Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Caracas (Agenzia Fides) – The Archdiocese of Caracas is making intense preparations for the realization of the Continental Mission, which is “a program of intense pastoral activity to strengthen the faith and Christian life of our people, through a new evangelization effort,” said Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino, in a meeting with clergy and religious from the Archdiocese.
The purpose behind the mission is “to go out and meet all the inhabitants of Caracas, especially those who have most distanced themselves or are abandoned, in order to tell them of the Good News of Jesus Christ, that they may have life in Him, and our Archdiocese may be an evermore lively, united, and missionary Church.”
With this in mind, they will try to: promote the personal encounter with Christ through the proclamation of the Gospel and catechesis, in order to renew the faith of all Caracas' population; promote missionary awareness and activity in our Church communities to bring the Good News to those who are most distanced from the Church; strengthen the family apostolate, so as to renew family life and place emphasis on the value of the sacrament of marriage; intensify youth and vocational ministry, so as to present the message of the Gospel to the new generations and incorporate them into the Church's life and action; renew the preferential attitude towards the poor, to communicate the fact that life in Christ is a gift and a service to society and all people; develop communities, movements, and apostolic associations to form authentic disciples and missionaries of Jesus Christ in the Church and society.
The themes that will be presented over the course of the mission are: “The Truth about Jesus Christ,” “The Truth about the Church,” and “The Truth about Man.” These themes will be developed by the Archdiocesan Commission for the Mission and will serve as the basis for preparing the materials to be used over the course of the mission.
The Mission will be divided into 4 stages. The first stage will be for creating awareness (January 24, 2009 – April 11, 2009) and will be a time of intense work with the pastoral ministers, in order to make sure the information reaches them...It will also be a time of motivation, to see what is it that needs to be done and how to go about doing it. The second stage will be that of formation (April 12, 2009 to November 2009) and will seek to communicate the fact that it is an intense time of work with the current and new pastoral ministers, in regards to how to carry out the mission, what content and method to use, and the goals that should be reached. The third part is the local mission (First Sunday of Advent 2009 to Holy Week 2010), which is a strictly missionary time period, meant for specific groups of people and areas of society in Caracas. Lastly, there is the territorial mission (Easter 2010 to December 2010) which will be a strictly missionary time, directed to the various sectors of Caracan society. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 12/12/2008)
