Powered By Blogger

Sunday, 23 October 2016

WORLD MISSION SUNDAY 2016 - MISSIONARY CHURCH

On 23 October, the Church celebrates the Mission Sunday with the theme: Missionary Church, Witness of Mercy.” This Jubilee Year of Mercy marks the 90th anniversary of World Missionary Day, which was first approved by Pope Pius XI in 1926.

Jesus has given us a mandate to evangelise the Good News to all nations (MT 28:18-20). On this World Mission Sunday, all of us are invited to “go out” as missionary disciples, by “offering our talents, creativity, wisdom and experience in order to bring the message of God’s tenderness and compassion to the entire human family.”

The Holy Father, on this Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, invites to “proclaim the mercy of God, the beating heart of the Gospel,” in every part of the world. When mercy meets a person, it brings a deep joy to the God’s heart. Holy Father added, “Each Christian and every community must discern the path that the Lord points out, but all of us are asked to obey his call to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the boarders and all those are in need of the light of the Gospel,” (Evangelii Gaudium, 20).

As missionary disciples, it is not just the priests and religious duties and commitments to go out as missionary disciples but everyone should have the missionary mind and “the mind of Christ.” We are to be missionaries not in the different countries but we can always start to be missionaries in our own home by bringing love to our home, unity in our own parish and harmony in our workplace. We need to cultivate cultures and languages and sense of love towards families, communities, society, church and country.
Let us not close our hearts within ourselves, but let us open them to every level of humanity especially in our nation. On this month of Mary, Mother of Mercy, model of missionaries for the Church, through her intercessions she may fill us with joyful mercy and renew our personal relationships.

(An abstract from the message of the Holy Father, Pope Francis on World Mission Sunday 2016)


Fr George Packiasamy

No comments: