As Christians, we’re called to kindle the fire of Christ’s love in our hearts. Our burning faith fuels our actions, inspiring us to serve others in our daily lives.
World Mission Sunday 2023 will be observed on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 21-22. The collection that day supports mission dioceses in Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands and parts of Latin America and Europe.
This year’s World Mission Sunday theme is “Hearts on fire, feet on the move.” (Luke 24:13-35) Pope Francis invites us to set our hearts ablaze with faith and put our faith into action, serving God’s mission with joy, enthusiasm and tireless dedication.
In 2022, the faithful of the Diocese of Columbus contributed $92,723.69 to the World Mission Sunday collection. On behalf of Bishop Earl Fernandes and Msgr. Kieran Harrington, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, thank you for your generosity and kindness toward the missions of the Church.
World Mission Sunday is an effort of the entire Church to help more than 1,100 dioceses that cannot sustain themselves because they are too poor, young or actively persecuted. Until 1908, the Church in the United States was mission territory. We relied on this fund to build our churches and seminaries and support our clergy and religious.
Today many foreign missions rely on our generosity to sustain the Church, which is an instrument of God’s love, mercy, hope and peace.
The perfect example of a missionary disciple of Jesus is Mary, our heavenly mother. She is inviting us to be a witness for Christ by loving and helping our fellow men.
Pope St. Paul VI, in his letter on devotion to Mary, tells us: “The Virgin Mary has always been proposed to the faithful by the Church as an example to be imitated, not precisely in the type of life she led, and much less for the socio-cultural background in which she lived and which today scarcely exists anywhere. She is worthy of imitation because she was the first and most perfect of Christ’s disciples.” (Marialis Cultus, 1974)
The synodal journey that the Church has undertaken for the better proclamation of the Gospel by our daily lives focuses on more communion, participation and mission in the Church.
Pope Francis invites us through his message for World Mission Day 2023: “I desire to express my closeness in Christ to all the men and women missionaries in the world, especially to those enduring any kind of hardship. Dear friends, the Risen Lord is always with you. He sees your generosity and the sacrifices you are making for the mission of evangelization in distant lands. (John 16:33)”
What concrete steps will you take to offer your service in the missions? Will you intensify your prayer for the missions and missionaries? The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that “the duty of Christians to take part in the life of the Church impels them to act as witnesses of the Gospel and of the obligations that flow from it. This witness is a transmission of the faith in words and deeds. Witness is an act of justice that establishes the truth or makes it known.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 2472).
The Church is calling everyone to take up the challenges of spreading the Gospel. We have been baptized and given the gift of faith and participation in the very life of God. We have been confirmed in the Holy Spirit and nourished through the Body and Blood of Christ by worthy reception of the Eucharist. We have to encounter Jesus through our prayer and in our actions for being set on fire with enthusiasm to tell everyone about Him.
Let our hearts be ready to read the Scriptures and meditate upon them. Let us listen to the voice of the Lord as we reflect upon the Scriptures and allow Him to explain to us the meaning and depth of the Gospel.
Missionaries resolutely set out, leaving home and family behind, to bring the Gospel to places and people with a burning heart. The services offered by the Church’s missionaries in bearing Christ’s message of salvation were expressed through simple and practical acts of charity, the embrace of the Sacraments and a rich prayer life.
We can promote the universal missionary spirit of the Church by our valuable contribution. Let us spread the light of Christ by our testimony in becoming generous and joyful apostles of the Gospel.
The Heart of Mary, Queen of Missions, pray for us!
