Today, we celebrate World Mission Sunday. As I have a background in serving as a missionary in different places in the world, as I am now in charge of assigning mission appeals and promoting the missions in our Diocese, World Mission Sunday has special significance to me. Indeed, Pope Francis asserts that we should have an identity as a missionary Church and that all Christians are called to be missionary in spirit. On October 19, we commemorated the feast day of St Jean de Brebeuf, St Isaac Jogues, and their Jesuit companions, who collectively are known as the North American martyrs. These missionaries traveled to the eastern part of North American in the early 17th century to bring the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to the native people of that area. Knowing that would have to endure many hardship and sufferings in order to be missionaries, they willingly and joyfully gave up their lives for the faith. Even though our circumstances are different than those Jean de Brebeuf and his companions faced in their era, bringing the message of Christ to the modern world in the context of our lived reality is also not an easy task. As we celebrate World Mission Sunday today, may we reflect upon the ways we can be missionary in spirit in our corner of the world and how we can promote the Church’s missionary efforts. Father Lincoln.
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