Since 1926, the Church has always dedicated the month of October to reflect and pray for the mission handed to her from Christ. This year’s World mission Sunday will be celebrated on 23rd October. The whole month is dedicated to this noble cause rooted in the life and mission of Christ, the missionary of the Father (John 20:21). The missionary dimension of the Church draws inspiration from this, that Christ was sent by the Father to be the manifestation through his life of the love of God the Father. The mission is reaching out, drawing close to others with love, sharing and assuming their state and liberating them from different kinds of oppression.
As Jesus proclaimed in the synagogue (Luke 4:18), “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed”.
The mission comes with the presence of the Holy Spirit and the anointing. It is not a human making, but a divine inspiration, through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Thus, every Christian, baptized and sealed with the Holy Spirit shares in this mandate, to go and preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and liberty to those who are oppressed. This is the summary of the mission of Christ, the mission of the Church and the mission of every Christian.
Nevertheless, we cannot preach if we have not been preached to, we cannot heal broken hearts if we have not been healed, we cannot liberate others from captivity if we ourselves have not been liberated from different kinds of oppression and captivities. This explains why our mission arises from the encounter and religious experience with Christ as a Church and as individuals.
Saint Gregory Nazianzus in his reflections on priesthood, talks intricately about the importance of being purified before we purify others, the importance of being instructed before we instruct others, of being sanctified in order to sanctify others, of being close to God in order to bring others close to God. The missionary by virtue of baptism and in any sense is and must be a first-hand witness to the message that he proclaims. The good news and liberation, which he proclaims are what he has himself had an experience of.
The power of witness
It is not just by coincidence that the Holy Father, Pope Francis has chosen as the theme for this year’s world mission Sunday “You shall be witnesses”. Being witness comes from having personal encounter, being first hand testimonies of an experience of Christ. This is what as missionaries today, we testify. Narrating his wonders, speaking about the liberation he has given to us. Read More
