Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 19, 2014 Cycle A
by Rev. Jose Maria Cortes, F.S.C.E.
Home Page
Sunday Reading Meditations
In the name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today is World Mission Sunday. Each year, we are reminded that our Church is essentially missionary. Before leaving us, Jesus told the Apostles: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19). Jesus continues to send the Church on His mission.
Once a year, we are called to pray and support the missions of the Church all over the planet. Many people either do not know Christ or for some reason have forgotten Him. We are reminded that we are called to be missionaries wherever we are.
The way to reach people is through the witness of an authentically Christian life. As Pope Paul VI, who was beatified today in Rome, once said: “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”
In today’s second reading, we find the greatest example of what it means to be a witness: Saint Paul. Let us take a look at the reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians.
The community to whom Paul addresses his letter was composed of a majority of Gentiles who had abandoned idolatry for Christianity and were living in Thessalonica, a bustling commercial city established by the Romans as the provincial capital of Macedonia.
Paul begins by saying how grateful he is to God and to the Thessalonians, whom he often remembers in his prayers: “We give thanks to God always for you all, constantly mentioning you in our prayers […]” (1 Thess 1:2). He keeps the faith, hope and love present among the community in his heart: “[…] remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 1:3). As the founder of the community, Paul is acutely aware that what happened was at God’s initiative and each of the members was chosen by God: “For we know, brethren beloved by God, that he has chosen you” (1 Thess 1:4). God’s initiative precedes the work of the missionary. In this letter, Paul tells us that he bore witness to God’s powerful action: “For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction” (1 Thess 1:5b). As Paul preaches the gospel, he is able to see God’s action from the one side and, from the other side, the response by the people who say yes to God, who agree to change their minds and start new lives. The conversion of Paul’s listeners is the fruit of his proclamation. The missionary preached but in the end there is a dialogue between God and each person touched by grace.
It is all grace but God’s grace needs to have an instrument to touch people. God needs a converted heart in order to convert others. As Paul preaches, he is bearing witness to his own conversion. He talks about how the unforeseen encounter with Christ radically changed his life.
A witness is someone who has encountered Christ in his life. The joy of that encounter has to be communicated to everyone. It is our encounter with the Lord that converts our hearts. Thus, to be a missionary means to be in the process of the continual conversion of the heart. It is very impressive that one of the patrons of missions is Saint Therese of Lisieux, a woman who never left her convent in France. Instead, she spent her brief life in contemplation, converting her heart to Jesus. With her prayers and sacrifices, she supported missionaries in China.
Today, let us pray that the Holy Spirit will rekindle the zeal in every believer to proclaim the gospel to the entire world. May the intercession of the newly beatified Pope Paul VI help us to be audacious witnesses of Jesus Christ.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Top
Home Page
Sunday Reading Meditations