February 14 is thought of only as St. Valentine’s Day. However, the Church’s official feast day on the 14th is that of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, two brothers who brought Christianity to the Slavic countries. Cyril and Methodius grew up in Greece, which was then a part of the Byzantine Empire, in the ninth century. They were chosen by the emperor to go to Moravia to spread Christianity when a Moravian prince requested missionaries. They spoke Slavonic, the language of the people, and subsequently translated the Mass and the Scripture into Slavonic for the people. Cyril even developed a written form for the language, which was the forerunner of the Cyrillic alphabet, used in Russia today. This was an unusual step, since the dominant languages of the Church were Latin and Greek. But the pope gave his approval.
Some may think that when missionaries go to different lands they bring Western culture and customs to the people. Missionaries spend much time learning about the culture and the language and customs of the people they minister to in order to fully bring the Good News to them in a way that matches their culture. The Good News is universal—catholic—in that it is for everyone, everywhere. Missionaries like the Columban fathers of Bellevue, or the Maryknoll missionaries, spread the Gospel by living with and teaching the people, meeting their corporal and spiritual needs as best they can. We can join in the missionary apostolate by praying on behalf of missionaries and by adapting the Gospel to meet the needs of the people we know and love. So let us go forth and be disciples by spreading the Good News of the Lord.
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