By Father Paul Kam Po-wai
The late Pope Francis prepared the message for this year’s World Mission Day during the Solemnity of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle on January 25. The heart of the message is “hope,” with the theme, “Missionaries of Hope Among all Peoples”. The late pope emphasises that the fundamental mission of every Christian, and indeed the entire Church, is to follow in the footsteps of Christ and to be ambassadors and creators of hope.
We are invited to put into practice the good works mentioned in the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee Year [7-15] and to be filled with hope, and be willing to share this hope with others—particularly those who are poorest, weakest, sick, elderly, and marginalised by a materialistic and consumerist society.
This year, our diocese’s Mission Sunday celebration will be held from October 18 to 19, from 6.30pm to 8.30pm at the MacPherson Stadium in Mong Kok, under the theme, “Peace Be with You” [John 20:26]. It will take the form of a musical evangelisation meeting, featuring testimonies, praise and worship, and blessings. The evening of the 18th will focus on students, young people, and tertiary students, while the evening of the 19th will be for parish communities.
For the testimony segment, we have invited various friends, including young people, the sick, families, the elderly, and caregivers, to share their stories of hope, conveying the message of “hope” and “peace” to those in attendance.
One of the key purposes of this musical evangelisation meeting is to awaken the spirit of evangelisation among the faithful, inviting each person to bring at least one non-believer to the event.
MacPherson Stadium can accommodate over twelve hundred people. If the faithful truly respond to this invitation and both gatherings are full, we can expect at least twelve hundred non-believers to be present; and if all these individuals are touched and desire to know Jesus, what a beautiful thing that would be!
Even if not everyone is moved, the faithful would still bear wonderful witness having experienced a beautiful evangelisation journey. This involves the experience of actively inviting, introducing and explaining the purpose of this musical evangelisation meeting, and then accompanying and walking alongside their friends who do not know the faith, and sharing and experiencing together.
In reality, active invitation, introduction and explanation, accompaniment, and shared experiences are all vital elements of evangelisation. Certainly, the mission does not stop at bringing friends to this gathering. Regardless of the participants’ experiences, they must continue accompanying their friends and bear witness through their lives.
I wish for all friends participating in this musical gathering to have a profound experience, to feel touched and moved by the Holy Spirit.
