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

Today, we celebrate the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in body and soul to Heaven. Today —St. Bernard says—“the Virgin, full of glory, is taken up to heaven, showering the celestial beings with joy”. And he will add these precious words: “What a beautiful present the earth is today sending to heaven! With this wonderful gesture of friendship —such as giving and receiving— the human and the divine, the earthly and the heavenly, the humble and the sublime, merge into one. It is there, the most precious earthly fruit, where the best presents and the most valuable gifts come from. Taken up to heaven, the Virgin Mary will lavish her gifts on all men”.

For pictures, goto Virgin Mary Assumption Pictures

The first gift she lavishes on us is the Word, that She knew how to keep so faithfully in her heart, by making it bear fruit from the very profound and warm silence. With this Word in her interior space, while begetting in her womb the Life for all men, “Mary set out for a town in the Hills of Judah. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth” (Lk 1:39-40). Mary’s presence exults in joy, and Elizabeth says: “The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy” (Lk 1:44).

She, mostly, presents us with the gift of her commendation, her same joy made music, her Magnificat: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God my savior!…” (Lk 1:46-47). What a beautiful gift the heaven sends back to us with Mary’s song, made word of God.

In this song we find the signs to learn how the human and the divine, the earthly and the celestial blend together, while being able to react, as She does, to the gift God presents us with, in the person of his Son, through his Saint Mother: to become a gift from God to the world, and tomorrow, a gift from mankind to God, by following Mary’s example, who precedes us in this glorification which we are bound to.

Read more on Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary

- – - reflection by Fr. Josep ALEGRE Abbot of Santa Maria de Poblet