Intro: He Came to Serve

“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
(Matt. 20:28)

What does it mean to meditate, to pray, to reflect on Mission? In the Mission Novena you will find “key-words” that make Mission possible. As you reflect on Mission on these nine days, pray that the Holy Spirit may guide your heart to be a missionary in the place you live, and to follow Jesus' command to service and care for others.

From the time Jesus died on the cross, there is nothing left to hold back. Every sacrifice that is withheld is a seed that does not grow, and bread that is denied. The hunger of the world is great. Lord, teach us to serve.

Day 1 - Mission is … Jesus

In the Letter to the Hebrews Jesus is called the apostle (Heb. 3:1), the missionary and his mission is the one that God has given him. Yes, with great and foolish love, God has send Jesus, so that everything be saved and God be in everything and everyone (1Cor. 15:28). This is then the first purpose of Jesus’ mission and our mission: to explain and narrate god, to let “the fountain of love” be known.

There is urgency in Jesus’ mission: “This is the time of fulfillment, the Reign of God is at hand! Reform your lives and believe in the Gospel.” (Mk. 1:15). That kingdom is breaking into the world through His death and resurrection. With His life, from Bethlehem to Calvary, by His words and deeds, by His doing works of mercy, through His relationships with the people, Jesus accomplished His mission. He let the people know about God.

Our mission too is to tell everyone, to pass on the whole world all that Jesus told us: the Good News.

Reflect & Act

- Is Jesus the Good News for you?
- In your prayer today, ask Jesus to let you see God.
- Explain with your words and deeds the Good News of Jesus. Like Jesus, you are a missionary.

Day 2 - Mission is … Church

The U.S. Bishops clearly stated that “to say Church is to say Mission.” On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, who is Lord and Giver of life, enabled a small number of men and women to journey on the many roads of the world preaching and witnessing the Name of Jesus. They were soldiers, traders, slaves, housewives and preachers. St. Paul shared the power of that Spirit when he wrote: “I am ruined if I do not preach the Gospel.” (1Cor. 9:16)

After the Apostles, others passed on the Good News: Sts. Cyrill and Methodius in Yugoslavia, St. Augustine in England, Frs. Kino and Junipero Serra in California, Bartholomew Las Casas in South America, Sr. Frances Cabrini in North America, St. Francis Xavier in India and Japan.

Countless missionaries in all ways and walks of life have felt compelled to continue to tell the story of Jesus to the ends of the earth. Many have gone and given their lives for the sake of the Gospel in heroic witness. They are people like Srs. Ita Ford and Dorothy Hazel, Bishops Romero and James E. Walsh, Jean Donovan and Catina Gubert, and many others.

It is our turn. The path is already there for us to follow. To say Church is to say…

Reflect & Act

- You are Church right where you are. Are there any other people around you who have taken mission seriously?
- Today be “the sacrament of universal salvation” by showing concern and kindness to all.

Day 3 - Mission is … Bread Broken

Just as the heart gathers all the blood to purify it and then pushes it back to the cells of the body, so the Eucharist gathers all people around one table and then scatters them on all the roads of the world.

From East to West all God’s children gather to break bread and drink the cup. Jesus’ Word, Body, and Blood nourish our life. We may be speaking different languages, and our roads of life maybe varied, but the eucharistic table is big enough for everyone to sit around.

After eating with Jesus, Zacchaeus’ heart was changed. At the Eucharist our hearts too are changed and we are ready to move out and give of ourselves in many ways. The memory of Jesus’ death and resurrection opens our eyes to the needs of our brothers and sisters, so that the peace and salvation of the whole world may advance. Filled with the Holy Spirit, we have become one body, one spirit in Christ.

Now we, as missionaries, bring Him to and find Him in the farthest corner of the world.

Reflect & Act

- The Mass is ended… and our mission begins! In which place do I need to bring Christ today?
- How can I make a perfect offering to the glory of God’s name?
- When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death Lord Jesus, until you come again!

Day 4 - Mission is … Giving and Receiving

“Where a brother or sister has gone before you, there you always find a table prepared.” This is a proverb from Madagascar, Africa. The wisdom of the ancestors reaches us in many proverbs. The wealth of this wisdom is multiplied in this giving and receiving.

Mission is mutual, not one-way. We have become aware of this in recent times as we have seen local churches develop their rituals and spirituality.

Like a big tree with many branches, our fellowship supports many different expressions and at the same time the local churches (the branches) bring new oxygen to the tree to make it bigger and healthier. Respect for life, respect for nature, solidarity, a great sense of reconciliation and belonging… these are all gifts that the young churches would like to share with us which we share our finances, our education and our technological know-how.

Mission-sending and mission-receiving now go together with great enrichment for all in God’s house.

Reflect & Act

- Sharing is the attitude of making available to everybody the treasures of one’s heart, faith, prayer, work, material and spiritual goods.
- What is there for us to receive from our brothers and sisters next door? What is their gift to us?

Day 5 - Mission is … Dialogue

This is especially what the missionaries in Asia are telling us. In India, Japan, Indonesia, and China, missionaries and local churches are entering in collaboration and dialogue with members of other great religions. There is sharing of religious experiences and of various forms of prayer. Above all there is sharing about peace and human development.

Dialogue implies humility and a willingness to pursue our own conversion, to let God who is “greater than our heart” (1John 3:20) be the guiding light. Dialogue requires patient listening and faithful courage to pursue common respect and understanding that avoid anyone feeling superior or center stage. Dialogue becomes a conversation filled with silence and listening, with questions and challenges.

Mission is then filled with friendship and faith, respect and hospitality.

Reflect & Act

- “The hour will come – and in fact it is here already – when true worshippers will worship God in spirit and truth,” (John 4:23)
- Today read John 4:4-42.

Day 6 - Mission is … Human Development

There is poverty in the world. There are children that nobody will instruct. There are young people who have only a hopeless future. Malaria, alcoholism, measles, diarrhea, malnutrition are terrible realities. And the Glory of God is a person being fully human.

Jesus’ mission and our mission is still involved with healing, educating, encouraging, blessing, and comforting. On the streets of Calcutta, India, in barrios of Lima, Peru, or in our US inner-cities, there are still missionaries concerned for the life of homeless, sick, and dying people. Their hunger is not only for bread and rice, but also for the Word that can give meaning to their life.

Two good hands and a big heart are the requirements to be involved in this mission. Whatever gifts one has, those gifts are for others. It is in giving that we receive, it is in consoling that we are consoled, it is in feeding others that our hearts are filled with happiness.

Reflect & Act

- Human development is the new name of evangelization (Paul VI) What are your talents? And how are you using them for the sake of others?
- Those around you need not just bread and rice but also… what?
- Today, read Matt. 25:31-46.

Day 7 - Mission is … Liberation

Some missionaries have called the Basic Christian Communities the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church in recent times. Thirty, forty Christian families from one neighborhood get together regularly to reflect on the word of God, to apply it to their life situations and finally to act upon their insights.

Nations and churches have been profoundly influenced by these small communities committed to God as they move out of oppressive situations. Sometimes these Christians talk about how to get running water or how to help their children to go to school. Other times they work at getting together to rebuild a fallen bridge or letting the village leader know their needs.

Yes, Mission is liberation from oppression, from poverty, from ignorance, and first and foremost from the slavery of sin. It is also liberation from greed, from that wealth that blinds our life and makes us selfish.

Liberation is then the work of the Spirit calling all to conversion, overcoming all barriers between poor and rich.

Reflect & Act

- With whom do you talk about oppressive situations in your family or in your neighborhood?
- Where would you like the spirit to come and free you?
- How do you express solidarity with the poor and those who suffer any kind of oppression? Today read Mark 5:1-20.

Day 8 - Mission is … Inculturation

Inculturation is a big word which is popular today. We always knew the word Incarnation which recalls God entering the human condition, pitching His tent among us.

Inculturation then is the meeting between faith and culture which requires great time and patience. It is letting God’s word, Jesus’ Gospel, come alive in our life situations with all our cultural symbols and songs. But above all, this encounter is filled with many surprises and cannot be predetermined by any law.

Faith needs culture to become human and visible. And culture needs faith to be purified and redeemed. Racism, violence, sexism, oppression, and injustice cannot coexist with Jesus’ Gospel. Jesus had a message of good news to the Jews, Samaritans, Romans, and Greeks.

Inculturation requires fidelity to the Gospel: “They who remain in me and I in them will bear much fruit.” (John 15:5) Inculturation requires fidelity to the human condition in its concrete situations of sorrow and hope, of struggles and joys.

Reflect & Act

- We cannot impose evangelization but we can certainly be present to people’s needs through our actions and concerns.
- Are you critical of some values of our society presents to us, such as consumerism, success, or violence?
- Today read 1Cor. 13:1-13.

Day 9 - Mission is … Prayer

When doing mission, Prayer is not so much a duty as a privilege, and certainly is not the result of our own efforts.

We have been promised God’s Spirit who will enhance our little efforts in building the Reign of God. The Giver of Life is now leading the Church to unknown boundaries never dreamed before. Above all mission is leading us to the sacred ground of mystery where words cannot express its holiness; and our hearts and understanding are too small to comprehend the divine plan of all creation.

St. Therese of Lisieux, from a little monastery in France, was able to become a unique missionary. She wrote: “I knew that the Church had a heart. I knew that one love drove the members of the Church to action… In the heart of the Church, my mother, I will be love, and thus I will be all things, as my desire finds its direction…” She was proclaimed Patroness of all missions together with St. Francis Xavier.

The Love of Christ will not let us rest. As we journey from one place to another, from one encounter to another, we will keep our minds and hearts set on God’s mystery.

Filled with God’s presence, we will be able to recognize the Holy Spirit already at work, ahead of us. Our task then is to take off our shoes and be silent… God’s ground is holy.

Reflect & Act

- The Lord's Prayer will be our Prayer today

by Fr. Dominic Calarco - Fr. Alfredo Turco