Next Sunday, October 19, 2014, the Catholic Church all over the world will mark World Mission Sunday with focuses on the words from St. Matthew’s Gospel, “I Will Build My Church” (Matt. 16:18) highlighting the outreach of local Churches through Priests, Religious and Laity among the poor and marginalized half of the world .
World Mission Sunday, organized by the Congregation for Propagation of the Faith, is a day set aside for Catholics worldwide to recommit themselves to the Church’s missionary activity through prayer and sacrifice.
Annually, it is celebrated on the next-to-last Sunday in October and on this day, special offerings are taken in all Catholic Churches throughout the world to support Missionary activities, Vocations and encourage young men and women to aspire into Priesthood and Religious Life.
The Church in Ghana has over the years, contributed substantially towards missionary works and we ought to intensify our efforts to contribute our widow’s mite to train Priests and Religious.
The Catholic Standard reminds Catholics that their prayers and generous support offered to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith on World Mission Sunday directly benefit the Mission Church.
Our ongoing support of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith is vital to the missionaries serving in 1,150 Dioceses throughout Asia, Africa, parts of Latin America and Europe, and on the Islands of the Pacific.
Our generosity makes it possible for local Priests, Religious, and Catechists to reach out to communities, families and children in desperate need, bringing the light of Christ to the darkest of circumstances.
It also directly benefits the Mission Church –where the young Churches are growing, filled with zeal for the faith, but lacking resources for their outreach to families and those in need.
In our view, such supports are a concrete way to build our Church, to deepen our relationship with Jesus by helping Bishops and many other Missionaries around the world.
In a message to mark this year’s World Mission Sunday, the Holy Father, Pope Francis said: “The offerings that will be collected [on World Mission Sunday] are destined for a common fund of solidarity distributed, in the Pope’s name, by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith among the Missions and Missionaries of the entire world.”
As the Pope said engaging in or supporting Missionary activity allows Christians to enter the “flood of joy” that comes from experiencing God’s love and sharing it with others
The lack of vocations to the Priesthood, Religious Life or to Lay Missionary activity in many parts of the world often can be traced to “the absence of apostolic fervor in communities, which lack enthusiasm and thus fail to attract.”
The Catholic Standard urges all Catholics to contribute generously to raise funds to train more Priests and Religious to make the local Church self-reliant.
