SECOND COLLECTIONS

SECOND COLLECTIONS Second Collections for October by Father Rothell Price

Remembering that the World Mission Sunday Collection not only helps missionaries bring Christ to people who do not know Him, but it also helps us know Christ more intimately and so fulfill our personal baptismal call to be missionaries in our local circumstances. In that spirit, I share with you these quotes from Pope Francis: “Celebrating this (Extraordinary Missionary) month will help us first to rediscover the missionary dimension of our faith in Jesus Christ, a faith graciously bestowed on us in baptism…. Through our communion with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we, together with so many of our other brothers and sisters, are born to new life… This missionary mandate touches us personally: I am a mission, always: you are a mission, always: every baptized man and woman is a mission…. Each of us is a mission to the world, for each of us is the fruit of God’s love…. From eternity (God) has destined each of his children to share in His divine and eternal life (cf. Eph 1: 3-6).”

The Latin phrase, so intimately connected to World Mission Sunday and the Pontifical Mission Societies who do the Church’s work of taking the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world is, “missio ad gentes.” Missio ad gentes means “(the) mission to the people.” The World Mission Sunday Collection is about you and me fulfilling the mission and mandate Jesus Christ gave each of us to, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16: 15. At the end of our liturgical services there is a formal dismissal of the People of God. There are four dismissal options for Mass:

Second Collection for October 2019 World Mission Sunday Collection Collection Dates: October 19th & 20th Announcement Dates: October 6th & 13th

Baptized and Sent” is the theme for the 2019 World Mission Sunday and Collection. Pope Francis has set October as an Extraordinary Missionary month. The purpose of this “extraordinary” month is to re-ignite our personal transformation in Christ so that we may help others know and be transformed by the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The logo for the Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019 is a missionary cross using the five primary colors of gold, white, red, blue, and green to represent the five continents of our planet. The theme, “Baptized and Sent” with its accompanying logo are chosen to remind us of the two foundations of every Christian: baptism and proclamation. Our proclamation can be with words, deeds, or contemplation, or any combination of these. Our life, as believers in Jesus, the Savior of the World, is meaningless, if we do not in some clear and tangible way share Him with others. Price

1. Go forth; the Mass is ended. 2. Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord. 3. Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life. 4. Go in peace.

These options send us from our Father’s House and Table in a renewed state of mind and with a fixed purpose. Having heard the Scriptures proclaimed and explained, we are equipped to go forth and authentically represent Jesus Christ in our thoughts, words, and deeds. Having received Jesus in Holy Communion, our personal and transforming encounter with Him animates us to go forth and share Him. The World Mission Sunday Collection invigorates us and our designated missionary men, women, and pontifical societies to be “Baptized and Sent.” Please participate generously in the World Mission Sunday Collection.”

OCTOBER 2019 7 Father Rothell Price, Moderator of the Curia, is the Director of Second Collections for the Diocese of Shreveport.