Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lima (Agenzia Fides) - "All the baptized are called to mission. To proclaim the Gospel and bear witness to the word of God. The missionary month is a special time to invite us to reflect on the call of the Lord: the theme chosen this year by the Pope for World Mission Day 'It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard', is an engaging and demanding response, which continues today and throughout life".
This was declared to Fides by Father Victor Livori, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) of Peru, recalling how the call to evangelization is not "limited to just one month a year", that of October, but is a perennial responsibility of every baptized.
Father Victor refers to the growing role of the laity and speaks of the most important challenges for the Church in the future: "All Christians are invited to celebrate and give thanks for the mission, but more particularly, to pray for their brothers and sisters who live in the poorest dioceses on earth; and to live solidarity by participating in a unique research organized in all the churches of the world". The priest reports that in the Catholic community in Peru missionary October and preparation for World Mission Day are being lived with the recitation of the missionary Rosary enriched with meditations by Pope Francis. And he mentions the celebration of the special "Novena to the Lord of Miracles" (Señor de los Milagros), a festival that is celebrated on the last Sunday of October, with great devotion among the Peruvian people.
According to the National Director, the role of the PMS within the Catholic community needs to be re-evaluated: "A deeper immersion in people's real life will do good", he says. "It is necessary to be vigilant and try to reintegrate the capillarity of the action and contacts of the PMS in its intertwining with the ecclesial network. Only by favoring these conditions - he continues - can we escape the trap of abstraction. Therefore, it is necessary to respond to real questions and needs, rather than formulating and multiplying proposals".
"The Missionary Societies - recalls Fr. Livori - arise spontaneously from the missionary fervor expressed by the faith of the baptized. From their foundation until today, they have continued walking along two always parallel paths which, in their simplicity, have always been familiar to the heart of the People of God: the way of prayer and that of charity. The Pontifical Mission Societies - he concludes - are an instrument at the service of the mission in the particular Churches, within the horizon of the mission of the Church which has always embraced the whole world". (ES) (Agenzia Fides, 22/10/2021)
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