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Christ won the Church for Himself at the price of His own blood, and
made the Church His co-worker in the salvation of the world ( RMi 9).
In order to enable the Church to carry on His mission, Jesus promised
His Apostles He would send the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-15). Sacred
Scripture tells us that this promise was fulfilled on Pentecost (Acts
2: 1-18). On that day the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles and
empowered them to preach the Gospel with great courage, to heal the
sick and to baptize. The Holy Spirit is the principal agent of
Mission. Every baptized person, through the anointing of the Holy
Spirit enters into the Mission of Christ and His Church. The Church
is missionary by its very nature (EN 14). "Mission is an issue
of faith" (John Paul II ). The mission activity of a parish or
diocese is an accurate indicator of our faith in Christ.. ".(RMi
11 ) and the vitality of the local Church.
The Societies
The Pontifical Mission Societies of the Church gives all in the
Church an opportunity to share the Church's missionary activity
through prayer, witness of Christian life, uniting our sufferings
with the sufferings of Christ, and financial contributions, all for
the building of God's Kingdom.
In our Catholic Church there are four Mission Societies, often
referred to as the Pontifical Mission Societies. They are:
-
The Society for the Propagation of the Faith - funds needs of the
missionary church
- The Society for the Holy Childhood - helps needy children
- The Society of St. Peter the Apostle - educates
priests, brothers, sisters in mission countries
- The Missionary Union - supports missions with
prayer and solidarity
The overall direction of these Societies is entrusted by the Holy
Father to the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, which
coordinates the work of evangelizing peoples and missionary
cooperation throughout the world.
On the national level these four Mission Societies come under the
authority of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and locally
under the authority of Bishop Vernon Fougere.
Sr. Joan MacDonald is our Diocesan Director of the Pontifical Mission
Societies. Through her efforts, fund-raising and education takes
place within our parishes for each of these Mission Societies. She
can be reached at the Diocesan Pastoral Center at 368-8005 for more information. |
DIRECTORY
