may the Lord reward you with the gift of many vocations" (5). We cannot let ourselves be daunted by the challenges of today's youth and a contemporary culture which seems so remote from Gospel values and the missionary vocation.
We cannot ignore the Marian aspect of our identity as Consolata Missionaries; it was something the Founder insisted upon. It is not without significance that Allamano included the title "Consolata" in the official name of our Institute. He once commented, "We bear this title as our first and last names" (Conf I, 568). The very motto Et annuntiabunt gloriam meam gentibus [they will proclaim my glory to the nations] (Isa 66,19) has soteriological significance - and in a devotional sense - Marian significance as well. Consequently a Marian spirit is part of the nature of our ministry as heralds. All who approach us should become immediately aware of the fact that we are Marian missionaries.
Mary must be the inspiration of our style of proclaiming and dispensing the mystery of salvation both in dialogue and in the celebration of the Divine mysteries. In the spirit of Allamano, our love of the Church must be Marian. Our attitude of respect and openness to the cultural and religious values of the people to whom we are sent must likewise be Marian. Our way of celebrating the Divine mysteries must also be Marian "characterized by liturgical and ritual excellence - but more important - full of a spirit of faith; we should be more concerned with communicating God than in providing a spectacle." (Dispensatori dei Misteri della Salvezza, p. 272).

d. Finally we must emphasize - especially at this point in history - an attitude of healthy and courageous openness is indispensable. We must learn how to overcome routine and immobility. It is with great satisfaction that we recognize the Institute's serious commitment to renewal. We need only thing of the extraordinary thrust of the 1969 Chapter which continues to be valid and effective today. Something analogous happened in our last Chapter - we need only look at the Acts that describe various situations and propose working solutions. We believe the statement at the root of our authentic renewal of mission is of enormous relevance: "The new form of mission work brings to the surface a host of ideas and methods which were present in the past (in our Institute's traditions as well) but which for one reason or another were not much thought about or practiced. They add to the deposit of concepts, methods and behaviors with which we must become familiar" (XCG 73)
With reference to this attitude as well, the Pope has some light to shed in his message to our Institute. He notes that the Redeemer's mission is far from completed and then lists the principal challenges that face us, and to which we must respond with courage, creativity, new attitudes and ever more specific training. He concludes his message with the words: "These are some of the future prospects that are of special concern to you who are called to be missionaries in the vanguard" (2).

SUGGESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

- In your missionary commitments and those of your community, does the proclamation of Christ enjoy priority? Do you find it easy to reconcile evangelization and concern for human welfare?
- In you pastoral work which concern enjoys priority: the initial proclamation of the Gospel or preserving already existing faith? Are you willing to submit your pastoral work to a serious review with the purpose of making your circumscription ever more a missio ad gentes?
- How personally involved are you in the Word of God which you proclaim? What place does "sharing the Word" (Lectio Divina) occupy in your pastoral ministry? How much effort do you put into your ministry of proclaiming the Word of God? What Consolata characteristics are most apparent in your evangelization?
- In your concrete missionary situation, what does proclaiming Jesus actually mean? How do you actually do this?
- Are you able to perceive in depth the questions of the culture in which you live before you present Gospel answers?
- What aspects of the proclamation of Christ the Savior are most in need of a "healthy and courageous openness." How can this be accomplished?
- What concrete attitudes in our lives should foster the Marian dimension of our vocation? What is the importance of our name - Consolata Missionaries?