By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
The primary mission of the Church is to preach the Gospel with its invitation to encounter God and to live in communion with the Father through his Son, Jesus Christ, in the gift of the Holy Spirit.
In Jesus’ parable of the “Wedding Banquet” (Matthew 22: 1-19), the king sends out his servants “to go and invite everyone to the banquet”. God wants everyone to be saved and to enter into the “Messianic Banquet” of his kingdom, a banquet we anticipate at each celebration of the Holy Eucharist. The Church’s mission to make disciples of all nations extends to all corners of the world, inviting every person to experience the joy of the Gospel.
To “invite everyone to the banquet” is our mission. And in support of this mission, we observe World Mission Sunday, every third Sunday of October, this year on October 19 and 20.
Since 1926, at Masses throughout the world a special collection is taken up to support the work of The Pontifical Mission Societies (TPMS), a worldwide network at the service of the Pope that supports the missions and the Young Churches with prayer and charity. These include the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, the Missionary Childhood Association (MCA), and the Missionary Union of Priests and Religious.
But even before that, beginning in 1822, Blessed Pauline Jaricot inspired thousands to pray daily and to donate a penny a week for the missions—territories where the Church was young, poor, suffering persecution or lacking in human or material resources.
These pennies laid the foundation for many churches and seminaries even in this country. For example, pennies from the Pontifical Mission Societies supported the growing Catholic Church in the United States until 1908, when the United States was no longer considered a mission territory. The World Mission Sunday collection continues to be a lifeline for missionaries throughout the world across Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Latin America.
Some people might take umbrage at the seemingly constant appeals for money that are made in our churches every Sunday, but as is frequently noted in the business world: “No margin, no mission”. Your financial support of the Pontifical Mission Societies provides the margin that allows the mission of the Church to go forward.
Catholics here in the Archdiocese have a legacy of great generosity to the missions. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Catholics from this Archdiocese contributed nearly one million dollars to assist the Catholic Church there to continue serving its people by providing humanitarian assistance and help to rebuild necessary infrastructure for health care, education and worship. Each year, our parishes welcome priests and religious from Cuba and Haiti but also from throughout Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean to make “mission appeals.”
Yes, through these efforts and through World Mission Sunday in support of the Pontifical Mission Societies, you provide the “margin” that enables the “mission” of “inviting everyone to the banquet” to continue. When you give, you are not just donating money—you are giving hope. You are helping to build churches, train seminarians, and provide for the spiritual and physical needs of communities like those in Haiti and elsewhere. I have seen firsthand the impact of your generosity, and I ask that you continue to support the work of the Pontifical Mission Societies.
Please be generous so that Christ, the light of the nations, may be known and witnessed to by word and deed, and the Church, his mystical Body, may be built up. If you missed the collection in your parish, you could donate online by clicking here.
The Pontifical Mission Societies
The Pontifical Mission Societies (TPMS) are a worldwide network at the service of the Pope that supports the missions and the Young Churches with prayer and charity. These include the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, the Missionary Childhood Association (MCA) and the Missionary Union of Priests and Religious.
