Pope Francis Encourages Pontifical Mission Societies to Continue Bringing God’s Love to All

(Vatican News Network)Pope Francis received participants of the annual General Assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the Vatican on June 3. The Pope encouraged them to continue to bring to everyone the mercy and compassion that pour out from the Heart of Jesus, bearing in mind that “the Christian community has a mission by its very nature”.

In June, when the Church pays homage to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Pope first invited the audience to contemplate the Sacred Heart of Mercy and Compassion in order to reflect on the charism and mission of the Pontifical Mission Societies. “We discover the greatness of God’s plan for mankind and the inexhaustibility of his love,” the pope said. This divine love is manifested in Jesus’ “compassion for the wounded, concern for suffering, merciful anointing for sinners, sacrifice for the sins of the world”. Therefore, the “heart” of the Church’s evangelization is to “touch everyone, find everyone, accept everyone and give our lives for everyone through the grace of God’s infinite love”.

The Pope then emphasized the vocation of the Pontifical Mission Societies. The Society is an “instrument” to “promote a sense of mission responsibility among all baptized”, as stated in the Apostolic Charter “Proclaim the Gospel”.

The Pope stated that the Society “is not only an institution for distributing funds to all those in need”, but is also called to support “the mission of evangelization within the Church and the promotion of missionary spirit among the People of God”. “Because if there is no missionary spirit, it becomes a business and corruption follows,” the pope warned.

Speaking of his vision for the future, the Pope envisioned “a closer unity and harmony among all members of the Church in missionary cooperation”. In order to achieve this goal, it is not only “needed to develop a unique talent of communion and fraternity”, but also depends on “a structure created in all episcopal conferences and dioceses for the good of the whole People of God”.

The Pope concluded by thanking the members of the Pontifical Mission Societies for their generous service, wishing them “inspired by evangelizing zeal and never extinguished by the ardor of apostolic mission”.

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