Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On Sunday, October 24, 2010 the Catholic Church through-out the world will observe World Mission Sunday. Instituted in 1926 by Pope Pius XI, this year Pope Benedict XVI has given it the theme “Building Ecclesial Communion is the Key to the Mission”.

On this Sunday, Catholics through-out the world are invited to support the mission work of the Church in their prayers and through their financial contributions to the special collection taken up at the weekend Masses. The distribution of the proceeds of this collection is overseen by the Pontifical Mission Societies, the money being used for the missionary work of the Church in the neediest areas of the world.

In his message for this year’s World Mission Sunday, Pope Benedict quotes from the gospel of John the request made to the apostle Philip by some Greek pilgrims: “We wish to see Jesus.” He uses this quotation to help illustrate that the “key to the Mission” of bringing the Good News to others is allowing them to see in us Jesus’ love at work building up and nourishing the community of faith. (i.e., “Building Ecclesial Communion”) The Pope states: “Like the Greek pilgrims of 2,000 years ago, so too people of our time ask believers to not only ‘speak’ of Jesus but to ‘make Jesus visible’ in every corner of the earth.”

Your generous prayer and financial support of World Mission Sunday is an excellent way to participate in making Jesus visible to those “pilgrims” yearning to see His face today: the pilgrims in our local parish church yearning to see Him in the enthusiastic generousity of their fellow parishioners and the pilgrims in missionary areas of the world yearning to see Him in the enthusiastic generosity of a Church that is global in its outreach and desire to proclaim the Good News.

Thank you for your participation in and support of this annual celebration.

Fraternally yours in Christ,

+ Peter Hundt
Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto
CCCB Bishop Ponens with the Pontifical Mission Societies

Useful links:

Message of Pope Benedict XVI for the World Mission Sunday 2010

Pontifical Mission Societies – Canada