Rm 1, 8-15 I am eager to preach the gospel

(Rm 1, 8-15) I am eager to preach the gospel

[8] First, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is heralded throughout the world. [9] God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in proclaiming the gospel of his Son, that I remember you constantly, [10] always asking in my prayers that somehow by God's will I may at last find my way clear to come to you. [11] For I long to see you, that I may share with you some spiritual gift so that you may be strengthened, [12] that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by one another's faith, yours and mine. [13] I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I often planned to come to you, though I was prevented until now, that I might harvest some fruit among you, too, as among the rest of the Gentiles. [14] To Greeks and non-Greeks alike, to the wise and the ignorant, I am under obligation; [15] that is why I am eager to preach the gospel also to you in Rome.

(CCC 863) The whole Church is apostolic, in that she remains, through the successors of St. Peter and the other apostles, in communion of faith and life with her origin: and in that she is "sent out" into the whole world. All members of the Church share in this mission, though in various ways. "The Christian vocation is, of its nature, a vocation to the apostolate as well." Indeed, we call an apostolate "every activity of the Mystical Body" that aims "to spread the Kingdom of Christ over all the earth" (AA 2). (CCC 864) "Christ, sent by the Father, is the source of the Church's whole apostolate"; thus the fruitfulness of apostolate for ordained ministers as well as for lay people clearly depends on their vital union with Christ (AA 4; cf. Jn 15:5). In keeping with their vocations, the demands of the times and the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, the apostolate assumes the most varied forms. But charity, drawn from the Eucharist above all, is always "as it were, the soul of the whole apostolate" (AA 3). (CCC 868) The Church is catholic: she proclaims the fullness of the faith. She bears in herself and administers the totality of the means of salvation. She is sent out to all peoples. She speaks to all men. She encompasses all times. She is "missionary of her very nature" (AG 2).