AMERICA/PERU - “Stay with us, Lord,” is the theme of the Great Mission launched on September 24 in Piura: “May Saint Paul help us to become convincing witnesses of the love of God, willing to live, work, suffer, and die for Christ and His Church.”

Piura (Agenzia Fides) – In a Mass in honor of Our Lady of Ransom attended by thousands of people, held on September 24, the Great Mission of the Archdiocese of Piura was launched, with the theme: “Stay with us, Lord.” The Holy Mass was presided by Archbishop Jose Antonio Eguren Anselmi, SCV and concelebrated by a large number of priests from the Archdiocese. According to the Archbishop, the Mission “hopes to take the name and person of the Lord to the hearts and lives of all Piura’s people, so that all may find in Christ their Way, Truth, and Life (cf. Jn. 14:6). Only in this manner will our people truly have life in Him!”
Archbishop Jose Antonio Eguren, along with all the Catholic faithful gathered at the Shrine of Our Lady of Ransom (nicknamed “Mama Mechita”), performed the act of the Archdiocese’s dedication to the Great Mission. Later, there was a festival, featuring folk dances.
The Archbishop mentioned in a document he issued on the Mission, that although there are many challenges in our lives nowadays, in the life of the family, education, the workplace, religion, “we are also aware of the great treasure we have in our faith and the religious devotion of our people who have remained Catholic in spite of the problems and difficulties.” And he explained his conviction that just as the Holy Spirit has done in the past, “He will show the missionaries of today where to go, what to say, and how to say it.” For the Archbishop, this is the “legacy left behind by the our great saints who were full of apostolic zeal” and who knew how to “take up this task of evangelization with fervor.” “May Saint Paul, whose Jubilee Year we are celebrating and in which we are launching our Great Mission, help us to be convincing witnesses of God’s love, willing to live, work, suffer, and die for Christ and His Church,” said the Archbishop, in concluding his statement. He explained that the mission would have “an initial time of intense integral faith formation and later missionary visits to bring the warmth of the Gospel to our homes, schools, and workplaces. We hope to conclude in 2010, with the great Archdiocesan Eucharistic Congress, so as to testify that “the Holy Eucharist contains the entire spiritual wealth of the Church, that is to say, Christ Himself, our Paschal Lamb and Bread of Life, who gives His life for mankind, through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
According to the program scheduled for November, there will be “Missionary Schools” on a local level, for 6 weeks. In January 2009, the Parish Schools begin, and on April 12, 2009, Easter Sunday, will mark the beginning the direct carrying out of the Great Mission.
Among the pastoral priorities during the Mission are: encouraging people to make recourse to the Sacraments, especially Baptism, Eucharist, and Confession; liturgical renewal; Biblical pastoral service; Catechesis; family apostolate; promotion and defense of life; youth ministry; vocational ministry; evangelization of the culture, with special emphasis on the area of Catholic Education and Social-Pastoral. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 26/9/2008)