What is World Mission Sunday?
Each year, on the second-to-last Sunday of October, Catholics around the world unite in celebration of World Mission Sunday – a day of prayer, reflection, and financial support for the Church’s missionary work in 1,124 mission territories. These are regions where the Church is still young, growing, and often facing poverty, conflict, or persecution. World Mission Sunday is not just the occasion of another second collection. It is the one Sunday when the entire Catholic Church – every parish, in every country – comes together to pray for and support the missionary efforts of the Church through The Society for the Propagation of the Faith, one of the four Pontifical Mission Societies.
Why does World Mission Sunday matter?
World Mission Sunday is a visible sign of Catholic communion and solidarity. It is our opportunity to respond to Christ’s Great Commission: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). The collection taken up on this Sunday supports: the formation of seminarians and future religious sisters and brothers; the education of children in Catholic schools; healthcare and pastoral care in remote and underserved regions; the training of catechists and lay leaders; the construction of churches, chapels, schools and mission centers. When we give, we are not simply making a donation – we are participating in a spiritual and missionary act of love, sustaining the Church where it cannot yet sustain itself. And when we pray for the missions, especially during World Mission Month, we are united with those bringing Christ’s hope to the peripheries of the world. In this year in which we are celebrating the 1700th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea and the formulation of the Creed we profess together as a family each Sunday, we cannot help but ponder how each of the four marks of the Church has a missionary thrust to it. We are one, united with our brothers and sisters throughout the world; holy, seeking to bring Christ and the means of holiness to everyone; catholic, meaning universal and interested in everyone everywhere; and apostolic, not just built on the apostles but missionary by nature. We are therefore, in one sense, never more Catholic than when we are living out Christ’s command to go and teach all nations, sharing the treasure of our faith in Jesus. Every October is an opportunity for us to be renewed in our personal and ecclesial missionary identity.
Pink envelopes can be found in the gathering area. Thank you for your support and generosity.