Mission Sunday!

  Mission Sunday!

For some time, we were talking about the Eucharistic Revival and Maintenance to Mission. Maintenance to Mission the first year was for Priests and Deacons. The second year was for Pastor and parish leadership. Now with the Bishop's Pastoral letter, it is for the whole parish/ cluster/Diocese.

When you are impressed with any product or business, and you might have shared with others. You would like to share the good news with others. As a Catholic Christian, we have Good News – we have Sacraments – we gather to celebrate the  Eucharist! We have Good News. Do we share with others? Do we invite others to celebrate with us?

Early part of this week I attended a clergy workshop – it was a continuation of the same message of Maintenance to Mission. The main speaker was Bishop Donald Hying. He said that we need to proclaim the Gospel. It has the power to cut the hearts of the people. The question for us to ask is how I proclaim the Gospel. Each one of us has to figure out our way. It could be through words, by action, or through presence.

Bishop Donald Hying said if everyone takes fifteen minutes to pray every day the world would be fantastic. Yes, the     beginning of the evangelization is prayer. We go together as a family for the Sunday Eucharist and every day find time to pray together. It will change our personal life, our family life, and it would spread in our community. We will need to continue to talk about the Maintenance to Mission – Evangelization.

Today we are celebrating World Mission Sunday. Mission Sunday invites us to reflect beyond our local Church and participate in the mission of the universal Church. Some give to the mission by going and some go to missions by giving.

The reading for today takes us to grow in our missionary discipleship. In the first reading from the book of Isaiah, we see, that God chose Cyrus, King of Persia, to carry out God’s plan for the people of Israel. So, Cyrus, after capturing Babylon began to liberate the deported Jews. Cyrus was not a Jew, but he allowed God to work through him. This is a theme throughout the scripture. In the book of Exodus, God brought the people of Israel out of slavery. God anointed him with a mission. Some of the Church Fathers saw Cyrus as a type of Christ, who received the fullness of anointing by the Spirit in order to save all   people from sin.

In the second reading from the letter to Thessalonians, Paul and his companions were serious about their mission       Thessalonica. They prayed for the young in Church and gave thanks to God for their faith and their perseverance in their     suffering and trials.

Gospel of Matthew (22:15-21) the collaboration of the Pharisees and Herodians who had opposite political views, reveals the extreme measures taken to eliminate Jesus. The strategy was to trap him with a question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Either way Jesus' answers will have a consequence. Jesus avoids the intended trap with his response: Jesus plays with words and says Caesar’s coin could be given back to Caesar in taxes without religious compromise. But more importantly, everyone has a duty to give himself back to God. We are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27). His answer satisfied Herodians who supported Romans and Pharisees who were against it. Through his passage, Jesus affirms the responsibility of fulfilling civil duties while emphasizing our primary duty of serving God.

As we celebrate the World Mission Sunday, let us be aware of our responsibilities. Pope Francis invites us to live the     baptismal call – being a missionary and supporting mission. World Mission Sunday allows us to deepen our connection to someone far away from us. We can join in prayer and by giving.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 850 says, “The Lord's missionary mandate is ultimately grounded in the eternal love of the Most Holy Trinity: "The Church on earth is by her nature missionary since, according to the plan of the Father, she has as her origin the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit." The ultimate purpose of the mission is none other than to make men share in the communion between the Father and the Son in their Spirit of love.”

May our Eucharist celebration be the source of grace in our daily missionary life and support the mission of the Church around the world.