Beloved in Christ,
"Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two" (Mk 6: 7). With the calling and sending of the Twelve by Jesus, he established the pattern of evangelization: the calling and sending of Christians to proclaim the Good News to the world. The Second Vatican Council says that Christ established the Church to evangelize, and evangelization is not restricted to priests and religious but to all the baptized. In the first reading for this Sunday's mass, Amos, a Judean from Tekoa, is rejected because he is not from a prophetic family. Still, he insisted that he was compelled to preach conversion to northern Israel by a commission from God (Amos 7:12-15). All baptized Christians are likewise sent on missions to the world. According to our state of life, we are all missionary disciples called to share in the call to engage and evangelize our culture.
A couple of Sundays ago, we had a missionary group here at St. Peter to share their missionary efforts and seek our support. Thanks for your generous contributions. In two weeks, we shall host another missionary group, the Comboni Missionaries. Thanks for your anticipated generous donations in support of this mission of evangelization. Our generous contributions will go a long way in supporting the proclamation of the Gospel to places and people who need to be evangelized. You are participants in the mission of evangelization through your prayers and monetary contributions. Participation in the mission appeal is a response to Jesus' call to spread the Gospel of salvation to all parts of the world. As a Dominican and a preacher of grace, I share the obligation to promote the Gospel by preaching mission appeals wherever I am invited or sent. This weekend, I am at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, La Grange, Illinois, to preach on a mission for the Dominican Province of Nigeria and Ghana.
As a priest of the Order of Preachers, I am fulfilling the mission of evangelization established by Jesus by preaching a mission appeal in the Chicago Archdiocese this weekend. But remember, you don't have to be a priest to participate in this crucial ecclesial task. You can evangelize with all the gifts you have received from God wherever you find yourself. All Christians are called and sent by Christ to evangelize. The world urgently needs a church that bears witness to the Gospel. Our world is spiritually and morally broken in many regards; only the light of the Gospel can bring it to order. You and I, irrespective of our state in life, are called and sent to shine the light of the Gospel on our world, which desperately needs it.
Vacation Bible Study kicks off this Sunday. I see this church program as an evangelization tool to inspire the Eucharistic faith of your children and their parents. I praise the efforts of our CRE, Georgann Azzalina, and her team in bringing this evangelization task to birth. I encourage parents to be actively involved where necessary. I especially ask that parents participate with their children in a teaching-based Eucharistic Adoration on Thursday at 6 p.m. and the mass, which follows at 7 p.m.
Continue to have a beautiful summer of sunshine.
In Christ,
Fr. Alayode Bernard, OP
"Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two" (Mk 6: 7). With the calling and sending of the Twelve by Jesus, he established the pattern of evangelization: the calling and sending of Christians to proclaim the Good News to the world. The Second Vatican Council says that Christ established the Church to evangelize, and evangelization is not restricted to priests and religious but to all the baptized. In the first reading for this Sunday's mass, Amos, a Judean from Tekoa, is rejected because he is not from a prophetic family. Still, he insisted that he was compelled to preach conversion to northern Israel by a commission from God (Amos 7:12-15). All baptized Christians are likewise sent on missions to the world. According to our state of life, we are all missionary disciples called to share in the call to engage and evangelize our culture.
A couple of Sundays ago, we had a missionary group here at St. Peter to share their missionary efforts and seek our support. Thanks for your generous contributions. In two weeks, we shall host another missionary group, the Comboni Missionaries. Thanks for your anticipated generous donations in support of this mission of evangelization. Our generous contributions will go a long way in supporting the proclamation of the Gospel to places and people who need to be evangelized. You are participants in the mission of evangelization through your prayers and monetary contributions. Participation in the mission appeal is a response to Jesus' call to spread the Gospel of salvation to all parts of the world. As a Dominican and a preacher of grace, I share the obligation to promote the Gospel by preaching mission appeals wherever I am invited or sent. This weekend, I am at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, La Grange, Illinois, to preach on a mission for the Dominican Province of Nigeria and Ghana.
As a priest of the Order of Preachers, I am fulfilling the mission of evangelization established by Jesus by preaching a mission appeal in the Chicago Archdiocese this weekend. But remember, you don't have to be a priest to participate in this crucial ecclesial task. You can evangelize with all the gifts you have received from God wherever you find yourself. All Christians are called and sent by Christ to evangelize. The world urgently needs a church that bears witness to the Gospel. Our world is spiritually and morally broken in many regards; only the light of the Gospel can bring it to order. You and I, irrespective of our state in life, are called and sent to shine the light of the Gospel on our world, which desperately needs it.
Vacation Bible Study kicks off this Sunday. I see this church program as an evangelization tool to inspire the Eucharistic faith of your children and their parents. I praise the efforts of our CRE, Georgann Azzalina, and her team in bringing this evangelization task to birth. I encourage parents to be actively involved where necessary. I especially ask that parents participate with their children in a teaching-based Eucharistic Adoration on Thursday at 6 p.m. and the mass, which follows at 7 p.m.
Continue to have a beautiful summer of sunshine.
In Christ,
Fr. Alayode Bernard, OP
RSS Feed