During this month of October,

in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the ground-breaking missionary encyclical

Maximum Illud promulgated by Pope Benedict XV in November of 1919,

Catholic communities of faith around the globe have been called to celebrate

what Pope Francis has declared to be an Extraordinary Missionary Month,[1]

by intentionally living out the vocation to be missionary disciples.

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As Pope Francis has observed,

Pope Benedict XV endeavored to promote evangelization

"purified of any colonial overtones and

kept far away from the nationalistic and expansionistic aims that had proved so disastrous" …

and called for transcending national boundaries and bearing witness,

with prophetic spirit and evangelical boldness,

to God's saving will through the Church’s universal mission."[2]

So what, we might ask ourselves, is our response

to the missionary mandate:

What does it mean to be “baptized and sent”?

What does it mean to

“go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15)?

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Thirteen years prior to her violent assassination on February 12, 2005,

in Anapu, a city in the state of Pará,

in the Amazon Basin of Brazil,

missionary sister, Dorothy Mae Stang,

fondly known as Sister Dot and Irmã Dorotí

a member of the Sisters on Notre Dame de Namur from Dayton, Ohio,

wrote the following words to her family and friends,

on the occasion of her 60th birthday:

"I've been able to live, love, be loved and work with the Brazilian people,

to help them find confidence in themselves,

to profoundly sense God's presence in their lives

and then be a creative influence in society

from which a more human society can be born …”

I remembered the example and words of Sister Dorothy

as I began to reflect on the Scriptural readings for today

and their relevance for two concurrent events

taking place in the life of the People of God

at this precise moment in history.

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The first event:

Today, the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time,

the Church celebrates World Mission Sunday.

This commemoration itself dates back to 1926, when Pope Pius XI,

first designated the penultimate Sunday of October

as a time to remember, renew and remain faithful as we reimagine

our commitment to mission and to the world church.

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The second event:

Today, ecclesial leaders representing local churches from every continent,

are gathered in Rome

to participate in the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops

dedicated to the Pan Amazon Region.

From October 6th until October 27th,

those participating in this Special Assembly

are focusing their attention, discussions and deliberations on

New Paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology

“designed for and with the People of God who live in this region:

inhabitants of communities and rural areas, of cities and large metropolises,

people who live on river banks, migrants and displaced persons,

and especially for and with indigenous peoples.”[3]

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Viewed together,

these two points of reference,

World Mission Sunday and the Special Synodal Assembly for the Amazon,

coupled with today’s lectionary readings

disclose to us important insights for our unfolding future as missionary disciples.  

They not only inform and influence our efforts to break open the Word of God

and make meaning of its significance for our lives,

they also invite us to do more than see and judge;

they require us to act,

to make connections and to put into practice

what we say we believe:

that participation in God’s mission is central to our lives,

that every vocation to share in God’s mission involves

acts of solidarity and interdependency,

of holding one another up, of being stronger together

acts of witnessing to what we believe

and remembering who our teachers were and are,

and finally, acts of unrelenting persistence

that enable us to experience the mystery of God’s grace,

along with the ways in which it operates and transforms human hearts.

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As we listen to the story from Chapter 17 of the Book of Exodus,

the narrative of Moses’ need to be supported

by Aaron and Hur

calls us to remember

that the vocation of God’s prophets

inevitably involves the experience of having to be interdependent.

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As the words of the Psalmist offer a message of assurance,

they also call us to renew our hope,

amidst uncertainties and anxieties,

threats and fears,

and to trust in the One who has called each of us by name,

knowing that “our help is from the Lord who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121)

We hear in Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy

an urgency to the call to remain faithful

in our embodiment and proclamation of the Word

that has been entrusted to us.

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Finally,

the parable of the dishonest judge and the persistent widow

from Chapter 18 of the Gospel of Luke

calls us to reimagine the realities in which we find ourselves

and, as missionary disciples,

to be attentive and persistent in our pursuit of that justice

that signals the coming of the Reign of God.

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Mindful of the missionary disciples and martyrs who have given their lives

for the sake of the Gospel,

for the sake of others and for the sake of all of God’s creation,

let us pray:

Sister Dorothy - and all martyrs of Christ in the Amazon,

guide us, this day, in the ways of righteousness and peace.

[1]http://www.october2019.va/en.html

[2]http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2017/documents/papa-francesco_20171022_lettera-filoni-mese-missionario.html

[3] http://www.sinodoamazonico.va/content/sinodoamazonico/en/documents/preparatory-document-for-the-synod-for-the-amazon.html

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