Emmanuel! God is with us! This is the theme of the Mission Sunday celebrations in the Diocese of Hong Kong this year, sharing the message of God’s presence amid his people at a time of pandemic restrictions. Traditionally, this is the day when the Universal Church comes together in support of the missions. But the cancellation of the event in consecutive years, due to social unrest in 2019, and the limits on public gatherings on account of the pandemic in 2020, prompted the diocese to initiate innovative methods to celebrate Mission Sunday with a difference.
The pandemic has taught humanity many good lessons that we would never have learned otherwise. When organising a large event was not feasible under the circumstances, there emerged the idea of promoting the Mission Sunday message through numerous smaller gatherings. Thus, Mission Day 2021, in the diocese of Hong Kong, is celebrated over eight months, proclaiming the message of Emmanuel: “I am with you always, even to the end of the world” [Matthew 28:20].
Opening the Mission Day activities in February this year, Father Benedict Lam Cho-ming, chairperson of the ad hoc committee for the Diocesan Mission Sunday Celebration 2021, said that “the Good News—that Jesus is with us until the end of the age—needs to be celebrated even in the pandemic.” The ad hoc committee then organised a series of workshops in small groups and online.
The biggest plus of this year’s Mission Sunday is that it is not just for a day! The build-up to this day was equally important. The Mission Sunday celebration on October 24 focuses on the role of the faithful in the mission of the Church. The commissioning of Mission Ambassadors on the occasion creates a sense of responsibility on the part of the faithful for the mission of evangelisation.
We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard (Acts 4:20). This is the theme Pope Francis has chosen for this year’s World Mission Sunday. Our experience of Christ and his love and mercy fails to have any meaning until we choose to share it with others. “Once we experience the power of God’s love, we cannot help but proclaim and share what we have seen and heard. Jesus’ relationship with his disciples and his humanity shows us how God loves our humanity and makes his own our joys and sufferings, our hopes and our concerns,” the pope wrote in his message for the Mission Sunday.
World Mission Sunday brings us three important points: First, it calls on all the faithful to remember with gratitude all the missionaries who have dedicated their lives for the cause of the proclamation of the gospel and to pray for them. Second, it beseeches us to join hands in support of the mission. Our prayers and material help are a lifeline to people dedicated to the evangelisation mission across the world. And finally, it reminds us: “You are a missionary.”
In a world where so much divides us, Mission Sunday is a cause of joy as it unites us as missionaries and offers each one of us an opportunity to support the life-giving presence of the Church.
Jose CMF
