Growing up in New Zealand (Aotearoa), I developed an early respect for the mana and the legacy of Bishop Pompallier and the Marists from France. The memory of the 1839 founding mission shaped the spiritual culture of my family, parish and school community.
In my youth, I was fascinated by the stories of Suzanne Aubert, Columban Fr Francis Douglas, Emmet McHardy and Tom Cunningham . They were people of faith ready to leave home, cross the oceans, face challenges and make sacrifices. Such was my fascination that my parents and friends were not surprised when I spoke of becoming a priest and heading for the missions.
After ordination in 1965, I was sent to contribute to the Church in South Korea. There, I learned to communicate with language and to build my understanding of customs and culture. In crossing boundaries of culture, faith and social realities, I soon discovered fresh dimensions of my own life and a fresh appreciation for the struggle in the lives of others.
My mission narrative runs in the shadow of the Second Vatican Council. From 1965, the global church was entering a process of change over which we Columbans had little control. The impact of change has been around me for every one of those 60 years. Some assured us that church and mission would eventually settle back to past understandings and familiar practices. Others reckoned that genuine reform and renewal would take decades to absorb, appreciate and integrate. The latter were right!
The Council was far more than a series of top-down decrees. It was an all-absorbing happening across the Catholic world in which the purpose and the practice of mission came under intense scrutiny. Two profound elements called for special recognition and emphasis. First: all mission is in the hands of God - Missio Dei. Second: mission is not a service to benefit the church. Mission calls us to reach out and respond to the needs of God’s wider world.
Decades of reform and renewal have demanded radical changes in many ways: justice, peace, dialogue, integrity, reconciliation, inculturation, dignity and rights, ecology, climate change, and now synodality and a whole lot more.
In 2025, I proceed with a “reverse mission” perspective. I resist the tendency to consign mission to distant places and past experiences. As a returned missionary, I keep God’s mission alive in the home church.
Please remember, my friends,there is a place in my heart for all of you.
I give thanks every time you come to mind.I retain a deep appreciation for all the people, places, events and experiences.
Yes, I am shaped by what we shared on the way. Thank you for your tolerance of my shortcomings. I go now to what lies ahead - the call of God.
Columban Fr Michael Gormly lives in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Related links
- Read more from The Far East - June 2025
