OCEANIA/NEW ZEALAND - “Everyone is called to the mission”: Catholics in New Zealand accompanied by Saint Paul on their path towards World Mission Day

Wednesday, 15 October 2008

Wellington (Agenzia Fides) – A poster of Saint Paul, that tells the faithful “Everyone is called to the mission,” and with the verse from his Letter to the Corinthians: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Cor 9:16). With these exhortations meant to remind every Christian of the fundamental call to evangelize, Catholics in New Zealand are preparing to celebrate World Mission Day on October 19.
In honor of the occasion, the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) of New Zealand, led by Fr. Paul Shannahan, have produced and distributed posters in all the parishes and church associations, combining World Mission Day and the Year of St. Paul, taking up the words of the Holy Father, who defines St. Paul as “the greatest missionary of all times.”
The focus on the mission, on the need for individual commitment in giving spiritual and material help, will be the theme for this Sunday’s liturgy. The Bishops of New Zealand have also agreed that the offering of the faithful, taken up at the masses on World Mission Day, will be entirely given over to the PMS.
The promotion of the missions and evangelization today, even within the country itself, has been carried out by the newsletter “Mission News,” which in the missionary month of October is being distributed in parishes, schools, religious houses, and public and Catholic buildings, with the goal of encouraging the faithful, priests, religious, and families of the urgency of the mission, which corresponds to every Christian. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 15/10/2008)


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