World Mission Sunday
“Missionaries of Hope among the peoples.”

Today we join the universal Church in celebrating World Mission Sunday—a day that reminds us of who we are and what we are called to be: missionary disciples of Jesus Christ.

Every October, the Church celebrates World Mission Month, a special time to rekindle in us the fire of baptismal mission. The mission entrusted to the Church is not just a memory of the past—it is a living responsibility. It is our shared vocation as baptized Christians.

The mission of the Church is not an optional activity or a program among others; it is our very identity. To be Christian is to be missionary.

Jesus’ final words to His disciples remain as clear today as ever: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).

This command is not reserved for priests, religious, or missionaries who travel to faraway lands. It belongs to all of us. Wherever we live—whether at home, at school, at work, or in our communities—we are called to bear witness to Christ’s love.

World Mission Sunday was first established 99 years ago by Pope Pius XI. Each year, on the second-to-last Sunday of October, we unite with Catholics around the world to pray for missionaries and to support their work.

This year’s theme, chosen by Pope Francis before his passing and now carried forward by Pope Leo XIV, is “Missionaries of Hope Among the Peoples.” It beautifully echoes the spirit of both men.

Pope Francis, throughout his papacy, was a tireless missionary of hope. He lived and breathed the mission of mercy and hope. He often reminded us that the missionary heart of the Church knows no borders. It sees the world not as a problem to be solved but as a field to be loved. He invited every Christian to live as a missionary disciple—one who brings the joy of the Gospel, especially to those who feel forgotten or excluded.

Our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, knows this missionary life well. Before his election, he served for 22 years as a missionary priest and bishop in the mountains of Peru. He understands what it means to bring the Gospel to communities that are poor, remote, and full of faith. In this Jubilee of Hope, he invites us, as St. Peter once urged the early Christians, to be “always ready to give an explanation for the hope that is within us” (1 Peter 3:15).

Hope, dear friends, is the very heart of our mission. It is not optimism or wishful thinking—it is the deep assurance that God walks with us, even through the valleys of pain and doubt.

St. Paul once wrote that before knowing Christ, we were “without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). But in Jesus, hope has taken on a name and a face.

As missionaries of hope, we are called to share that confidence and joy with a world that often feels weary, anxious, and divided. There are still more than 5.5 billion people who do not yet know Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The Church’s mission is to reach out to them—not only with words, but through the witness of our love.

Pope Francis once said: “The missionary heart is never satisfied with partial results; it burns with the desire to reflect the glory of Christ to all peoples.”

That same fire should live in our hearts. Our mission is not to impose but to propose—to offer to others the radiant love of Christ that has transformed our lives.

Our missionary calling is inseparable from love—especially love for the poor.

The recent apostolic exhortation of Pope Leo XIV Dilexi Te (“I Have Loved You” – Rev.3:9) begins and ends with those same words of Christ, reminding us that mission begins in the heart of God’s love.

Every act of mercy, every gesture of care for the poor, is a response to that love which first reached out to us. Dilexi Te calls us to perform works of mercy—both corporal and spiritual—because these are not optional acts of charity but expressions of justice that uphold the dignity of every human person. When we uphold the dignity of the poor, the sick, the elderly, and the marginalized, we are participating in God’s creative love.

It also warns us against indifference, the silent killer of love. The poor are not outsiders to be pitied—they are our brothers and sisters, part of our family in Christ. God Himself shows a preferential love for the poor, and He calls us to do the same.

Throughout history, the saints have shown us what this love looks like in action:

· St. Francis of Assisi embraced poverty to find Christ in the least of His brothers.

· St. Lawrence called the poor “the treasures of the Church.”

· St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustine reminded us that charity is not optional—it is part of our worship.

· St. Teresa of Calcutta, and St. Oscar Romero brought Christ’s compassion to the sick, the uneducated, the imprisoned, and the oppressed.

Their lives teach us that to care for the poor is to proclaim the Gospel. They were all missionaries of hope because they made love visible.

World Mission Sunday is not just another date on the Church calendar—it is a mirror held up to remind us who we truly are. The Church does not merely have a mission—the Church is mission.

Today’s universal collection supports thousands of missionaries, catechists, and parishes in the poorest regions of the world. It’s one tangible way we can participate. But there are other ways, too:

· Pray for missionaries and for those who have not yet heard the Gospel.

· Raise awareness in our parish and families about the missionary work of the Church.

· Offer sacrifices or material support, no gift is too small when given with love.

“To be a missionary today is to walk with the world’s wounded and whisper to them, ‘Christ is near.’”

Dear brothers and sisters, this World Mission Sunday invites us to renew our baptismal calling to be missionaries of hope among the peoples.

Let us go forth with the conviction that the world needs not more critics, but witnesses—witnesses of hope, of mercy, of love.

May we proclaim with our lives and words:
Christ is with us—Emmanuel, our Hope!

And may the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the Missions, together with St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Francis Xavier, and all the missionary saints, intercede for us and help us bring Christ—the Hope of the World—to every corner of the earth.

Amen.

✍ Fr James Abraham