MISSION SUNDAY
This Sunday we are celebrating the Missionary effort of the Church in the glare of the Covid19 and all the restrictions that it has brought to us. For all of us who live in Northern Ireland we are beginning another period of lockdown which they are calling a circuit breaker. At this time we should be asking ourselves what is our mission in regard to all that is happening around us these days and how do we support one another as well as all those out there who are bringing the faith to faraway places, places where the COVID 19 pandemic could be a lot worse than it is here.
God is always calling people to come and follow him and share his mission. Mission is very much part of Christian tradition. Here in Ireland we have St. Patrick who was a missionary to the Irish People every place will have examples of those who brought the faith to their own lands. Each of us are baptized into Christ’s mission to bring his light and joy into the world where we are as well as other places. On World Mission Sunday, we renew and celebrate our calling to be missionary disciples. We join with many people around the world to support the missionary church wherever it is being planted and taking root.
We are especially mindful of the new churches or the little flocks of Jesus letting their light shine in remote and distant lands. The people of god are challenged to witness to Christ in those places by their life of faith, hope and love and we in our turn are challenged to support them by our prayers and other forms of practical support. God wants all of us to experience his saving presence in our lives will we accept the invitation to join in God’s mission? The great Irish missionary tradition is not just the fruit of great missionaries, but of humble people at home who gave and are giving generously to support the missions through the missionary Orders and other lay led organisations such as the Apostolic Work or Viatores Christi to name but a few. Christian discipleship and missionary endeavour which we celebrate today are alive and active and there is much work out there for everyone to do especially during these days of crisis in the wake of COVID19. This type of service should continue in the Church wherever we are when that happens we will be a truly missionary people bringing the presence of God to other people lives. To be servant in the way that Jesus was means that we should live in complete trust that God loves us and this will help us to pass his love on to others in an ever changing world. We pray that the Lord of the harvest will continue to inspire many people to join the missionary orders as well as the lay missionary associations so that the love of God will be passed on to each generation in its turn.
Fullerton T 