Doing Contextual Theology

Examining the Vietnamese Lenten devotion known as Standing Meditation (Ngắm Mùa Chay), introduced by the French Jesuit Alexandre de Rhodes in the seventeenth century, this article argues that the popular devotion functions as an instrument of contextual missionary evangelization in Vietnam today. Drawing on the SVD's concept of prophetic dialogue and papal teaching on faith seeking expression, the author shows how Standing Meditation proclaims the Gospel through witness and public performance, expresses an empowering message rooted in Christ's passion, and helps the faithful accept, internalize, and live their faith within Vietnamese culture. The study further situates the devotion as a locus for dialogue with the poor, with other cultures, and with non-Christians, presenting it as a model of inculturated evangelization amid Vietnam's restrictive religious environment.