Rediscovering MISSION

Transcription

1 Rediscovering MISSION at the Heart of Christian Faith Animation kit

2 Animation kit PAGES 1 AND 2 Rediscovering Mission with Pope Francis PAGE 3 Theme for World Mission Sunday 2017 Rediscovering Mission at the Heart of Christian Faith PAGES 4 AND 5 October 2017, Mission Month Calendar: a month devoted to developing missionary animation PAGE 6 Suggestions for the Parish Bulletin PAGE 7 Collection for World Mission Sunday PAGES 8 AND 9 Collection for World Mission Sunday 2016 World map PAGE 10 Donations for World Mission Sunday 2016 Donations from the Dioceses and archdioceses PAGE 11 Homily Hint for World Mission Sunday 2017 Animation Kit for World Mission Sunday 2017, prepared by: Fr. Alex Osei, C.S.Sp. Fr. Yoland Ouellet, O.M.I. Bro. René Mailloux, F.M.S. Mr. Paul Coady Mrs Ginette Côté Mr. Tom Staples Cover Mr. Chris Marcucci Inside Mr. Charles Lessard Illustrator of pages 4 and 5 Mr. Alain Gignac To access this Animation Kit, please visit our websites at: PAGE 12 Prayer of the faithful for World Mission Sunday 2017 PAGES 13 AND 14 Hour of global prayer 2017 PAGES 15 AND 16 Spiritual Animation for Adults PAGE 17 The suggests the following material The spiritual Animation for Young People is available on the website Please note that the Animation Kit for World Mission Sunday 2017 will also be available in French and Spanish. In September, you will be able to consult the documents online. Feel free to print them for your bulletin.

3 Rediscovering mission with Pope Francis I would like to reflect on the missionary dimension of our Christian calling. Those who are drawn by God s voice and who are determined to follow Jesus, soon discover within themselves an irrepressible desire to bring the Good News to their brothers and sisters through the proclamation and the service of charity. All Christians are called to be missionaries of the Gospel! As disciples, we do not receive the gift of God s love for our personal consolation, nor are we called to promote ourselves, or a business concern. We are simply men and women touched and transformed by the joy of God s love, who cannot keep this experience just to ourselves. For the Gospel joy which enlivens the community of disciples is a missionary joy (Evangelii Gaudium, 21). Commitment to the mission is not something added on to the Christian life as a kind of decoration, but is instead an essential element of faith itself. A relationship with the Lord entails being sent out into the world as prophets of his word and witnesses of his love. MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR THE 54th WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS The Christian mission might appear to be mere utopian illusion or at least something beyond our reach. Yet if we contemplate the risen Jesus walking alongside the disciples of Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13 15), we can be filled with new confidence. In that Gospel scene, we have a true liturgy of the street. We see that, at every step of the way, Jesus is at our side! The two disciples, overwhelmed by the scandal of the cross, return home defeated. Their hearts are broken, their hopes dashed and their dreams shattered. What does Jesus do? He walks with them. Instead of raising a wall, he opens a breach. Gradually he transforms their discouragement. He makes their hearts burn within them, and he opens their eyes by proclaiming the word and breaking the bread. In the same way, a Christian does not bear the burden of the mission alone, but realizes, even amid weariness and misunderstanding, that Jesus walks with him, speaks to him, breathes with him, and works with him. He senses Jesus alive with him in the midst of the missionary enterprise (Evangelii Gaudium, 266). MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR THE 54th WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS Today, we can regain fervour in preaching the Gospel and we can encourage young people in particular to take up the path of Christian discipleship. Despite a widespread sense that the faith is listless or reduced to mere duties to discharge, our young people desire to discover the perennial attraction of Jesus, to be challenged by his words and actions, and to cherish the ideal that he holds out of a life that is fully human, happy to spend itself in love. Mary Most Holy, the Mother of our Saviour, had the courage to embrace this ideal, placing her youth and her enthusiasm in God s hands. Through her intercession, may we be granted that same openness of heart, that same readiness to respond, Here I am, to the Lord s call, and that same joy in setting out (cf. Lk 1:39), like her, to proclaim him to the whole world. MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR THE 54th WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS As they travel through the streets of the world, the disciples of Jesus need to have a love without limits, the same measure of love that our Lord has for all people. We proclaim the most beautiful and greatest gifts that he has given us: his life and his love. All peoples and cultures have the right to receive the message of salvation, which is God s gift to every person. This is all the more necessary when PHOTO BY PMS SPAIN World Mission Sunday

4 we consider how many injustices, wars, and humanitarian crises still need resolution. Missionaries know from experience that the Gospel of forgiveness and mercy can bring joy and reconciliation, justice and peace. The mandate of the Gospel to go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you (Mt 28:19 20) has not ceased; rather this command commits all of us, in the current landscape with all its challenges, to hear the call to a renewed missionary impulse, as I noted in my Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium: Each Christian and every community must discern the path that the Lord points out, but all of us are asked to obey his call to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the peripheries in need of the light of the Gospel (20). MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS FOR WORLD MISSION DAY 2016 Everyone should be able to experience the joy of being loved by God, the joy of salvation! It is a gift that one cannot keep to oneself, but it is to be shared. If we want to keep it only to ourselves, we will become isolated, sterile and sick Christians. The proclamation of the Gospel is part of being disciples of Christ and it is a constant commitment that animates the entire life of the Church. Missionary outreach is a clear sign of the maturity of an ecclesial community (BENEDICT XVI, Verbum Domini, 95). Each community is mature when it professes faith, celebrates it with joy during the liturgy, lives charity, proclaims the Word of God endlessly, leaves one s own to take it to the peripheries, especially to those who have not yet had the opportunity to know Christ. The strength of our faith, at a personal and community level can be measured by the ability to communicate it to others, to spread and live it in charity, to witness to it before those we meet and those who share the path of life with us. MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS FOR WORLD MISSION DAY 2013 God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7). World Mission Day is also an occasion to rekindle the desire and the moral obligation to take joyful part in the mission ad gentes. A monetary contribution on the part of individuals is the sign of a self-offering, first to the Lord and then to others; in this way a material offering can become a means for the evangelization of humanity built on love. On this World Mission Day, my thoughts turn to all the local Churches. Let us not be robbed of the joy of evangelization! I invite you to immerse yourself in the joy of the Gospel and nurture a love that can light up your vocation and your mission. I urge each of you to recall, as if you were making an interior pilgrimage, that first love with which the Lord Jesus Christ warmed your heart, not for the sake of nostalgia but in order to persevere in joy. The Lord s disciples persevere in joy when they sense his presence, do his will, and share with others their faith, hope and evangelical charity. MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS FOR WORLD MISSION DAY 2014 This exodus process does not regard individuals alone, but the missionary and evangelizing activity of the whole Church. The Church is faithful to its Master to the extent that it is a Church which goes forth, a Church which is less concerned about itself, its structures and successes, and more about its ability to go out and meet God s children wherever they are, to feel compassion for their hurt and pain. God goes forth from himself in a Trinitarian dynamic of love: he hears the cry of his people and he intervenes to set them free (Ex 3:7). The Church is called to follow this way of being and acting. It is meant to be a Church that evangelizes, goes out to encounter humanity, proclaims the liberating word of the Gospel, heals people s spiritual and physical wounds with the grace of God, and offers relief to the poor and the suffering. MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR THE 52nd WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS 2 World Mission Sunday 2017

5 Theme for World Mission Sunday 2017 Rediscovering Mission at the Heart of Christian Faith The theme for World Mission Sunday 2017, chosen by Pope Francis, invites us to understand more than ever that mission constitutes an essential aspect of the Christian faith; we are sent to our brothers and sisters in order to bear witness of our faith in Christ and to proclaim his Gospel. Beginning with the Second Vatican Council, the Church has worked to restore the essential importance of every baptized person s missionary dimension. Pope Francis exhorts us repeatedly to go out of the temple s sacred walls and to make sure that our Church becomes a Mission Centered Church. In order to understand this issue better, let us not simply say that the Church has a mission, but that the mission depends on the Church to continue. This assertion encourages us to make a reflection: God, who has the mission of saving the world, uses the Church as an instrument to achieve it! We are currently experiencing a real missionary shift across the country. We are witnessing a growing awakening of the mis sionary spirit that will support our pastoral conversion and the revival of our Christian communities. Looking at the new Areopagus, the new meetings taking place and the subsequent experience gained from these encounters will result in new ways to transmit the faith and the New Evangelization. What if we develop a passion for mission and we commit ourselves even more in the joy of the Gospel and the Evangelization? To achieve a missionary revival, we must enter into the dynamism of a continuous conversion to the Gospel, the sacraments, the fraternal and missionary communion. It is a complex program but also one that is highly attainable. Our Missionary Kit offers you different tools for a pastoral animation throughout October, which represents mission month, and your pastoral year. The website presents to you many resources for your children, young people and adults. You will not only wish to initiate them to the sacraments, but to the Christian life as well, which is supposed to be missionary in today s world that is waiting for the Good News. Have a great animation and especially, a fruitful mission! Fr. Alex Osei, C.S.Sp. National director of the PMS English Canada Fr. Yoland Ouellet, O.M.I. National director of the PMS French Canada World Mission Sunday

6 OCTOBER 2017 MISSION MONTH CALENDAR 1 Feast of St Therese of the Child Jesus, the patroness of missions. Guide us throughout this missionary month. 2 Feast of the guardian angels. The angels were missionaries by announcing the Good News to Mary, to Joseph and to the shepherds. What is the Good News that we bring to the world? 3 The Gospel tells us to reject the idolatry of power and success. (54th World Day of Prayer for Vocations) As missionary disciples, let us try to be servants. Rediscovering Mission at the Heart of Christian Faith 8 Jesus and the Pope washed the feet of others. To be a missionary, it is to be a servant to everyone. 15 Pope Francis asks for shepherds, missionaries with the odour of the sheep. (The Church of mercy) Let us get closer to those who need mercy. 9 Let us pray for Africa so that this continent, with an increasing number of Christians, takes a more active role in the mission of the evangelization. 16 Feast of St Marguerite d Youville, first saint born in Canada. She is known as the mother of the divine mercy. Let us pray for the poor and the sick and let us take greater care of them. 10 The missionary disciple must be able to come out of the church and go towards the world to experience the Gospel. Am I ready to get involved? 17 Let us pray for Europe so that it does not forget its Christian roots and embraces a new evangelization. 22 World Mission Sunday GO! 23 Let us pray for South America, the continent that has the largest number of Christians. May it become more and more missionary. 24 To be a missionary disciple is being sent out into the world as prophets of his word and witnesses of his love. (Pope Francis, World Day of Prayer for Vocations 2017) 29 Mary, the first missionary of the New Testament, went to share the Good News with her relative Elisabeth. Let us learn to share Jesus, who is within us, with our family. 30 As Jesus did with the disciples of Emmaus, let us accompany those who have a weak faith and are discouraged. 31 Let us pray for Oceania so that this myriad of islands recognizes the greatness of the Gospel and mission. This brings World Mission Month to a close. Let us remember that mission is a daily occurrence. 4 World Mission Sunday 2017

7 4 Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. Along with Pope Francis and his patron saint, let us bring the Gospel of love to the world. 5 You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1: 8) 6 The Church is commissioned to announce the mercy of God, the beating heart of the Gospel, which in its own way must penetrate the heart and mind of every person. (Bull of indiction of the extraordinary jubilee of mercy, n. 12) 7 Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Let us pray for all the missionaries. May Mary support them. 11 Let us pray for the aboriginal peoples throughout the world. As Saint Kateri Tekakwitha did, may they allow an encounter between their traditions and the Gospel. 12 Let us be generous missionaries each according to their potential, knowing that Jesus will multiply our efforts. 13 Let us pray for those who believe in God, no matter their religion. Interreligious dialogue is an essential missionary action of our time. 14 Go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach the peripheries in need of the light of the Gospel. (For the 90th WMS) 18 Feast of St Luke, the Evangelist. He wrote in the Acts of the Apostles: you will be my witnesses to the ends of the world. (Acts 1: 8) 19 Jesus, Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt. To be a missionary, is to go and meet other people, especially those who are strangers and those who are different from us. 20 From the earliest days, missionaries like Paul and Barnabas were sent out to proclaim the good news. (Acts 13: 1 5) Let us accept the calling to be sent out 21 Let us pray for Asia so that this vast continent may recognize the values of the Gospel and embrace the love of Christ. 25 Let us pray for North America so that wealth may not be a cause of egoism and withdrawal, but rather a greater source of solidarity and sharing. 26 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:19) Inspired by Christ s last words before his ascension, let us accept the challenge of making new disciples. 27 We proclaim the risen Christ. Our joy s radiance will bear witness of our faith in the resurrection. 28 Feast of the holy apostles Simon and Judas. Let us pray that new apostles may proclaim the Good News to the world today. DAILY MEDITATIONS Rediscovering Mission at the Heart of Christian Faith! PHOTO BY PMS CANADA World Mission Sunday

8 Suggestions for the Parish Bulletin October Represents World Mission Month Please use any or all of these incentives to highlight the importance of Mission Sunday in your Parish. Bulletin inserts/announcements for World Mission Sunday. INSERT #1 October 8, 2017 This year, World Mission Sunday will take place on October 22. On that day, we celebrate who we are as Christians: missionary disciples. It s a time of prayer. We are also invited to look beyond our local Church in Canada and assist through financial gifts, the missionary work needed in the young dioceses in many developing countries. An example of this work is providing health care centres, building schools, and empowering lay pastoral workers, construction of convents and presbyteries. Please pray for the missions and show generosity on World Mission Sunday. INSERT #2 October 15, 2017 FOR THE WEEK BEFORE WORLD MISSION SUNDAY Next Sunday our parish will celebrate World Mission Sunday. It represents a global sign of the universal Church and Mission. We are invited to reach out and help build the Church in the most remote areas across our world. Your prayers and donations will support churches, hospitals, schools, and vocations to priesthood and religious life. Please show your generosity as much as possible during this collection, because it provides assistance to the young dioceses in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Pacific Islands. INSERT #3 October 22, 2017 FOR WORLD MISSION SUNDAY Today, we celebrate World Mission Sunday! We are called to offer our prayers and generous financial support, through the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, for the worldwide mission of Christ. We are asked to reach out to the peripheries, people in remote villages, towns, and cities by using the witness and work of missionaries and local priests. Please keep all missionaries in your daily prayers. INSERT #4 October 29, 2017 FOR THE WEEK AFTER WORLD MISSION SUNDAY THANK YOU Thank you for your generous response to the on World Mission Sunday. It s a blessing for young dioceses, priests, sisters, brothers and catechists who depend on it. Please continue to pray for all who serve in mission countries that they may remain strong in faith and in their vocation as they go about proclaiming the Good News of Christ. 6 World Mission Sunday 2017

9 Collection for World Mission Sunday A Universal Collection The collection on World Mission Sunday is a mandatory universal collection. This means that all the Catholic communities of the world must remit the collection to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in its entirety. All the donations collected within the churches of the world on that day form the Universal Solidarity Fund for the poorest dioceses of the Church. Statutes of the PMS (Pontifical Mission Societies) Vatican-Chapter 2, articles 7, 8 and 10 This day is celebrated in all the particular churches as the feast of catholicity and universal solidarity. On this day, Christians throughout the world become aware of their common responsibility to the evangelization of the world. (Article 7) Bishops are invited to ask the people in charge of the Catholic organizations and also the Christians, to renounce, during all the celebrations of that special Sunday, to any other collection of particular nature. They should also ensure that all donations for World Mission Sunday are exclusively remitted to the Universal Solidarity Fund and they should encourage their priests and laity in that spirit. (Article 8) A Liturgical Sign The collection that takes place during the Eucharistic celebration is an act and a sign of solidarity and sharing. It represents our communion and our participation in the mission of Christ through our solidarity with the poorest churches of the world. This Exhortation of Pope Francis, World Mission Sunday 2016: collection shouldn t be substituted by a collection at the doors of the church, neither by a remittance of a surplus in comparison to the ordinary collection. Also, we cannot put into a common fund all the mandatory collections of the year and distribute them fairly between various projects of the parish. This would mislead the intention of the person who makes a donation to the Society for Propagation of the Faith. The Society for the Propagation of the Faith is the only recipient of the collection for World Mission Sunday (Statutes PMS, art. 10). A Sign of Fraternity & Solidarity The universal collection for World Mission Sunday is unique: its fruits are distributed worldwide, according to the needs of the poorest dioceses. Everyone contributes to the cause and this allows the survival of the poorest dioceses, especially those who do not benefit from twinning or privileged contacts with the West. The universal collection provides each bishop the means and freedom of action for the formation of catechists, solidarity, priestly vocations and consecrated life, education, health care, etc. Therefore, it is a tool of justice and fraternity between all the dioceses. Furthermore, it allows supporting the permanent effort of the Universal Church to go and proclaim the Gospel to all nations. This mandate, received from Christ, is borne by the baptized people and those who are jointly responsible for the Universal Mission along with the Church of Africa, Asia, South America, Central America, Europe and Oceania. It is appropriate then to recall the wise instructions of my Predecessors who ordered that to this Society be destined all the offerings collected in every diocese, parish, religious community, association and ecclesial movement throughout the world for the care of Christian communities in need and for supporting the proclamation of the Gospel even to the ends of the earth. Today in addition, we believe in this sign of missionary ecclesial communion. Let us not close our hearts within our own particular concerns, but let us open them to all of humanity. MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS FOR WORLD MISSION DAY 2016 World Mission Sunday

10 Collection for World Mission Sunday 2016 E F MISSIONARY DIOCESES OF THE GREAT CANADIAN NORTH VIA CCCB E INDIA E ETHIOPIA NIGERIA E F F RWANDA DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO E F MALAWI E 8 World Mission Sunday 2017

11 2016 SUBSIDIES Your donations are sent to the poorest churches of the world E English Canada s Contribution $ CAD Democratic Republic of Congo 392, Ethiopia 799, Nigeria 485, Malawi 1,063, India 360, Fondazione Domus Missionalis 389, SUBTOTAL 3,490, Missionary Dioceses of the Great Canadian North via CCCB GRAND TOTAL F LAOS AND CAMBODIA F THAILAND F 3,705, French Canada s Contribution $ CAD 404,464 Thailand Laos and Cambodia 174,521 Democratic Republic of Congo 454,006 Nigeria 215,842 Rwanda 295,103 Fondazione Domus Missionalis 156,064 SUBTOTAL 1,700,000 Mass stipends 8,175 Missionary Dioceses of the Great Canadian North via CCCB GRAND TOTAL 214, ,744 1, 787,919 World Mission Sunday

12 Donations for World Mission Sunday 2016 Donations from the Dioceses and Archdioceses ENGLISH CANADA FRENCH CANADA $ CAD $ CAD DIOCESES AND ARCHDIOCESES DIOCESES AND ARCHDIOCESES Antigonish 13,026 14,126 Alexandria-Cornwall 15,267 11,977 Calgary 143, ,044 Amos 5,704 10,983 Charlottetown 22,822 20,915 Baie-Comeau 5,122 5,885 Churchill-Hudson Bay 1,563-9,586 Bathurst 11,702 10,393 Corner Brook 5,654 8,465 Chicoutimi 12,476 12,123 Edmonton 94,505 97,300 Edmundston 6,473 6,1 71 Grand Falls 7,202 7,085 Gaspé 5,844 6,242 Grouard-McLennan 20,003 1,483 Gatineau-Hull 9, Halifax 5,120 5,000 Hearst 3,236 4,279 Hamilton 90,000 90,000 Joliette 5,271 5,173 Kamloops 18,581 19,730 Moncton 21,468 21,633 Keewatin-Le Pas 3,167 2,556 Mont-Laurier 4,028 4,155 Kingston 42,382 42,610 Montréal 112, ,970 London 108,277 97,469 Nicolet 12,044 16,168 Mackenzie-Fort Smith 3, Ottawa 48,892 47,701 Military ordinariate 2,940 3,361 Québec 73,023 74,925 Moosonee Rimouski 7,963 8,179 Nelson 22,323 35,377 Rouyn-Noranda 4,708 3,704 Ottawa 46,331 47,157 Sault Ste. Marie (French sector) 17,229 9,195 Pembroke 14,225 11,692 Sherbrooke 27,211 31,921 Peterborough 35,700 19,476 Saint-Boniface 27,019 24,895 Prince Albert 15,632 8,446 Saint-Hyacinthe 16,250 19,875 Prince George 13,434 3,051 Saint-Jean-Longueuil 72,141 2,907 Regina 43,648 36,139 Saint-Jérôme 10,919 13,510 Saint John (NB) 26,370 27,179 Saint-Paul 9,182 12,745 Saskatoon 42,931 26,777 Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière 4,981 5,327 Sault Ste. Marie (English sector) 22,141 14,173 Timmins 6,670 6,164 St. Catharines 32,594 29,461 Trois-Rivières 17,297 30,990 St. John s (NL) 13,099 15,274 Valleyfield 8,391 7,883 Thunder Bay 11,000 10,000 Yarmouth 6,764 6,509 Toronto 615, ,635 Others 1,171 5,420 Vancouver 154, ,260 TOTAL 590, ,431 Victoria 13,907 17,366 Whitehorse 1,335 2,627 Winnipeg 38,339 30,198 Ukrainian Eparchy-Edmonton 2,000 1,000 Ukrainian Eparchy-Saskatoon 0 0 Ukrainian Eparchy-Winnipeg 0 1,714 Ukrainian Eparchy-New Westminster Maronite Eparchy-St Peter Chaldean Eparchy-St Assai Toronto 0 0 Others (individuals) 2,094 1,780 TOTAL 1,749,242 1,433, World Mission Sunday 2017

13 Homily hint for World Mission Sunday October 2017 Human beings can t live alone. They belong to a society; they must maintain contact with others in relationships based upon friendship and collaboration. Hence, it is necessary to organize reciprocal relations and determine the rights and duties of each person. We may ask: Is religion associated in any way with the organization of social and political life? We find the answer to this question in the Gospel of today. The Pharisees, together with sympathizers of King Herod, approached Jesus and asked him that provocative question: Is it right for us to pay the Roman tax, or not? (Mark 12:14; Matthew 22:17; Luke 20:22). The flattery that they used to introduce this question was not sincere. Any answer might be seen as double-edged. If Christ said No he would be identifying his mission as another in a series of drawn out political revolutionary movements. In his reply, Jesus does not answer the original question but he announces what seems to be engagingly vague: Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God. (Mark 12:17) What does that mean? What must we give back? What part of this tax has been stolen from us? What part doesn t belong to us? If one keeps Caesar s coin in his pocket, it means that one uses it and thus recognizes Roman power. One can t invent religious scruples only when it s time to pay the taxes. For Christians, the first teaching seems quite clear: it s a moral as well as a civil duty to contribute to the common good through the payment of taxes. No reason can justify the wanton destruction or theft of the state s goods. Whatever the type of society and whatever the political or economic policies of the government, the Christian has to represent an exemplary citizen. Christians possess the right and duty to tender their suggestions, to criticize and even to contest the various options taken, but they cannot act in such a way as to damage the civil community. However, Jesus doesn t stop at stating our duty to contribute to the common good through the payment of our taxes. He adds something that stands as revolutionary: Give [back] to God what belongs to God. Give back what? Is there anything that doesn t belong to Him? Then we must give Him everything, but how? Just as the coin has to be returned to its owner, the emperor, because it bears his image, so we must return to God the creature bearing his image. What is this creature? The first chapter of the Bible states: So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them (Genesis 1: 27). Here then is the creature that cannot fall under the ownership of anybody else but God. Nobody has a right to dominate us, to enslave us, to oppress us: we are sacred and we belong to God. To God alone we render worship, but in other things, we happily acknowledge and serve the secular powers, praying that they will rule wisely and justly. World Mission Sunday gives us the opportunity to carry out the Lord s exhortation in both ways: We could return to the poorest churches what they should have to pursue the mission of evangelization. In addition, we could show our gratitude to God for the mission that he has entrusted us at the heart of our Christian faith. This mission isn t something added to the Christian faith. On the contrary, it lies at the heart of the faith. All Christians are missionaries of the Gospel and they participate actively to the mission of Christ. Pope Francis calls us to a renewal of missionary outreach and to strive to reach the peripheries that need the light of the Gospel. We are all invited to walk the streets of the world with our brothers and sisters, proclaiming and witnessing to our faith in Christ and making ourselves heralds of his Gospel. (World Mission Day, 2013) World Mission Sunday

14 Prayer of the faithful for World Mission Sunday 2017 On World Mission Sunday, let us unite with the Universal Church and let us pray God the Father: Lord make us rediscover your Mission! Your Son, the bearer of your great Mission, established your kingdom of love, sharing, and fraternity on earth. He invites us to build it all together. May we rediscover the importance of his invitation and may we answer it in a thousand ways! R. Lord make us rediscover your Mission! Your Church received your great Mission from your Son. May we rediscover this Mission like never before, may we believe in it and may we become beacons of love and solidarity all over the world. R. Lord make us rediscover your Mission! The baptized people who belong to different Christian confessions are called to become missionary disciples, keen to collaborate in your Mission everywhere on earth. Help them so that they may rediscover this call in a wounded world, who awaits the builders of the kingdom of justice and peace. R. Lord make us rediscover your Mission! Missionary disciples even give their lives so that they completely become involved in the service of your Mission. We entrust to you these brothers and sisters from all the continents and who are serving different churches and cultures. May they allow your kingdom to grow through the gift of their lives. R. Lord make us rediscover your Mission! Pope Francis, along with all the bishops and all the shepherds of the people of God, have their hearts set on your Mission. May your Spirit be the inspiration that guides all their words and actions. R. Lord make us rediscover your Mission! In this world of religious pluralism, ethnic and cultural fundamentalism, you call us to participate more than ever, to your Mission of Evangelization. May we become peacemakers in missionary outgoing, fraternal dialogue and at the service of all Mankind. R. Lord make us rediscover your Mission! Lord, may your Mission become the central concern for our Church community throughout the world. Bring us closer to our brothers and sisters, so that we bear witness of our faith in Christ and announce his Gospel. Embolden us to go out and meet the many people who ignore the Good News that you love us and you want our happiness through the construction of a better world, your kingdom! We ask you this through Jesus, your greatest missionary with us, forever and ever. 12 World Mission Sunday 2017

15 Hour of global prayer 2017 Display the following items: the Mission Sunday poster, a globe, or a map of the world and a few candles. Reading (Luke 4:16 22) When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord s favour. And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. The following dialogue can be recited between the animator and the crowd or between two people. BELIEVER Lord, in the synagogue, you said that the Spirit of the Lord was upon you, because he had anointed you to bring the good news to the poor. He sent you to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free and to proclaim the year of the Lord s favour (Luke 4:18 19). How can we imitate you in order to become real missionary disciples? JESUS Walk among your brothers. Be their companion just as I was, when I was on earth. Dialogue with them as I did with the disciples of Emmaus. In order to give my message of love to humans, I became one among them. In order to transmit the same message of love to other humans, do as I did, become one of them and love! BELIEVER Lord, the world in which you are sending us isn t easy. Those who believe in you suffer persecution; they are deported and often killed. Not all of them are willing to walk on the path with us like Cleopas and his friend did with you. JESUS At first, I had to be patient before they recognized me. Patience is the main quality of the missionary disciple. Many others did not listen to me at all and they contributed to my passion. It is through the manifestation of my love despite all I suffered, a love centred on patience and the infinite mercy of God that brought the centurion to realize, Truly this man was God s Son! BELIEVER Even if I try to imitate you, I m not certain that I could achieve an apostolic success like yours. Many people preach your message and the world doesn t seem to become better. JESUS Don t worry too much, about what you call success. Sow my message with words but especially with actions. Be my witness, even sometimes a silent one. A few seeds will fall into good soil and sprout. Trust the Spirit. He fertilizes the soil when you planted the seeds. Your role is to be the Gospel s visible and audible witness. Whether you sleep or stay up, the seed will sprout and grow. Content yourself with loving and praying for all your brothers and sisters of humanity. The Hour of global prayer continues on page 14. World Mission Sunday

16 Prayer for the continents Let us pray for the people of Europe Lord, this continent, which has been a Christian land for a very long time, is experiencing many hardships today. Many Asylum seekers are coming to find refuge; they bring an important demographic weight. Unity appears to them as very difficult and we seem to see within them an inner battle between generosity and solidarity, on the one hand, and fear and withdrawal, on the other hand. R. Lord, come and sow your love within the hearts of our brothers and sisters. Let us pray for the people of America Lord, there is much happening in this continent that is unsettling. Furthermore, difficulties to repair the injustices done to the First Inhabitants still remain. Exploitation of the South by the North is still present as well as pitfalls to develop openness towards others and trust. R. Let us pray for the people of Asia Lord, Asia, in particular the Middle East, is a place where war is raging. Extremism and funda mentalism have removed relationships based on goodness and solidarity. Only your mercy and your love can bring back peace and life. Grant to all humans involved, the capacity to understand a better way and to act accordingly. R. Let us pray for the people of Africa Lord, this continent, considered the cradle of humanity, is ravaged by political upheaval, epidemics, and poverty brought about by the greed of its leaders and multinational groups. Many wounds caused by colonialism haven t completely healed. Grant to all Christians of that continent the necessary strength to overcome the evils of the Land. R. Let us pray for the people of Oceania Lord, this continent is a myriad of islands, large and small. Its peoples have lived here since the beginning of time. Sometimes, there is a lack of racial understanding resulting in political turmoil. Look with love on this continent and renew the people s hope so that your love may flourish at the heart of their faith. R. Final prayer We can recite the World Mission Sunday prayer by using the missionary calendar. 14 World Mission Sunday 2017

17 Spiritual animation for adults You will need the following items The World Mission Sunday poster A Bible and a lamp The World Mission Sunday prayer Opening song Please use a song or hymn of your choice that has the Holy Spirit as its theme. Opening prayer Lord, you told your disciples to go to all nations and to preach what you thought them. However, they received the Holy Spirit and they had the strength to commit themselves deeply in this mission. Send your Spirit upon us so that we will have its gifts too and we will commit ourselves in our mission. Amen. Let us listen carefully to the Word of God. (Matthew 28: 16 20) Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Comment Rediscovering Mission at the Heart of Christian Faith. It s the theme for World Mission Sunday this year. What can we find at the heart of our Christian faith? Christ himself answers this: teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. It is in the Gospel that we find everything that he commanded us. It is surprising to see that he didn t command us many things. The Gospel does not constitute a series of prescriptions, a law code, or a book of regulations; it s rather a love speech. Group activity In small groups, find some practical implementations (examples) in our daily life regarding Jesus s words on love: To love God, and therefore to pray to him as to a loving father. (Matthew 6: 9 15) To love your neighbour: The Good Samaritan. (Luke 10: 25 36) To forgive others for love like God forgives us. To become witnesses of his love around us and to the ends of the earth. (Acts, 1:8) World Mission Sunday

18 Prayer A believer reads the text written in italics. The others answer what is written in bold. BELIEVER Before ascending to heaven, Jesus asked his disciples to go to all nations and to make disciples as well by bearing witness of the Gospel before them. R. Lord make us the witnesses of your Gospel of love. BELIEVER So that they have the strength and courage to proclaim your resurrection with the purpose that all may believe in you, you sent them your Holy Spirit that awakens within them the zeal for the Gospel. R. Lord send your Spirit so that it will awaken within our hearts the zeal for evangelization. BELIEVER Paul and Barnabas were chosen to go towards people living in distant regions. After discerning and praying, they left, in the name of their community, in order to incite other people to help them increase the number of people who acknowledge you as their Saviour. R. Lord send messengers so that they will work in your mission. Now, let us recite the prayer for World Mission Sunday: God our Father, your greatest gift to humankind is your love for us and your desire that we live in your love! Your Son Jesus established your kingdom of fraternal and unconditional love on earth. May all believers become missionary disciples, keen to build your kingdom here on earth! May your Spirit be the breath that guides all our actions, and may your Mission become our mission, the centre of our concern, the basis of the Church s faith so that your word may spread throughout the world. Amen! Send out: Let us go and experience Mission at the Heart of our Christian Faith! Let us go in the peace of Christ! PHOTO BY PMS CANADA The spiritual Animation for Young People is available on the website: World Mission Sunday 2017

19 The suggests the following material Available in English only Missions Today magazine is the English voice of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Canada. It is published four times a year, with one calendar issue. The subscription price for the magazine is $8 yearly. Missions Today presents a variety of articles, reports, and mission stories from around the world. It provides readers with updates on projects that their donations have helped support. There are regular reports from the Holy Childhood Association and the Society of St. Peter the Apostle as well. You can view previous issues of our magazine at our website: Pontifical Mission Societies 2219 Kennedy Road, Toronto, ON M1T 3G5 Tel.: Toll free: Available in French only Univers is the missionary magazine of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in French Canada. We publish four issues annually. You will find reports, interviews, testimonies; subjects that will give you a better understanding and a better experience of the Mission today throughout the world. $15 yearly The biblical and missionary Way of the cross helps us to follow Christ during his passion while having a missionary thought as a background. $5 Dialogues with Jesus the Merciful. Published for the Year of Mercy, these casual conversations with Jesus are always topical and invite us to welcome and share this mercy as a way to be a missionary. $5 The meditated missionary Rosary covers the 15 traditional mysteries as well as the luminous mysteries according to Pope John Paul II. Furthermore, we have added five missionary mysteries that come from the Acts of the Apostles. $5 All you have to do is to send us a check with your order and you will receive the material through mail. Please make the check payable to Œuvre pontificale de la propagation de la foi. You can contact us for further information. L Œuvre pontificale de la propagation de la foi 175 Sherbrooke Street East, Montréal (Québec) H2X 1C7 Canada Tel. : Toll free: Fax : info@opmcanada.ca World Mission Sunday

20 PHOTO BY PMS SPAIN For missionary activity renews the Church, revitalizes faith and Christian identity, and offers fresh enthusiasm and new incentive. Redemptoris missio by John-Paul II Liturgical birthday, October 22 ENGLISH CANADA 2219 Kennedy Road Toronto, ON M1T 3G5 Canada Tel.: Toll free: Fax: missions@missionsocieties.ca FRENCH CANADA Œuvre pontificale de la propagation de la foi 175 Sherbrooke Street East Montréal (Québec) H2X 1C7 Canada Tel. : Toll free: Fax: secretariat.oppf@opmcanada.ca