Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Comayagua (Agenzia Fides) - The American Missionary Congress (CAM6), scheduled for next November in Puerto Rico, is getting closer and closer and the direction of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Honduras has organized a preparatory conference for this important event.
In his opening speech at the conference, which was attended by 11 Dioceses, Bishops, priests, seminarians, religious and lay people, Father Bernardino Lazo, director of the PMS of Honduras, stressed: “The missionary has the task of accompanying the “wheat” until it ripens, without being distracted by the weeds. The missionary cannot fall asleep, because he has a mission, he must be vigilant under the impulse of the Holy Spirit. The missionary knows how, when and where to take care, with patience, with vigilance”.
Brother Manuel Matute, coordinator of the Formators of the Missionaries ad gentes of the Archdiocese of San Pedro Sula, added that such an appointment is an opportunity for the pilgrim Church in Honduras to verify whether the missionary dynamism mentioned in the Aparecida document is being experienced.
The preparatory congress that took place at the end of July at the spiritual center "Saint Anthony of Padua" in Comayagua, addressed three themes, including the liberating dimension of the praying community, on which Sister Laura Sierra, secretary of the National Pastoral Commission, spoke, emphasizing the importance of the community in the life of the missionary: "It is through the community that the missionary grows - she said -. A missionary without community becomes a volunteer for social projects".
Another theme addressed was that of the identity of the community around the breaking of bread. "The pillars of every missionary are, first of all, the Eucharistic encounter in the spaces of silent prayer, which helps us to listen to the Lord; secondly, the Eucharistic identity; to bear fruit in the mission, it is necessary to value the Eucharist in daily life - explained Father Óscar del Cid, vicar of the pastoral care of the diocese of Ceiba - The Eucharist is God's response to the deepest hunger of the human heart". Finally, Bishop Luís Solé, invited to speak on the sending of witnesses of the Risen Lord, said: "If we build the Kingdom of the Lord, God will give birth to the new seed, but if we fall asleep, society and consumerism will devour us". The work concluded with the commitment to continue the work on the mission in each particular church. (EG) (Agenzia Fides, 9/8/2024)
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