MISSION SUNDAY

MISSION SUNDAY 

Good evening/morning everyone, I am so happy to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass. Our special welcome to all our parishioners, visitors and everyone here today. 

Once there was a little boy called ODD. Everyone made fun of him at school, calling him odd but the boy wasn’t worried about it at all. Then he moved on with his life getting a good job and making good money and so on. But his name always bothered him, so he said to his family, “when I die, do not write my name on the tombstone, just leave it empty”.  And when he died, the family put a big tombstone without any name and hundreds and hundreds of people came to the cemetery every day and everyone who looked at the empty tombstone said, “That is odd”. 

Once a missionary went to a distant country to preach the Good News of Christ our Lord and as he was walking with his guide to the village, he asked about the people, their culture and language and so on and then he looked at the guide and said, “What about cannibals? I heard you still have cannibals in the village”. The guide began to laugh and laugh and said, “You know, Father, we don’t have any cannibal at all because we ate the last one yesterday”. 

Today the Holy Catholic Church celebrates Mission Sunday. This Sunday, we are called to pray for all the missionaries around the world, we are called to support them, and we are called to become missionaries at home and around the world. 

Catholic Church by her very nature is Missional church. She has to keep on moving preaching the Good News of Christ our Lord to all and that is why Christ our Lord before going to heaven gave a new mandate to His apostles saying, “Therefore go everywhere preach the Good news and baptized them all in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit”. 

Christ our Lord with His disciples went everywhere preaching and healing and then asked His disciples to do the same. It’s because the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few and therefore we have to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send more laborers into His vineyard.  

In those days, missionaries and lay people went to Africa and other Asian countries to preach the Good News and now the time is completely changed. Missionaries from other countries are coming here to preach the Good News. And you are called not to go to different countries to be missionaries but asked to be missionary at home. 

Once when we talked about God, everyone knew about the God who created heaven and earth, the God who created us in His own image and likeness. But today, when we talk about God, people began to think about divine energy, nature, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist gods. Things are changing so fast. 

Once when we talked about the Good News, everyone knew about Christ Jesus and how he by dying on the cross destroyed death and by rising restored life, but now Good news is so different and so many people are not aware of the preaching, healing and miracles of Christ our Lord. 

Once when we talked about Church, they knew about Catholic and protestant churches and they knew the difference too. But today church is becoming more and more being used loosely.  

It’s not because there are strangers living among us; it’s not because there are non-believers living among us, it’s because our own family members and friends are refusing to practice their faith. They have faith, but they don’t have time and they have faith, but they don’t have hope. 

Today you are called to become missionaries not in a foreign land but at your own home. You are called to inspire them with your words and actions. There is a deep longing in every one of us to know and experience love and kindness. There is a longing to find peace, a permanent peace and that love, and kindness and that permanent peace can be found in Christ and Christ alone.  

The people who are outside of the church, I mean, your grandparents, your parents and your children need missionaries, yes, they need you. Once they come to know that you are there for them to serv and not to be served, they will know not you but the one whom you love the most, Christ our Lord. 

So, friends in Christ Jesus, as we pray and support Missionaries around the world, let us become missionaries at home and help your own family members to kow Christ who is love. Amen.