“You shall be my witnesses” (Acts 1: 8), The last words of the risen Jesus to his disciples gathered in Jerusalem before his ascension, were chosen by Pope Francis as the theme for this year's World Mission Sunday celebration.
Furthermore, this year's World Mission Sunday presents two great men as our models. One of them, living in our land, suffering for the love of Christ, suffering as he did, is the saint Devasakaya[1]. We are called with love to witness to Christ by helping in the mystery, like the saint Devasakaya, who became a witness to Christ with his blood.
Blessed Paulina Jaricot, who out of love for Christ, despite her illness, collected funds for the missions with prayers and sacrifices. She became a witness of Christ through her divine life.
We too are called with love to witness to Christ by helping the missions.
We can clearly see that the Indian Church is growing through the generosity and financial support of Christians from other countries. Therefore, according to the divine saying 'give and it shall be given to you', we will give generously for missionary work.
Let us fully receive God's grace and blessings.
[1] Devasakaya Pillai, a convert to Christianity in the 18th century, was canonized by Pope Francis at the Vatican on Sunday May 15, 2022, becoming the first Indian layman to be canonized. Devasakaya was born on April 23, 1712 in Nattalam, Kanyakumari district to a Hindu Nair family. In Malayalam it translates as “Lazarus” or “God help”, “God is my help”.
