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| Galway City, as seen from Carn Ard |
During October, we pray
in a special way for the missions and this week, we have Mission Sunday (23rd
October 2011). We pray for missionaries bringing the faith to so many parts of
the world, proclaiming the good news of salvation. As has already been
mentioned, the special collection for the missions will take place at all the
Sunday Masses here at Sacred Heart Church this weekend.
We must also recognise
that our own country is, in some sense, mission territory now too. Pope John
Paul II brought the term ‘the New Evangelisation’ to prominence, and now, Pope
Benedict XVI is placing great emphasis on it. It is a challenge to reach out
afresh in faith to people living in traditionally Christian areas.
Here are some of the
Pope’s thoughts from his message for this year’s Mission Sunday:
‘…an increasing number of
people, although they have received the Gospel proclamation, have forgotten or
abandoned it and no longer recognize that they belong to the Church; and in
many contemporary contexts, even in traditionally Christian societies, people
are averse to opening themselves to the word of faith. A cultural change nourished
by globalization, by currents of thought and by the prevalent relativism, is
taking place. This change is leading to a mindset and lifestyle that ignore the
Gospel Message, as though God did not exist, and exalt the quest for
well-being, easy earnings, a career and success as life’s purpose, even to the
detriment of moral values.
The universal mission involves all, all things and always. The
Gospel is not an exclusive possession of whoever has received it but a gift to
share, good news to communicate. And this gift-commitment is not only entrusted
to a few but on the contrary to all the baptized, who are “a chosen race, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people” (1 Pt 2:9), so that they may
declare his wonderful deeds.’
Pope
Benedict XVI, Message for World Mission Sunday 2011
To read the full
message from Pope Benedict, click here.
