This Sunday, the Southwest Kowloon Deanery will hold a kickoff ceremony for Mission Sunday, marking the start of events for Mission Month. Different deaneries and parishes have been organising activities to gather the faithful “back home” [returning to the parish], and more importantly, to go out and spread the gospel to those who do not yet know the Lord.
Mission Sunday this year will be held on October 20, with the theme “Go out to the streets and invite everyone to the banquet” [cf. Matthew 22:9]. With about three months to go, each deanery is encouraging the faithful to get involved and participate.
This is not just about attending but also about actively engaging: from brainstorming activity content to promotion and outreach, to encouraging more faithful and non-believers to join. The goal is to move away from a top-down approach but instead, encouraging lay people to actively participate because all God’s people are called to mission work.
At the parish level, priests, deacons, catechists, and parishioners form a faith team. The parish also establishes a pastoral council and various charitable groups, where brothers and sisters plan and promote parish activities, listen to each other, and work together to drive parish development. It is a big move away from a “one-man show” model.
In the past, diocesan Mission Sunday celebrations were held at venues such as the Hong Kong Stadium, Hung Hom Coliseum, and Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground, primarily featuring Masses and variety shows. In recent years, the celebrations have been organised by different deaneries, with each one coordinating activities among its parishes.
This approach allows for more focused use of resources and encourages parishioners, especially young people, to come together. They can get to know each other better by exchanging ideas, and build the parish community, ignitng their missionary spirit.
As the lyric of the song “Catholic Apostles” from the Chinese hymn book “Grace” says: “Who are the apostles of Christ? You are, he is, we all are; who has the responsibility of missionary? You do, he does, we all do.”
Indeed, the mission is not solely the responsibility of the clergy or religious but also laypeople. The Catholic Laity Mission Association of Hong Kong currently has three lay missionaries working in Cambodia and South Sudan, engaging in youth education and assisting parishes and religious communities in serving those in need, helping them live with greater dignity.
When we choose to accompany the helpless, the weak, the abandoned, and the marginalised in society, others can see the face of Jesus in us. Let us courageously become missionaries and go forth to proclaim the gospel to all the world. SE
