Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Buenos Aires (Agenzia Fides) – The Church in Argentina will be celebrating World Missions Day this coming Sunday, October 12, as a sign of brotherhood and universal solidarity and as a central activity during missionary October, the world collection for the missions. “In missionary October, prayer and material help respond to the needs of so many people on this earth. Priests, religious, and laity that serve the poorest of the poor in various parts of the globe are in need of means to as to make Jesus known, not only with the word, but also with concrete commitment to the promotion of the human person that accompanies each mission,” says Sr. Mariel Robledo, National Secretary of the Propagation of the Faith in Argentina in the presentation letter for the collection.
The theme for World Missions Day in Argentina this year is “Giving of ourselves sets us free.” According to Fr. Osvaldo Pablo Leone, National Director of the PMS in Argentina, this theme “calls us together and challenges us at the same time.” “It is almost a prayer that, if we stop and reflect a moment, flows from the contemplation of the reality of so many of our brothers that suffer hunger for love, for bread, for justice, for God, for generosity.” Thus, he reminds all baptized that it is up to them “to learn to have the same sensibilities as Jesus, as the great missionary Saint Paul reminds us,” Thus entering into “the consequences of a love that implies commitment, but that if we assume the responsibility, makes us great contributors through our actions and attitudes, in building a society without death: death that comes in the form of injustices that lead to hunger and solitude for all, that creates a society of people who are homeless, without an education, without health, without voice, and without love.” Moreover, when we give of ourselves, we “take out the best we have in us, placing our capacity to love beyond our selfishness and personal interests. This frees us from the burden that sometimes weighs on our hearts and that is not similar in any way to the heart of Jesus, which is full of compassion, love, and self-giving to others, especially to our brother who suffers most.”
“Giving of ourselves sets us free” allows us to come out of ourselves and see the world with new eyes, without barriers; it leads us to share our experience of God’s love for us, this love which is not our own, but rather is there so that we share it with others, because we have received it freely,” the National Director concluded.
The PMS in Argentina has proposed an initiative in the parishes, entitled an “historical moment,” similar to an Advent wreath, in that every Sunday in October, a new sign will be added, reflecting on the missionary vocation of every baptized person. This year, we are especially focusing on the figure of Saint Paul, as missionary model.
In addition, the country is doing a chain of prayer for the mission from October 1 with the Missionary Rosary that will be prayed continuously until October 31. Each diocese has been assigned one day of the month to pray it for 24 hours in a row. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 9/10/2008)
