As we prepare to celebrate World Mission Sunday on October 18– the one day of the year in which all Catholics worldwide pray and sacrifice for the missionary work of the Church – we reflect on the message of Pope Francis:
“Being a missionary is not about proselytizing or merestrategy; mission is part of the ‘grammar’ of faith, something essential for those who listen to the voice of the Spirit who whispers ‘Come’ and ‘Go forth.’ When we pray before Jesus crucified, we see the depth of his love which gives us dignity and sustains us. At the same time, we realize that the love flowing from Jesus’ pierced heart expands to embrace the People of God and all humanity … In Jesus’ command to ‘go forth’, we see the scenarios and ever-present new challenges of the Church’s evangelizing mission.” In his message for World Mission Sunday, Pope Francis also invites us to reflect on Ad Gentes, the Church’s Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church. The 50th anniversary of Ad Gentes will take place on December 7, 2015. In preparation for this great milestone, Pope Francis reminds us that we are all called to be missionary. He wrote: “As Ad Gentes says: ‘The laity should cooperate in the Church’s work of evangelization; as witnesses and at the same time as living instruments, they share in her saving mission.’”
On October 18, please prayerfully consider making a generous sacrificial offering for World Mission Sunday. Your prayers and financial offerings for World Mission Sunday through the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Pope’s network of missionary support, will enable missionaries in 1,150 mission territories of the world – including Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific Islands – to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson
Recent tragic stories of violence and death among refugees fleeing Syria have stirred outcries across the world, including in our Archdiocese. We are concerned about all these desperate and terrified people, including Christians who have fled their homes to escape religious persecution.
As Pope John Paul II said in a message for World Migration Day in 2000: “In many regions of the world today people live in tragic situations of instability and uncertainty. It does not come as a surprise that in such contexts the poor and the destitute make plans to escape, to seek a new land that can offer them bread, dignity and peace. This is the migration of the desperate.”
How can we help? I ask you to consider a second offertory collection the weekend of October 25. These funds will, in part, assist Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), the Pontifical humanitarian agency working in the Middle East to help Christian refugees, especially in Jordan. Part of the funds will stay here as we look to assist in resettlement efforts in the St. Louis area.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson