Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Florida (Agenzia Fides) – The Bishops of Uruguay, who were celebrating their Plenary Assembly of the Conference of Bishops, officially launched the Continental Mission in the country at a Mass attended by crowds of faithful, on November 9 at the Shrine of “La Virgen de los Treinta y Tres,” Patroness of Uruguay. Their message to the faithful was to “be missionaries in the world.” The Mass was presided by Bishop Martin Perez Scremini of Florida and concelebrated by the Bishops of the other 9 dioceses in the country and many priests. Also present in the ceremony were many deacons and thousands of Catholics from all over Uruguay, who came together to honor the Virgin Mary and participate in the missionary sending. As symbol of the beginning of the Mission in Uruguay, in union with the Great Continental Mission (and as has taken place in all the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean), there was a presentation of a replica of the altarpiece that Pope Benedict XVI presented to the Bishops at Aparecida. The Bishops also presented their diocesan delegates with a basket full of messages to be distributed in their communities.
The homily of the Mass and the words from the “rite” of the mission's launching were pronounced by Bishop Orlando Romero of Canelones, who was the Bishops' representative at the Third American Missionary Congress (CAM 3) that took place this past August in Quito (Ecuador), where a launching for the Continental Mission was held.
In his homily, Bishop Romero pointed out that “the mission is an intense moment, not because it has not been lived in other moments, but because it is in need of new life, renewed vigor, new methods, new forms, expressions...” He also recalled how in thinking of the mission, the focus should not only be on “what needs to be done, as urgent as it may be,” but on our intimacy and union with the Lord because it is there that the mission takes root. Thus, “there cannot be a mission without listening to the Word and this Word must be expressed by God Himself, to us. It is a word that touches upon our very nature and thus is an essential part of the life of the disciple.”
“We are invited to become disciples and missionaries,” he said. However, “discipleship is not something declared; it is something that requires time, a process, a growing awareness of the greatness of Christ that is expressed in that word, a contemplation of what God wants from us, a commitment, making it life...”
After the Mass, there was an official act of the launching of the Continental Mission. Bishop Orlando recalled the fact that this act had been carried out in other countries, showing the unity among the countries of Latin America in the Great Continental Mission. The Bishop of Canelones exhorted all the faithful to be missionaries, not only in their parishes and dioceses, but beyond. “Our country has many missionaries in Africa, Asia, and in other Latin American nations,” he said. “This missionary desire that goes beyond what we see and know, therefore, is not something foreign to us.”
“We want to be missionaries in the world, as we can support our missionaries working in other lands with our prayers,” he concluded.
In the afternoon, there was a procession held from the Park to the Cathedral in the city of Florida. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 10/11/2008)
