Father’s Column 8/30

Posted on August 30, 2015 View all news

Laudetur Jesus Christus!
Gelobt sei Jesus Christus!
Praised be Jesus Christ!

Part of the mission entrusted by Christ to the Church is the evangelization of the peoples of the world. In the Gospel, Christ instructed the Apostles to go forth and baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Since that Pentecost Sunday, the Church has remained faithful to this command – first with the Apostles, then the Bishops, and also the priests.

When it comes to the evangelization of areas that were not traditionally Christian, the Church has sent priests, brothers, and nuns specifically trained for this purpose. Not only has the Church sought to spiritually nourish those who had not yet heard of the name of Christ, but she has also strove to nourish them physically through the building of hospitals, schools, and other institutions that help make a stable society. For many regions of the world, the Church has stood as that stable institution that helps to bring the peace and charity that only Christ can give.

Today we have with us a priest who lives in a missionary society, a place where the Church seeks to bring hope and light. It is our duty as Catholics to support the missionary activity of the Church, because this is the command of Christ. We care for all people because it is in caring for them that we are able to see Christ. We care for all people because it is in caring for them that we care for the entire Church.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen put it this way: “If there are certain members of Christ’s society who are thirsty, hungry or in need—it is we the whole body, who are thirsty, hungry and needy, for we are members one of another in the body of Christ. Their needs, their wants, are not theirs but ours, and no charity can call itself Christian unless is realizes this. And so, the sufferings of the poor weak members of the mystical body are our sufferings, and the sufferings of the body are the sufferings of Christ.”

I ask you to please be generous to this Mission Appeal. Our charity is not an end in itself, but is a means to help others experience the genorsity that God has given to us.

May God Bless you in the coming week!

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