In this Sunday’s gospel account, we hear of Jesus healing the daughter of a Canaanite woman after declaring “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” (Mt 15:28). Even though Jesus had, at first, turned her away, explaining that “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” he acceded to the woman’s pleas due to her strong faith in him. Then, after his Resurrection, as he prepared to return to the Father, Jesus commanded his disciples to make disciples of all nations, “teaching them to observe all that I have taught you” (Mt 28:20). We learn that St. Paul accepted our Lord’s instructions in this Sunday’s second reading as he declares: “I am speaking to you the Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom 11:13). And, since that time, this has been one of the central roles of the Church. As a result of the missionary outreach of countless Christians before us, we have the privilege of being followers of Jesus Christ; how blessed we are! As Jesus was sent by his heavenly Father to proclaim the Good News of our salvation, he sent his followers to continue his work down through the ages. The Church has responded to this call to share our Lord’s saving mission with the whole world. We recognize our missionary mandate – to make disciples of all nations – to be our primary task; every other work we do flows from it.
Next weekend, we will be privileged to have Fr. Dennis C. Callan, SVD, with us as we participate, once again in the Missionary Cooperative Program which is sponsored by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Fr. Callan is a native of Philadelphia and has spent 18 years in Taiwan as well as 16 years in South Korea as a missionary priest in the Society of the Divine Word (SVD). He is currently the superior delegate of the North American Provinces. In preparation for his coming, allow me to provide you with some interesting information about his religious order.
The Society of the Divine Word was founded by Saint Arnold Janssen who was born in 1837 in Goch, Germany, into a devoutly Catholic family. He was greatly influenced by the faith of his father who had a special devotion to the Holy Trinity and the Word Incarnate. Arnold entered the minor seminary in Gaesdonck in 1849 and was ordained a priest in 1861. Fr. Janssen first taught in a public school for 12 years. During this time, he became involved in the Apostleship of Prayer League and soon became its director. He was encouraged to create a German-sending missionary order at a time when the German government was oppressing Catholics in Germany. Fr. Janssen moved with three companions across the German border to Steyl, Netherlands, where he founded the Society of the Divine Word in 1875. In 1879, Fr. Janssen sent his first Divine Word Missionaries to China. The order has grown since then, with approximately 6,000 Divine Word Missionary priests and brothers serving God’s people in more than 80 countries around the world. They are currently the largest international missionary congregation in the Catholic Church; their mission is “a giving of ourselves to others.” Divine Word Missionaries preach the Gospel and share the Word of God by living, working, teaching and sharing with others in many areas of global ministry. Saint John Paul II canonized Arnold Janssen in 2003.
Since the mission of the Church – to spread the Gospel and make disciples of all nations – is so important, every diocese in the world has a mission office to promote this essential mission awareness among the faithful. I had the privilege of being the director of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Office for the Propagation of the Faith (the official name of the mission office) for four years (1992 – 1996). And, since I was born in Indonesia (the fourth most populous country in the world with 288 million inhabitants that is still a missionary country; only 3.1% of the total population is Catholic), and have visited many missionary countries around the world, it was a ministry that remains very close to my heart. When we experience for ourselves the difference our faith makes in the everyday lives of people, we are renewed in our response to the missionary mandate our Lord left us because we want everyone to benefit from the Good News of Salvation and the fullness of God’s love!
Each year, every parish in the Archdiocese is invited to respond to this universal missionary call in a variety of ways. On the second-to-the-last Sunday of October, we join with the universal Church in observing Mission Sunday. The collection taken up on Mission Sunday benefits all of the missionary dioceses throughout the world, including the 80 missionary dioceses in the U.S.A.
Additionally, once a year, we participate in the Missionary Cooperative Program, through which particular missionary organizations visit parishes and share their missionary work with them. This allows each parish to learn a little more about the missionary ministry of a specific missionary organization. And, to assure that all missionary organizations that want to participate are able to do so, the Archdiocesan mission office assigns missionary organizations on a rotation basis throughout the Archdiocese.
I encourage everyone to participate next weekend through prayer and your usual, very generous financial support. Remember what Jeanne Jugan (one of the founders of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith) said, “Some give to the missions by going and some go to the missions by giving.” Our participation in the annual Missionary Cooperation Plan directly assists the Divine Word Missionaries this year and allows us to “go to the missions by giving” to this missionary community. Please be as generous as you can in your support next week. And, keep all missionaries in your daily prayers as they spread the Good News of God’s love around the world!