The Church of Christ- a mission in this world: keyword homilies from the Philippines

This Sunday´s homily is on Luke 17:5-10. The keyword is sent

Through our Baptism we have been anointed for a mission. We need faith to carry out this mission.  We have been given this precious gift of faith in order to share it, to bring light into the darkness. Faith in Jesus Christ enables us to see everything in perspective. We can see the world through God’s own eyes.

What is the mission God Has entrusted to his servants, according to the Gospel of today? The Master leaves the servants taking care of the fields. What does this task mean now for his servants?

Take care of your land, don’t destroy it but develop it! Take care of your family  by establishing loving relationships! Take care of your town promoting unity and solidarity! Take care of your country promoting justice! Take care of your world promoting peace! Every Christian together with the whole of humanity is called to build our common world. We are to build and not to destroy. If we want to establish this Kingdom we have to be prepared to give our whole life.  The most important task we have is to build the kingdom of God which will endure for ever.

Look around you, what is God saying to you when he sees our land being destroyed, our rivers being poisoned and plastic being dumped in our gulfs and seas? He sees people lying dead on the streets, killed because they are not considered human. He sees the agonized faces of the poor who are driven away from familiar fishing grounds. He sees the youth confused by new ideologies about gender, life and love and the babies who are killed before they are even born.  The Church has a mission that cannot be delayed. It is urgent that the Church remains in a constant state of mission.

This is the first Sunday of October. It is the beginning of an extraordinary missionary month that Pope Francis decreed on the occasion of the centenary of the promulgation of Pope Benedict XV´s apostolic letter on mission. God has reserved extraordinary graces for all of us. As Pope Francis said, we need a pivotal change to move from a pastoral ministry of mere conservation to a decidedly missionary one.

Fr Dario SEMD, October 6th, 2019

clwakeling2The Church of Christ- a mission in this world: keyword homilies from the Philippines