Homilies

JULY 31, 2011: FIL-MISSION SUNDAY

TODAY, July 31, 2011, is a special day for the Catholic Church in the Philippines. She celebrates the annual FIL-MISSION SUNDAY, a national celebration of mission. Let it be recalled that the Second Vatican Council teaches us that the Church, in her nature and essence, is missionary. The reason for existence of the Church is the proclamation of the gospel to all nations. If the Church ceases to be missionary, the Church also ceases to be Church. 

The Catholic Church in the Philippines has been faithful to fulfilling the call to mission through her primary and official missionary arm, that is, the Mission Society of the Philippines (MSP). There may be several missionary Congregations and Societies which have Filipino membership,, but there is only one Society of missionary priests founded by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to become its official representative to the universal work of mission. This missionary Society is called the MISSION SOCIETY OF THE PHILIPPINES or MSP.

It is good to have a review on the circumstances of the foundation of the MSP. The year was 1965. This year was momentous and highly significant in the life of the country’s Catholic Church because the Church at the time had celebrated her 400 years of Christianization. To mark that historic event, the bishops thought of “memorializing” this collective act of thanksgiving to God for the gift received. This MSP has then become the living monument of our continuing and constant gratitude to God for the noble gift received which we call the Christian faith. By establishing the MSP, the bishops had shown to the world that the Catholic Church in the Philippines had come of age. For four hundred years, we had been receiving missionaries from other countries. But in 1965, we changed the tide. From a mission-receiving Church, we have become a mission-sending Church. For 46 years of existence now, the MSP has served in some countries in Asia, Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America.

The purpose of the Fil-Mission Sunday celebration is to stir awareness among the Filipino faithful of their missionary vocation. If the Church is missionary, then the members must also be missionaries. You and I are missionaries., Through this celebration, the Filipino Catholics are called to take part in this noble work of mission which can take in two forms:

First is spiritual offering. We pray for the missionaries, especially the members of the MISSION SOCIETY OF THE PHILIPPINES (MSP), who, on your behalf, go out to the world in order to proclaim the message of God’s Kingdom. Why we have to pray for these MSP missionaries? Missionary life is full of challenges and difficulties. Like in our mission in Papua New Guinea, our missionaries proclaim the gospel to the villages on foot when they are on “patrol,”.which usually takes a month or even more. Most of these missions have no electricity, no drinking water, no service cars, no telephones, no internet etc. It is al life filled with isolation and loneliness. Prayers of the lay faithful would help for the perseverance of these MSP missionaries who are assigned in different countries abroad, Like St Therese of the Child Jesus, as a monk, she never went on a mission. But she prayed fervently for the missionaries because she was aware of the difficulties in missionary work. Because of her prayers for the missions, she was declared as “patroness of the missions.”

Second is material offering. The reason why the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines designated the last Sunday of July as “Fil-Mission Sunday” was for the Catholic faithful to share and to financially support the missionary endeavors of the Mission Society of the Philippines. In most of the Churches today, envelopes are passed around or second collections are organized, for the purpose of supporting the missionary work of the MSP priests. The gospel today stresses the importance of sharing. The sharing is one of the important acts of Jesus. He shared the bread which led to the satisfaction of the hungry crowd. In the same way, the amount you share would contribute to the satisfaction of people who are hungry for the Word of God, the gospel and Christ. What we will do with your financial support? We will use this for the training and formation of seminarians, for the support of our missionaries, and for missions that are not self-sufficient.

Hence, please be more generous today. Please share some of your material resources for the missionary work of the Church, in general, and for the MSP, in particular. Whatever amount you give, that is already your noble contribution for the work of mission. The MSP deserves your support because the MSP missionaries represent the Filipino Catholics to the world. The MSP missionaries bring with them the faith of the Filipinos and share it with others.

HAPPY FIL-MISSION SUNDAY TO ONE AND ALL! 

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