As we prepare for the annual celebration of World Mission Sunday it is good to remember it is about far more than only a collection.
From the USCCB:
In 1926, Pope Pius XI instituted Mission Sunday for the whole Church with the first worldwide Mission Sunday collection taking place in October 1927. The Mission Sunday collection is always taken on the next to last Sunday during the month of October. That day is celebrated in all the local Churches as the feast of catholicity and universal solidarity so Christians the world over will recognize their common responsibility with regard to the evangelization of the world.
So, what are we to do as individuals to celebrate universal solidarity and assume our responsibility for the evangelization of the world?
Pope Francis released the Message for the 2022 World Mission Day, to be celebrated on Sunday, October 23rd on the theme “You shall be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8).
Pope Francis stressed this was not spoken to an individual or a handful of people who were present immediately after the resurrection, but all of us. As the father sent Jesus, Jesus sends us.
For Mission Doctors, many respond to the direct call to pack their bags, and leave home, family, and friends behind to be witnesses in caring for the poor. Many others make their work possible.
This World Mission Sunday, Mission Doctors will present the Catholic Doctor of the Year to one such missionary, Dr. David Gaus, at the Annual Healthcare Professionals Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of The Angels. To learn more about his decades-long work in Ecuador you will find information here https://www.missiondoctors.org/cdy/
We are called to live our faith, to be witnesses, and to make the work of those who serve possible. This World Mission Sunday do support as generously as possible the missionary work around the world that is supported by this annual collection, but also remember that you too have a role in the evangelization of the world.
How will you be a witness?