MISSIO - Mission Sunday

Mass 29th Sunday Oct 18th 2009

Holy Gospel according to Mark 10: 42-45

"The Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve,"

Matthew

Mark

Matthew 20:24-28. 24 The ten others were angry with the two 25 brethren when they heard it; but Jesus called them to him, and said, You know that, among the Gentiles, those who bear rule lord it over them, and great men vaunt their 26 power over them; with you it must be otherwise; whoever would be a great man 27 among you, must be your servant, and whoever has a mind to be first among you, 28 must be your slave. So it is that the Son of Man did not come to have service done him; he came to serve others, and to give his life as a ransom for the lives of many.

Mark 10:41-45 41 The ten others grew indignant with James 42 and John when they heard of it. But Jesus called them to him, and said to them, You know that, among the Gentiles, those who claim to bear rule lord it over them, and those who are great among them make the 43 most of the power they have. With you it must be otherwise; whoever has a mind to 44 be great among you, must be your servant, and whoever has a mind to be first among 45 you, must be your slave. So it is that the Son of Man did not come to have service done him; he came to serve others, and to give his life as a ransom for the lives of many.

(R. Knox Harmony C. “Our Lord Outside of Galilee”).

MISSIO - Mission Sunday

Excerpt from Homily: Fr. Pat. McGuire SMA

National Director for the Propagation of the Faith

"The Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve".

Mission Sunday for me has become a time to "take stock" not just of what I do within Missio, but more importantly to re-examine my response to the Gospel as a priest and missionary. I confess that I am seldom happy with my reflection. There is always so very much more needing to be done. Thankfully the Good Lord sometimes gives us a glimpse of what He can achieve when we follow His lead.

One such blessed moment came in West Africa at Easter while visiting a leprosy settlement. The community leaders happily led me through their new school, rice mill, clinic and on to their pride and joy - the new church which had been funded mainly through help from Scotland. I had the honour of celebrating Holy Mass attended by the whole village. When I had almost completed the distribution of Holy Communion I was led to the backbenches of the Church where the most profoundly sick waited patiently for me.

One elderly lady held out her hand to receive the Lord. Wearing an old and dusty dress, clearly she had come straight from working on her farm. Her face was lined with the pain of her illness and of her efforts to feed herself and her grandchildren. Placing the precious host into her calloused hands where only stumps of fingers remained, I was moved to look into her face. As she held the Lord, I saw the lines on her face disappear. She radiated a smile that somehow reflected the purity of the bread, the very body of the Lord. She seemed to be transformed and, for the briefest moment, I felt what Jesus must have felt so often in his life and his words in today's Gospel took on a whole new reality for me - he came to serve.

Mission is His gift, we are but His instruments.

In the message to us for Mission Sunday the Holy Father says, "I wish to confirm once more that the task of evangelising all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church". Without a word one elderly lady reminded me of the value of that Mission. We feed the hungry, heal the sick, we uphold human dignity, but even more importantly we offer the supreme gift of Jesus himself, the servant and the "Throne of Grace".

. . .

Please remember the Mission of the Church in your daily prayer . . . In your name, Missio Scotland will continue to give glory to God through your service to His people,

Sincerely . . .