missionary territory has changed
Parishioners serve meals each month at the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky.
American Sign Language interpreters bring the word of God to the Deaf Community every Sunday at the 11:30 am Mass.
The work of evangelization begins at home with the family church.
The penultimate (the next to last) Sunday of October is designated by the Church as World Mission Sunday. It is a day to reflect on the missionary activities of the Church and to pray for those who are actively involved in the missionary work of the Church. This is especially important during this third year of the Eucharistic Revival here in the United States, when each of us is called to become Eucharistic missionaries.
In the Great Commission, Jesus says to the Apostles and to His Church throughout the ages, “Go, 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 carry out all that I have commanded you, and know that I am with you until the end of the Age.” Here Jesus clearly teaches us that we are to be a missionary Church, that goes out to bring the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ to all of the world.
Many of the Apostles began almost immediately to fulfill that mission as they went throughout Asia Minor, Africa, Europe, and Asia (most notably, to India). Those who remained in Jerusalem and the surrounding area would go out to mission territory after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Although all were involved in missionary activity, St. Paul would become the missionary par excellence.
Christianity has always seen itself as a missionary Church, tasked to spread the message of Jesus to those who do not know Him. We see this every Sunday, as at the end of Mass we are instructed, “The Mass is ended. Go in peace.” This “go” is a sending out. We have met Jesus in His Word and in His Sacrament. We leave filled with Christ and with the Holy Spirit, and we are to take them into our homes, our workplaces, our neighborhoods, etc.
This weekend we also celebrate Laity Sunday. We are reminded that the laity are called to be part and parcel of the missionary work of the Church. Many of us were brought up to believe that America was “churched,” and that missionary territory was primarily in those areas that are called Third World countries. If that was ever accurate, it certainly isn’t now. Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis have recognized that in their teaching on the New Evangelization. The New Evangelization is an effort to re-evangelize those nations that were once considered Christian, but which have fallen away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The United States certainly falls into that category.
Each of us is sent. Some are sent to the Third World, but all are sent to our local communities to be witnesses. St. Paul teaches us that we are to be “Ambassadors for Christ.” As we do, we fulfill the missionary work of the Church.
In the Great Commission, Jesus says to the Apostles and to His Church throughout the ages, “Go, 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 carry out all that I have commanded you, and know that I am with you until the end of the Age.” Here Jesus clearly teaches us that we are to be a missionary Church, that goes out to bring the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ to all of the world.
Many of the Apostles began almost immediately to fulfill that mission as they went throughout Asia Minor, Africa, Europe, and Asia (most notably, to India). Those who remained in Jerusalem and the surrounding area would go out to mission territory after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Although all were involved in missionary activity, St. Paul would become the missionary par excellence.
Christianity has always seen itself as a missionary Church, tasked to spread the message of Jesus to those who do not know Him. We see this every Sunday, as at the end of Mass we are instructed, “The Mass is ended. Go in peace.” This “go” is a sending out. We have met Jesus in His Word and in His Sacrament. We leave filled with Christ and with the Holy Spirit, and we are to take them into our homes, our workplaces, our neighborhoods, etc.
This weekend we also celebrate Laity Sunday. We are reminded that the laity are called to be part and parcel of the missionary work of the Church. Many of us were brought up to believe that America was “churched,” and that missionary territory was primarily in those areas that are called Third World countries. If that was ever accurate, it certainly isn’t now. Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis have recognized that in their teaching on the New Evangelization. The New Evangelization is an effort to re-evangelize those nations that were once considered Christian, but which have fallen away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The United States certainly falls into that category.
Each of us is sent. Some are sent to the Third World, but all are sent to our local communities to be witnesses. St. Paul teaches us that we are to be “Ambassadors for Christ.” As we do, we fulfill the missionary work of the Church.