Fides
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – Various initiatives have been launched by the Congregation for the Evangelisation of People and the Pontifical Mission Societies to publicise the MMS, Extraordinary Mission Month scheduled for October 2019, announced by Pope Francis: first of all the www.october2019.va website which intends “to promote and animate MMS, so as to contribute with its multimedia contents, to inspire all Christians to pray and reflect on missio ad gentes”, said Fr Fabrizio Meroni, Secretary General of the Pontifical Mission Union, director of CIAM (International Centre for Missionary Animation) and Fides.
The web site has several sections, first of all the Magisterium and Pontifical Mission Societies concerning the subject. Other sections include “Witnesses”, with the lives of Blessed, Saints and Martyrs of yesterday and today; “Formation”, with texts for mission animation; “Voices from the World Mondo” focussing on testimony from missionaries and PMS officials in different parts of the world.
Also available on the MMS web site a special “Guide” on the theme “Baptised and Sent: the Church of Christ on mission to the world”. The text, produced at the initiative of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of People and the Pontifical Mission Societies, a collection of contributions from many different countries, is addressed to the Christians of the world. The intention is to provide dioceses material necessary for missionary formation and animation, inspiring the creativity of our local Churches which face the challenges inherent to evangelisation starting with missio ad gentes and in the local context. The sections which make up the Guide correspond to the spiritual dimensions indicated to us by the Holy Father when he convoked the Extraordinary Mission Month: a personal encounter with Jesus Christ living in the Church, the testimony of missionary saints and martyrs, catechetical formation for mission and missionary charity.
The text will be available in English, Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese. On the web site at present there is only the Italian version of the Guide PDF, the other four languages will be put on the web by the end of the end 2018, by February 2019 the paper version should be ready .
The MMS logo, the Mission Cross with colours for all five continents, is a bright and colourful sign of Christ’s victory resurrection. The earth is transparent because the work of evangelisation knows so barriers or borders: it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. The words Baptised and Sent which accompany the image indicate two elements characteristic of every Christian: baptism and sharing the good news.
Also visible on the website, a video about the MMS, illustrating the meaning of mission today, a journey across the continents: Asia, Sri Lanka; America, Ecuador; Holy Land; America, Mexico and USA; Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda; Oceania, Australia; Asia, Japan. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 30/11/2018)