"Mission is a free and conscious response to God's call". A call to mission can only be discerned "when we have a personal relationship of love with Jesus present in his Church", Pope Francis reminds us.
That leads to the question of our preparedness to welcome the Holy Spirit's presence and action in our lives. That call comes to married couples, consecrated persons and ordained ministers in life's everyday events. Another question the Pope says we should ask ourselves is if we are willing "to be sent forth at any time or place to witness to our faith" and relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And the last question is if we are willing to respond as Mary did always “ready to be completely at the service of God’s will?"
The challenge for the Church's mission right now is that of "Understanding what God is saying to us at this time of pandemic". As people die alone or are abandoned, as others lost their jobs, with the necessity of social distancing or saying at home, the Pope says that we are invited "to rediscover that we need social relationships as well as our communal relationship with God". This situation can increase our awareness of the need to relate to others. “God will touch our hearts through prayer which will always open us to understand others' needs". God's question expressed by the Prophet Isaiah is addressed once more to us and awaits a generous and convincing response: "Here am I, send me!" (Is 6:8). Pope Francis says at the conclusion of his Message for World Mission Sunday 2020.
