October is mission month, and this Sunday, 22 October, the Catholic Church around the world celebrates the annual Mission Sunday Mass.
Pope Francis has chosen this year’s theme ‘Hearts on Fire, Feet on the Move’, which is inspired by the Gospel of Luke (cf 24:13 – 35) and the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus who encounter Christ. The theme salutes the women and men who commit their vocational life to service as missionaries to people around the world living in abject poverty, where hunger and poverty are omnipresent.
On Mission Sunday, the faithful are asked to contribute what they can at Mass to support missionaries during the World Mission Sunday nationwide collection. Missio Ireland, the Pope’s official charity for overseas mission in Ireland, has issued special ‘Mission Month’ packs to parishes with a focus on Calcutta. The packs are also available to download on www.missio.ie.
Earlier this month, during their Autumn General Meeting in Maynooth, the bishops expressed their deep appreciation to everyone who contributed to the 2022 mission collection of over €1.3m, raised across Ireland to support seminarians, missionary priests, sisters, brothers and catechists, on World Mission Sunday.
Archbishop Kieran O’Reilly SMA of Cashel & Emly (pictured), and chair of the Bishops’ Council for Missions, will celebrate a televised Mass for World Mission Sunday from the RTÉ studios in Dublin at 11.00am this Sunday. Preparations for this Mass are being coordinated by the three missionary organisations: Missio Ireland, Misean Cara and the Association of Missionaries and Religious Leaders in Ireland.
ENDS
