“The Church is not a club, it exists for evangelization,” warns Argentinean Bishop

Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 18, 2004 / 22:00 pm

Bishop Joaquin Piña of Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, said this week each Christian is called to be a missionary and that “the Church is not a country club where we go to hide in fear of the world.  Every Christian has a mission, a calling he or she is sent to fulfill.”

The Argentinean bishop explained that this mission can be carried out in many ways.  “Not everyone has to go overseas.  But we cannot remain indifferent to a world that does not know Jesus Christ.  Today there are 4 billion non-Christians in world.  But the truth is, of the 2 billion baptized how many of us are truly Christian? “

“Some are even embarrassed to be seen as Christians or they deny that they are by the way they live,” added the bishop.

He went on to say that this task does not consist in “doing big, out-of-the ordinary things.  Some people are always thinking about something new and extraordinary.  Nevertheless, that is not where in holiness is to be found, in the spectacular.  The saints became so not because they worked miracles but because they tried to be faithful day after day.”

The saints, he added, are those “showed great love for God and neighbor, and they expressed it in little ways--sometimes, in the smallest of ways, like in a good relationship, especially in marriage.”

“The truth is it is difficult.  Waking up each morning with a smile, always being ready to listen to others, serving others as best as possible.  The opportunities for us to become saints are vast and abundant!   And if that word scares you, then say: to become a good Christian,” the bishop concluded.