Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lima (Agenzia Fides) - The Great Mission of Lima began on Monday, April 28, feast of St. Toribio de Mogrovejo, with a Solemn Mass and procession with an image and relic of the saint. Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, Archbishop of Lima, greeted those present - priests, religious, and laity - all gathered in the Cathedral, thanking them for “the effort they have made in coming here and in making this great work of the Holy Spirit come alive, i.e. the Lima Mission.”
Cardinal Cipriani recalled in his homily that the Church’s primary mission is to evangelize. “The mission is Christ at work,” he said. “It is Christ who wants to use us to work in the souls, to reach so many people who are waiting for Him, to console, instruct, and convert, because there is a deep thirst for God.” He also pointed out that “the goal of our missionary activity is to help all people to find and nurture a vital relationship with Christ, our hope.”
According to Cardinal Cipriani, with this mission, “we want to tell the Pope: ‘Here I am, send me!’ Here is the Church of Lima that recognizes you as the Vicar of Christ with love and obedience, and we wish to continue united to all the churches of Latin America in this Great Continental Mission.”
The Archbishop of Lima also mentioned in his homily that the unity of the family is needed today more than ever. “The challenges of our modern world also require a moral preparation, a correctly formed conscience. We need to respect life from its beginning until its natural end, respect the family: man and woman, the indissoluble Catholic marriage. The family, is the primary site for the new evangelization and also the privileged place of the Great Mission.” He also encouraged the faithful “to return to Sunday Mass and to the recitation of the Rosary as a family. They are not old-fashioned traditions; they have not gone out of style. Today, more than ever, the unity of the family is needed. The family that prays together, stays together,” he added.
According to the Cardinal, the Great Mission’s objective is “to proclaim with hope and joy that Christ is among us, that He desires our coherence in what we think, say, and do: this Christian coherence.” The Archbishop of Lima also mentioned some of the proposed goals for the Great Mission: “Eucharistic Adoration, contemplation of the Mysteries of the Rosary, and the Sacraments of Initiation.”
“Firmly united to Our Mother, Saint Mary, we begin today this special grace of the Great Mission of Lima. We place the Archbishop of Lima, Saint Toribio de Mogrovejo, as our patron. And as our patroness, we place the first Saint of the Americas, Saint Rose of Lima. May we walk united as brothers, full of joy, faith, and hope. We look forward to years of great work, spreading peace and joy,” he concluded. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 29/4/2008; righe 36, parole 486)
