“Every Christian is called to be a missionary and witness to Christ, and the Church, the community of Christ’s disciples, has no other mission than that of bringing the Gospel to the entire world by bearing witness to Christ. To evangelize is the very identity of the Church.”
World Mission Sunday is an opportunity for us to honor our life as Catholics through the special call we received at baptism to be missionaries in bearing Christ’s message of salvation to all people. Pope Francis in his world mission Sunday message for 2022, called for renewed efforts to spread the Gospel. The Holy Father wrote; “Dear brothers and sisters, I continue to dream of a complete missionary church and a new era of missionary activity among Christian communities”. He emphasized that every member of the Church has a shared responsibility to witness to Christ.
United as we are to each and every one of goodwill, the mission calls us to be signs of Faith, Hope, and Love. May the love for the church’s mission which is a passion for Jesus Christ and a passion for us all grow stronger every day. The missionary month of October and World Mission Sunday prescribes “prayer” and “sharing”, two vaccines to the baptized people for a successful mission.
“You shall be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8)
Jesus instructed His disciples to witness to people of all nations about him. This verse describes a series of ever-widening circles. The Good News was to spread geographically, from Jerusalem, into Judea and Samaria, and finally to the ends of the earth. God’s Good News has not reached its destination if someone in your family, your school, your Church, or your community has not heard the good news about Jesus Christ. Make sure you are contributing to the ever-widening circle of God’s loving message. How do we direct our zeal when there is no possibility for us to go physically to witness our lives to the Gospel?
This is where the Society for the Propagation of the Faith comes in. We ask you – all the baptized- to pray for missionaries and to offer your sufferings for this intention in union with Jesus our Redeemer.
Fr. Alex Osei, C.S.Sp., National Director of the PMS English-Sector Canada
For more information: World Mission Sunday 2022
