Love Is Our Mission

Love Is Our Mission
Homily for October 18, 2015    Twenty-ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time - B
World Missions Sunday
by Dcn. Bob Bonomi

The theme of Pope Francis’ recent visit to the United States was, “Love Is Our Mission”, and what a great message for us today as we celebrate World Missions Sunday.  Created by Pope Pius XI in 1926 as a day of prayer for missionary work around the world, World Missions Sunday is, as Pope St. John Paul II said on the occasion of its anniversary in 1992, a day to make a “renewed commitment to everyone’s responsibility for the spread of the Gospel message.”  
 
And it is no small task.  Did you know that according to recent statistics released by the Vatican, there are over 7.1 Billion people in the world.  7.1 BILLION.  Of those, about 2.2 Billion are Christians, and over half of those, 1.25 BILLION, are Catholic – or at least they claim to be.  That’s over 17% of the WORLD population. And that is an increase of 25.3 MILLION Catholics from last year!
 
That’s a lot of people.  That’s a lot of Catholics. Yet that leaves a lot of people who have not heard or accepted the message of the Gospel.
 
And we all have the same mission – the mission of Love.
 
In his message for this World Missions Sunday, Pope Francis says that “since Christ’s entire existence had a missionary character, so too, all those who follow him closely must possess this missionary quality.”
 
He further states that “Those who follow Christ cannot fail to be missionaries, for they know that Jesus “walks with them, speaks to them, breathes with them.” 
 
But it isn’t easy being a missionary, is it?
 
In today’s Gospel from St. Mark, we pick up right after Jesus has told his disciples for the THIRD time that they all were going to Jerusalem where Jesus was going to be turned over to the authorities, mocked, tortured and killed.  Yet James and John still thought that they were going to be part of a new order that would be one of earthly glory and honor, and they wanted to be right there in the thick of it, when Jesus came into glory, one on his right, and the other on his left.
 
Jesus challenges them: Can you drink of the cup from which I drink?  Can you accept the baptism of which I will be baptized?  Will you be missionaries like me?
They answer YES, but without fully understanding what it was going to mean. The Glory of Jesus would be revealed when he was lifted up on the cross; the place of “honor” on his left and right was reserved for two thieves.
 
Yet after it became clear that after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension that His mission had to be carried on, Jesus’ disciples did not shrink from it.  They embraced it, and the result was a world set on fire with the faith of Christ.
 
Pope Francis continues in his message with an appeal to us, especially to those who are capable of courageous witness and generous deeds, to proclaim the Good News of the Gospels even when the message is countercultural: “Do not allow others to rob you of the ideal of a true mission, of following Jesus through the total gift of yourself.”  In the full range of the Church’s missionary activity, all the faithful are called to live their baptismal commitment to the fullest, in accordance with the personal situation of each.
 
So, do not be afraid to embrace the mission of the Church. Pope Francis concludes his message with an exhortation for us all:  Dear brothers and sisters, a true missionary is PASSIONATE for the Gospel.  Saint Paul in his letter to the Corinthians said: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!”  The Gospel is the source of joy, liberation and salvation for all men and women.”
 
There are many ways that we can give witness to our faith in God.  Each of us has been uniquely created by God and entrusted with gifts for the good of all people on earth.  We have a purpose in life.  We have a mission.  And as St. Catherine of Sienna said, “Be who God created you to be and you will set the world on fire.”
 
I’d like to close with a prayer to help us be better missionaries: Lord you left your Mother in our midst that she might accompany us. May she take care of us and protect us on our journey, in our hearts, in our faith. May she make us disciples like herself, missionaries like herself. May she teach us to go out onto the streets. May she teach us to step outside ourselves.  May she, by her meekness, by her peace, show us the way.  Amen.
 
Let us go and proclaim the Gospel with our lives!