The theme of Mission Sunday this year is “Growing in Faith”. It is a time when we join in solidarity with the Holy Father and all missionaries throughout the world, as we celebrate our growing in faith in the Risen Lord who gives his life to us in the Eucharist. Our faith grows when we spend time with the Lord. Spending time with Jesus as we would with any friend helps us build a close and personal relationship with him. We come to understand the depth of his love for us and trust in him completely, which deepens our faith and leads us to mission because when we truly experience the joy of knowing Christ and being loved by him we want to share this joy with others.
As Christians we are all missionaries because Christ gives us a responsibility through the Church to build the kingdom of God. We can each further the mission of Christ in our world today by being witnesses of love and compassion to others, especially the poor, marginalised and vulnerable. Jesus set out the criteria for being a true missionary, and his teaching remains steadfast today. Just as he placed himself on the side of the weak and vulnerable we are invited to do likewise. It is the small and often invisible things we do for others which distinguish us as true missionaries or followers of Christ.
Our ‘mission’ is to love, a journey that begins in our own hearts. We can look to the example of Saint Therese of Lisieux, patron of the missions. Although she never actually went on mission herself – spending most of her life in the enclosed Carmelite convent, she had a special love of the missions. Through her life of prayer and service to God she interceded in total confidence and love for the multitude of those who do not know Christ, bringing them to Him. We remember that it is through the little things that we can build the kingdom of God. The Gospel challenges us to love radically and be missionary in action, heart and mind. We can embrace our missionary identity more fully by responding in generosity and love with a renewed yes to Christ; witnessing to his love for us by our faithfulness in living out the message of the Gospel, and by the example of our lives.
