This Sunday, on the 23rd of October, we are celebrating the 85th Mission Sunday. Annually, World Mission Sunday is celebrated on the last but one Sunday of October. This Sunday is set aside to think about our Mission to the world and is a reminder to us as to who we are and what we have to do.

The mission comes directly from Jesus to his disciples to go out to the whole world and proclaim the gospel to all creation. He told them to go everywhere to preach the word of God, to heal and Baptize people in his name. This Sunday is an important day in the life of the Church because it teaches how to sacrifice and to give their share as an offering made to God, for the service of the missions of the world.

The theme of this year’s celebration is, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Pope Benedict opened his remarks by emphasizing that the “announcement of the Gospel is destined for everyone.” He added that the Church exists to evangelize. Her activity, in conformity with the word of Christ and under the influence of His grace and charity, becomes fully and truly present in all individuals and all people in order to lead them to faith in Christ. The task of spreading the Gospel, then, has lost none of its urgency today. But the Church cannot “rest easy” at the thought that “there are people who still do not know Christ, who have not yet heard His message of salvation.”

Every year the needs of the Catholic Church in the Missions grow – as new dioceses are formed, as new seminaries are opened because of the growing number of young men hearing Christ’s call to follow Him as priests, as areas devastated by war or natural disaster are rebuilt, and as other areas, long suppressed, are opening up to hear the message of Christ and His Church. That is why the involvement and commitment of Catholics from around the world is so urgently needed. Offerings from Catholics in the United States, on World Mission Sunday and throughout the year, are combined with offerings to the Propagation of the Faith worldwide.

As described by Pope John Paul II, World Mission Sunday is “an important day in the life of the Church because it teaches how to give: as an offering made to God, in the Eucharistic celebration and for all the missions of the world”.

Find more on World Mission Sunday

As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Are you ready for the mission?

Today, September 15, we have the feast of our lady of sorrows.

Devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady has its roots in Sacred Scripture and in Christian piety, which always associates the Blessed Mother with her suffering Son. Today’s feast was introduced by the Servites in order to intensify devotion to Our Lady’s Sorrows.

History of the feast of our lady of sorrows

This feast dates back to the 12th century. It was especially promoted by the Cistercians and the Servites, so much so that in the 14th and 15th centuries it was widely celebrated throughout the Catholic Church. In 1482 the feast was added to the Missal under the title of “Our Lady of Compassion.” Pope Benedict XIII added it to the Roman Calendar in 1727 on the Friday before Palm Sunday. In 1913, Pope Pius X fixed the date on September 15. The title “Our Lady of Sorrows” focuses on Mary’s intense suffering during the passion and death of Christ. “The Seven Dolors,” the title by which it was celebrated in the 17th century, referred to the seven swords that pierced the Heart of Mary. The feast is like an octave for the birthday of Our Lady on September 8th. — Excerpted from Our Lady of Sorrows by Fr. Paul Haffner (Inside the Vatican, September 2004)

About the feast

This feast is dedicated to the spiritual martyrdom of Mary, Mother of God, and her compassion with the sufferings of her Divine Son, Jesus. In her suffering as co-redeemer, she reminds us of the tremendous evil of sin and shows us the way of true repentance. May the numerous tears of the Mother of God be conducive to our salvation; with which tears Thou, O God, art able to wash away the sins of the whole world.

Seven sorrows of Mary

As Mary stood at the foot of the Cross on which Jesus hung, the sword of sorrow Simeon had foretold pierced her soul. Below are the seven sorrows of Mary:

1. The prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35)
2. The flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15)
3. Loss of the Child Jesus for three days (Luke 2:41-50)
4. Mary meets Jesus on his way to Calvary (Luke 23:27-31; John 19:17)
5. Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (John 19:25-30)
6. The body of Jesus being taken from the Cross (Psalm 130; Luke 23:50-54; John 19:31-37)
7. The burial of Jesus (Isaiah 53:8; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42; Mark 15:40-47)

Symbols

heart pierced with a sword;
heart pierced by seven swords;
winged heart pierced with a sword;
flowers: red rose, iris (meaning: “sword-lily”), cyclamen.

The Virgin Mary, who believed in the word of the Lord, did not lose her faith in God when she saw her Son rejected, abused and crucified. Rather she remained beside Jesus, suffering and praying, until the end. And she saw the radiant dawn of His Resurrection. Let us learn from her to witness to our faith with a life of humble service, ready to personally pay the price of staying faithful to the Gospel of love and truth, certain that nothing that we do will be lost. — Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus – September 13, 2009

We celebrate today the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

Download Feast of The Cross slideshow

In Numbers 21:5-9, we find that the people of Israel were afflicted with serpents in the wilderness because of their sin. God instructed Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” The bronze serpent points to the cross of Christ which defeats sin and death and obtains everlasting life for those who believe.

The result of Jesus “being lifted up on the cross” and His rising and exaltation to the Father’s right hand in heaven, is our “new birth in the Spirit” and adoption as sons and daughters of God. God not only redeems us, but He fills us with his own divine life and power that we might share in His glory.

St. Paul speaks often about the cross in his letters. He says that his only boast is in the cross of Jesus. He frequently reminds us that there is no work we do that earns us redemption. Rather, through the cross, God has done the work of uniting Jews and Gentiles. He preached that God had nailed our sins and their resulting guilt to the cross; when Jesus died on the cross so did our guilt.

The mystery Paul preached is that it was the very instrument that put Jesus to death that was also the means of our new life. What we could not do, God did. Paul concluded that we have reason to exult because the power of sin and death are conquered through the cross.

Jesus said in the Gospel of John: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that he who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus came to this world to help us through life, to teach us how to truly live. By becoming human like us, He showed us it can be done. He wants to have a relationship with us, to dwell within us. Paul also told us today that Jesus emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, being human in likeness; He humbled Himself, being obedient even to death for us.

I asked myself a question during my reflection on the readings: How do these teachings fit into the picture of life: denying ourselves, losing our lives, and following the crucified One? Well, God wants us to love. Because that is God’s purpose for us, He builds it into our nature. We want to love and we feel terrible if we don’t love.

Now anybody who has ever loved knows that it costs, but they still want to do it. They want to give things to those they love, to do things for them. They help them bear their burdens. They stick with them through difficult times. It hurts. That is the denying of self, the losing of life.

Sr. Marsha Sinetar said in an article: “If your love is broad and deep so that, for example, you want to change the system to help those who are being squashed by it, you might get threatened, beat up, or killed.” It happened to persons like Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and Jesus of Nazareth.

This is all for love, for relationship: we are all called to this cross. The cross of Jesus gives us many things to reflect on: pain, suffering, sacrifice; but most importantly, justice, humility, and love.

Read more at Triumph of The Holy Cross – September 14