Encountering the Periphery
We want to tell you about Mary Lalbiaktluangi, missionary sister and alumni of the Licentiate on Pastoral Theology and Human Mobility of the academic year 2021-2023. She found the course excellent and she greatly benefited by its incredibly instructive and formative approach.
She graduated with a thesis titled Encountering the Periphery: Pastoral approach in the Light of John 4:5-42 and its Implications for the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians in North East India.
The course provided Mary with a wealth of opportunities to comprehend the reality of human mobility in all of its terminology, historical, global, religious phenomena, and epochal challenges, particularly from its anthropological-theological understanding of pastoral action and approach with its ethnicity and pluralism encounter. “I appreciate how it is cohesively woven together from biblical, canonical, theological, and pastoral contexts and backgrounds. I could say that I have acquired the necessary inputs for an adequate interpretation of migration in all its complexity. I strongly believed that as a missionary sister, it would certainly guide me in integrating the element of pastoral theology in the mission field by way of its effectiveness and creativity, and in turn, I would exchange the knowledge that I acquired throughout the Licentiate course.
Below we share a brief extract from Sister Lalbiaktluangi’s thesis
1.Introduction
Welcoming, protecting, promoting, and integrating[1] are dynamic approaches in order to respond to the prospects for the future in the encounter with the peripheries. Migrant workers, undocumented persons, and street people seem to be situated both at the socio-economic and ecclesial periphery.[2] Through constant encountering of those on the existential margins of society, the role of the missionaries helps to shine a light into the darkest corners of our world, bringing those on the peripheries to the center, and lend a voice to the voiceless and those who have been silenced.
The call of the hour is to recognize and reach out to those with genuine love and care. The need of the hour is also to find people who are committed to the cause of humanity, willing to give without counting the cost, expecting nothing in return. Keeping those on the periphery is the core of the pastoral approach. It demands good will and readiness to walk the extra mile with people who find themselves relegated to the periphery of society due to various reasons.
Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman (Jn 4:5-42), is indeed a story of accompaniment, showing how, fearless and relentless approach seeks the lost and invites them to new life. It invites us to go into unknown territory, where there is pain, isolation, and vulnerability, bringing hope and renewal. Jesus shows us how pastoral care is part of the Church’s evangelizing mission, modelling for us what responsible accompaniment and encounter is truly a life giving. Let us think of the many that Jesus wanted to meet, especially people marked by illness and disability, in order to heal them and restore them to full dignity.
In base of that, the paper’s focus on encountering the periphery: pastoral approach in the Light of John 4:5-42 and its implications for the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians in North East India, the cradle of the congregation’s mission. The work aims at cultivating transformative encounter in welcoming and accompanying the peripheries in order to reawaken the art of reaching out to the peripheries through the compassionate approach of Jesus.
2.Missionary sisters clarion call in welcoming and fellowship
The fostering of integral human development through welcoming and fellowship is a necessary component of the Church’s ministry of service. While focusing the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, Jesus engaged and listened to a her because he genuinely loved her. Keeping those in periphery at the core of the mission, Bishop Stephen Ferrando, the Founder of the congregation of Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians, called on the sisters to make their way to reach out to the periphery and the poor as the priorities of mission. His life as a missionary bishop was to go to the peripheries, not only geographically but also to those in existential margins of pain, sickness, poverty, sin, injustice and indifference to religion, superstitions, and all kinds of misery. He exhorted his sisters to go to the villages, to the poor, to the women, to the children, to the sick and to the abandoned.[3]
The Congregations’ sprouted from the ashes of World War II, to respond to the new challenges posed by the post-War situation of the Church in the region as the war brought untold suffering to people in Northeast India. And the intern the foreign missionaries who were from the enemy country.[4] Sr. Elizabeth Plathottam explain about the origin of the Congregation thus:
The outbreak of World War II was a great blow to many of Bishop Ferrando’s projects:57 missions were in acute shortage of religious personnel. The war brought suffering to people everywhere, being the border area was subject to even greater hardships. In order to enter into their world, women religious must be made more active collaborators in the mission. He was a visionary of the time and saw the Missionary sisters of Mary help of Christians on his vision, in order to encounter the most vulnerable victims of the War.[5]
3.The interpretation of John 4:5-42 in its immediate context
Imbued with the words of Jesus, in encountering the peripheries, it compels us the missionary to recognize Christ himself in each of our abandoned or included our brothers and sisters (Mt 25:40-45), through our mysticism and by being alert in reading the signs of the times, and thereby act accordingly to the prompting of the spirit through dialogue, listening and encounter them with compassion. Like the Samaritan woman (Jn 4:5-42), witness to others, throw great light on the missionary sisters in our approach towards the peripheries. Let us think of the many that Jesus wanted to meet, especially people marked by illness and disability, in order to heal them and restore them to full dignity. It is very important that the same people become witnesses to a new attitude that we can call the culture of encounter.[6] Apart from the missionary perspective it has cast on the mission of Jesus in the light of the missio dei, it deals with the breaking of socio-ethnic, religious, gender and moral barriers. It is a major breaking of traditional boundaries, and it is only John who gives a record of this event. The text begins with, “He [Jesus] left Judea and started back to Galilee. But he had to go through Samaria” (Jn 4:3-4).[7]
The prominence on the transformational encounter of Jesus and the Samaritan woman (Jn 4:5-42) throws great light on mystical aspects amidst ethnic and citizenship differences, which are acquired through dialogue and listening. Its desired effect is to revitalize and bring about the fire to be an ‘alter christus’, leaving from the comfort zones and be a witness through confrontation and dialogue, and being a prophet to the voiceless and uplifting them through works of charity and witnessing. These are directed towards or aimed at human promotion and transform humanity towards the peripheries, thereby including everyone while building God’s kingdom.
4.Contemplating the mysteries and being at the side of the peripheries
The core of the church’s mission remains the same at all times. Unless the church identifies herself and participates in the struggles of the poor, oppressed, and alienated, she will have nothing to be proud of. Because the missiological effort of the church should be in conformity with the gospel of liberation and life. In assisting the oppressed, restore their self- worth and dignity. Pope John Paul II inaugurated his pontificate by inviting people “to not be afraid and open wide the doors for Christ.”[8]
According to Gustavo Gutierrez,[9] in order to be followers of Jesus, it requires us to walk with and be committed to the poor, because when we do this, we will experience an encounter with the Lord, who is simultaneously revealed and hidden in the face of the poor. and find God in our encounter with others, especially the poor, marginalized, and exploited ones, an act of love toward them is an act of love toward God.
Stephen B. Bevans and Roger P. Schroeder[10] comment on the inseparable relationship between the church’s mission and her prophetic nature. An authentic mission involves prophecy. Announcing the good news about the God of Jesus Christ and his vision for the world is important. According to them, working for justice is a constitutive part of the prophetic preaching of the gospel.
Luke Timothy Johnson[11] insists that one should speak the word of God in the face of oppression as a witness to God’s vision for human beings. The church renders her service to the people as the context requires, whether supportive or critical. Prophetic fidelity requires of her that as she draws from the riches of a particular culture, she should not fail to confront the inhuman values and supply correctives to them.
- Pastoral implications in the context
The rapidly changing scenario confronts Northeast India with many challenges: globalization, migration, the ongoing quest for liberation of the peripheries, the fast spreading of the HIV/AIDS virus, the many displaced persons due to conflict, unorganized labour, and the impact of the society, call for the prophetic dimension in our approach to mission. We know that today’s missionary challenges are enormous and that often our response is inadequate. At the same time while carrying out God’s mission with clear conviction, deep commitment and find diverse ways to concretize what we believe in, will certainly transform the world and the society and the church at large.
Indeed, the call of the hour is to reach out to those with genuine love and care, it is not always the success or the number that counts but a challenge to encounter the pluralistic society of religious and social pressure, along the dealing of the immigrants and the violence that occurs, as the contemporary ethnic and social conflict in India’s North East, concentrates on the consequences of indirect rule colonialism and emphasises the ways in which colonial constructions of ‘native’ and ‘non-native’ identity still inform social and ethnic strife.
- Preliminary observations
Study affirms that the life and ministry of the Church is enriched by recognizing and integration. Christian witness is very significant and applicable towards pastoral approach, especially in an encounter towards the peripheries. Consequently, it is a challenge for the missionaries to insist on the local Churches to make the message and the life of Christ truly incarnate in the lives of the people through witnessing. Obviously, the need for prophetic fidelity in the mission makes it clear how the missionary sister’s dedication to her work inspires her to develop a bond of solidarity with the underprivileged. This pastoral concern must, however, transcend national and ethnic boundaries in order to be consistent with the gospel, which is prophetic and as much as possible integrate the marginalized as they continue to bear the judgment and the cross of Christ.
[1] Cf. Francis, “Message of his holiness for the 104th World Day of Migrants and Refugees” (14.01.2018), in https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/migration/documents/papafrancesco_20170815_world-migrants-day-2018.html(accessed on 07.07.2023).
[2] Cf. Timothy Scott, “Pope Francis and Periphery”, in Conference Religious Canadienne Bulletin, 1(2014)1, 1-3.
[3] Cf. Stephen Ferrando, “Talk to the sisters” (11.4.1973), in Elizabeth Packumala (ed), From the Heart of a Father, Msmhc Publications, Guwahati 2020, 179.
[4] Cf. Jane Mary Thadathil, A Great missionary Legacy, Msmhc Publications, Guwahati 1997. 24.
[5] Cf. Stephen Ferrando, “Summarium”, in Copia Publica 1 (2007), 139-234.
[6] Cf. Ibid.
[7] Cf. Ibid., 385.
[8] Cf. John Paul II, “Homily for the Inauguration of His Pontificate”, in https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/1978/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19781022.html (accessed on 09.04.2023).
[9] Cf. Gustavo Gutierrez, We Drink from Our Own Well: The Spiritual Journey of a People, Orbis Books, Maryknoll (Ny) 1984, 38.
[10] Cf. Stephen B. Bevans – Roger P. Schroeder, Prophetic Dialogue, Orbis Books, Maryknoll, (Ny) 2011, 60.
[11] Cf. Luke Timothy Johnson, Prophetic Jesus, Prophetic Church, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, (Mi) 2011, 49-50.