“HERE AM I send me” (Isaiah 6:8) is the theme for Mission Sunday 2020, celebrated today, October 18. When releasing his annual message for the Mission Sunday, Pope Francis recalled his moment of prayer in an empty St. Peter’s Square on March 27 amidst the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic scare, particularly in Italy, and said, “even in the disorientation and fear provoked by the current international crisis, the Lord continues to ask: ‘Whom shall I send?’.” He released his message on Pentecost Sunday.
Mission Sunday is an invitation to step out of ourselves for love of God and neighbour through “service and intercessory prayer,” he wrote in his message. Perhaps, at the beginning of this month, the Pope has offered a total expansion of this theme with his latest gift to all the brothers and sisters: Fratelli Tutti: On Fraternity and Social Friendship. The suffering caused by the pandemic should spur Catholics to serve God and neighbour.
Pope Francis wrote in his m Mission Sunday message: “In this year marked by the suffering and challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic, the missionary journey of the whole Church continues in light of the words found in the account of the calling of the prophet Isaiah: ‘Here am I, send me.’ This is the ever new response to the Lord’s question: ‘Whom shall I send?’.” This invitation from God’s merciful heart challenges both the Church and humanity as a whole in the current world crisis.
Many of us might ask ourselves, what shall I do to celebrate this Mission Sunday? How do I respond to this call from the Lord? A simple suggestion could be to pick up the text of the encyclical! It’s a perfect guideline for anyone who desires to be an apostle of Christ; to be the good Samaritan for the brethren stranded on the wayside.
At baptism, we are welcomed into the life of the Church and are called to share in its mission to be a sign of unity and salvation for all humanity. This missionary vocation becomes impossible without our empathy and love for one another. As described by Pope St. 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” (Redemptoris Missio #81).
Pope Francis said that the most important challenge for the Church’s mission right now is to discern the plan of God for us at this time of pandemic. Due to fear and stigma surrounding the dangers of infection, many people are left to die alone, many have lost their jobs with the necessity of social distancing or staying at home.
The world’s economists predict the universe is heading towards the worst hunger and poverty situation and more people will die of hunger than the virus in the coming years.
A Bloomberg report fears that as many as 132 million more people than previously projected could go hungry in 2020 and this year’s gain may be more than triple any increase this century. The pandemic is upending food supply chains, crippling economies and eroding consumer purchasing power. “In 2120, we’ll still be talking about this crisis.”
That should spend chills down our spines.
The Church has an urgent mission at hand. All the people of God are invited “to rediscover that we need social relationships as well as our communal relationship with God,” said the pope.
God awaits our generous and convincing response: “Here am I, send me!” Jose
