EUROPE/ITALY - Missionary Martyrs Day 2021 March 24

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - Since 1993, the day of the assassination of Saint Oscar Arnulfo Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, on March 24, 1980 while he was celebrating Mass, has been dedicated to the celebration of the Day of Prayer and Fasting in memory of the Missionaries martyrs, promoted by the Youth Movement of the Pontifical Mission Societies of Italy. For the XXIX ° Day that we will live this year, the slogan "Intertwined Lives" was chosen.
The martyr missionary in fact is a weaver of fraternity. His life intertwines his own existence with that of Christ, thus rediscovering the branches of the same vine.
"At the beginning of every mission there is a vocation that reaches the ears of those who are ready to listen, of those who have a heart ready to welcome. The voice of the Lord reaches us together with that of all peoples who suffer from abuse and injustice - explains Giovanni Rocca, National Secretary of Missio Giovani, presenting the theme. It is a call to a life of proximity that we celebrate on this occasion, the mandate that Christ has given us: to announce the Good News to the whole world. The sacrifice of the martyrs constitutes the tangible sign of the fact that the propagation of the faith does not consist in a crusade but in an encounter between cultures, peoples and religions, the total availability of oneself towards listening and reciprocal exchange, help to those in need. When hatred intervenes in these dynamics, the martyr makes his appearance in history. Martyrdom in odium fidei is the extreme consequence of a true, human and tangible faith. If we scrutinize the lives of missionary martyrs we often do not find heroic deeds but we discover gestures that overflow with hope, lived in an ordinary daily life through words that console the heart and a closeness that sustains".
Remembering the missionaries who were killed is a practice now widespread in many countries, on different dates and circumstances. Many dioceses, parishes, schools and religious institutes dedicate specific initiatives to remember their missionaries and all those who shed their blood for the Gospel.
Pope Francis often reminds us, since the beginning of his Pontificate, that martyrdom is a present reality and not an ancient episode of the past. "It is painful to remember that, at this time, there are many Christians who are suffering persecution in different parts of the world, and we must hope and pray that their tribulations will end as soon as possible. There are many: the martyrs of today are more than the martyrs of the first centuries. We express our closeness to these brothers and sisters: we are one body, and these Christians are the bleeding members of the body of Christ which is the Church" (General Audience of April 29, 2020).
The material prepared by Missio for the missionary animation of the Day includes a prayer Vigil, which becomes an occasion of thanksgiving to the Lord for the lives given by so many brothers and sisters in the world, together with fasting and solidarity with the young people of Robe, Ethiopia, within the framework of the “Computer lab project” program.
In addition, a Via Crucis: "Jesus, on the way to the cross, intertwines his life with that of men and women, who are next to him to support or judge him". Also present is a diagram for Eucharistic Adoration and a brief commentary on the Gospels for the Sundays of Lent and Easter.
This year again, Missio offers five films to give life to a Cineforum, inspired by the theme of the Day, accompanied by a sheet with some ideas for personal or group reflection, and 4 videos dedicated respectively to the story of the kidnapping of Fr. Pierluigi Maccalli, the massacre of the seminarians in Buta in Burundi, the assassination of Fr. Roberto Malgesini and finally the Apostolic Prefecture of Robe, to which the solidarity project is dedicated this year.
In view of the Day, Missio is also organizing two live Cisco Webex meetings, on March 21 and 24 at 7 pm, on poverty, inequalities and the role of missionaries. Agenzia Fides will publish a number of profiles of missionaries who have been killed in the world, in various circumstances but united in the only testimony given to the Lord and to his Gospel. (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 16/3/2021)

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