EVANGELIZATION INTENTION
World Mission Day: That World Mission Day may renew within all Christian communities the joy of the Gospel and the responsibility to announce it.
In his Message for the 90th World Mission Day which will be celebrated on October 23, Pope Francis called the work of evangelization an “immense work of mercy, both spiritual and material.” He went on to say that “all of us are invited to ‘go out’ as missionary disciples, each generously offering our talents, creativity, wisdom and experience to bring the message of God’s tenderness and compassion to the entire human family. By virtue of the missionary mandate, the Church cares for those who do not know the Gospel, because she wants everyone to be saved and to experience the Lord’s love.”
This is what motivated Jesus, his disciples, St. Paul, and the Church throughout the centuries. It is what motivates us—an all-consuming desire for the salvation of every human soul. Pope Francis wrote: “As they travel through the streets of the world, the disciples of Jesus need to have a love without limits, the same measure of love that our Lord has for all people. We proclaim the most beautiful and greatest gifts that he has given us: his life and his love.”
But how can we have such “a love without limits”? We find it when we encounter Jesus in the Scriptures and the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. As the Pope wrote: “When we welcome and follow Jesus by means of the Gospel and sacraments, we can, with the help of the Holy Spirit, become merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful; we can learn to love as he loves us and make of our lives a free gift, a sign of his goodness.”
Every day, we can “make of our lives a free gift” by offering its minutes and hours for the salvation of every person. In doing this we become missionaries without even leaving home and our entire life, joined to Jesus’ perfect offering of himself on the cross and in the Eucharist, becomes a sign of merciful love in a world that desperately needs it.
Scripture
2 Corinthians 5: 14-21 “The love of Christ impels us.”
In his Message for the 90th World Mission Day which will be celebrated on October 23, Pope Francis called the work of evangelization an “immense work of mercy, both spiritual and material.” He went on to say that “all of us are invited to ‘go out’ as missionary disciples, each generously offering our talents, creativity, wisdom and experience to bring the message of God’s tenderness and compassion to the entire human family. By virtue of the missionary mandate, the Church cares for those who do not know the Gospel, because she wants everyone to be saved and to experience the Lord’s love.”
This is what motivated Jesus, his disciples, St. Paul, and the Church throughout the centuries. It is what motivates us—an all-consuming desire for the salvation of every human soul. Pope Francis wrote: “As they travel through the streets of the world, the disciples of Jesus need to have a love without limits, the same measure of love that our Lord has for all people. We proclaim the most beautiful and greatest gifts that he has given us: his life and his love.”
But how can we have such “a love without limits”? We find it when we encounter Jesus in the Scriptures and the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. As the Pope wrote: “When we welcome and follow Jesus by means of the Gospel and sacraments, we can, with the help of the Holy Spirit, become merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful; we can learn to love as he loves us and make of our lives a free gift, a sign of his goodness.”
Every day, we can “make of our lives a free gift” by offering its minutes and hours for the salvation of every person. In doing this we become missionaries without even leaving home and our entire life, joined to Jesus’ perfect offering of himself on the cross and in the Eucharist, becomes a sign of merciful love in a world that desperately needs it.
Scripture
2 Corinthians 5: 14-21 “The love of Christ impels us.”