Homilies about mission

A Missionary's Story: How One Woman's Generosity Changed My Life

Father Richard On Muaro

Father Richard, a missionary from Kenya, shares the story of his congregation, the Apostles of Jesus, and their mission to evangelize Africa and the world. He emphasizes God's patience and compassion, as seen in the parable of the wheat and weeds, and urges the faithful to be patient with themselves and others. He concludes with a powerful personal testimony of how a woman's generosity enabled his priesthood, highlighting the profound impact of supporting the Church's mission.

The Missionary's Motorbike: Bringing God's Presence to Remote Villages in Vietnam

Cha Phêrô Trần Đức Lâm

The homily, delivered by a visiting priest from the Hung Hoa diocese in Northern Vietnam, uses the Gospel's parable of the wheat and weeds to illustrate God's patience and the Church's commitment to its mission field. The priest shares the challenges and hopes of evangelization in his diocese, which is the largest in Vietnam with 31 ethnic groups, many living in remote mountainous areas. He emphasizes the need for basic resources like motorbikes for missionaries and support for young ethnic seminarians to serve their own communities, highlighting that the Church does not abandon its 'field' despite difficulties.

Finding God's Kingdom: Lessons from a City Built on a Garbage Dump

This homily focuses on finding the 'treasure' of God's kingdom through missionary work and seeing Christ in the poor and vulnerable. It uses personal reflections from mission trips to Mexico and Vietnam to illustrate how serving others, even in challenging conditions, reveals God's presence and brings profound joy and understanding, transforming both givers and receivers.

Why Confirmation Isn't a Graduation from Church (and What It Is)

Father Michael Nixon

Father Michael Nixon reflects on the Holy Spirit's role in empowering Catholics for mission, drawing from his experiences at youth conferences. He challenges the common misconception of Confirmation as a 'graduation' from church, emphasizing that it's an anointing for a unique, unrepeatable mission to become saints, not to live a life of comfort. The homily encourages listeners to embrace discomfort, overcome the scandals within the Church, and actively participate in Christ's mission through the power of the Holy Spirit.

You Are Jesus Today: A Missionary's Call to Bring Water and Life to Malawi

Father Pascal Kumanda

The homily emphasizes that all Christians are called to be 'Jesus today' by embodying his mission as both sowers of God's word and rich soil producing fruit. The priest shares a personal story from Malawi about a village lacking water, highlighting the stark contrast with the abundance in the US and urging the congregation to act as Jesus' hands and feet by supporting a mission to provide clean water, thereby giving 'new life' to suffering communities.

God Sees the Wheat: Lessons from Liberia's Enduring Faith

Father McDonald

The homily uses the parable of the weeds and wheat to reflect on God's patience and mercy, particularly through the lens of Liberia's history. The priest shares the story of Liberia's founding, its civil wars, and the enduring faith of its people, highlighting how missionaries planted seeds of faith that continue to bear fruit despite immense suffering and challenges. He emphasizes that God always sees the 'wheat' even amidst the 'weeds' of violence and division, and calls for continued prayer and support for missions.

A Missionary's Story: Attacked by Robbers, Sustained by Faith

Father Steven Shaiu

Father Steven Shaiu, a Vincentian missionary from India serving in East Africa, shares his experiences of hardship and faith, including being attacked by robbers multiple times. He connects the Gospel's parable of the sower to the mission of allowing God's word to take root in our hearts and then extending that mission through evangelization and compassionate service to the poor and abandoned. He appeals for prayers, financial support for their missionary work, and sponsorship for seminarians.

Africa is Catholicism's Future: A Priest's Story from Tanzania

Father Patrick Bergen

Father Patrick Bergen shares a 'snapshot' of the Catholic Church in Tanzania, East Africa, highlighting its vibrancy, youth, musicality, and traditional practices. He emphasizes the deep, intuitive faith of African Christians, particularly regarding the Eucharist as coming from the people of God, and appeals for support for the 81 seminarians in his diocese, stressing Africa's role as the future of Catholicism.

The Enduring Impact of Faith: A Missionary's Story from China

Father Ed Griswald

The homily emphasizes the preciousness of faith, comparing it to a hidden treasure and a pearl of great price, drawing from the Gospel reading. The priest shares a personal story about Sister Karita, a missionary to China, whose enduring love for the Chinese people and the unexpected reunion with the son of a woman she befriended highlights the long-lasting impact of missionary work and inspires support for the United States China Catholic Association (USCCA).

The Ripple Effect of Mission: A Missionary's Story from Tanzania

This homily, delivered by a guest priest, focuses on the universal call to mission, drawing from his personal experience as a Maryknoll missionary in Tanzania. He emphasizes that all baptized individuals are called to be disciples who go beyond themselves to be good news for others, illustrating this through the parable of the sower and the ripple effect of Christian living in a community. The homily concludes with a touching story about teaching guitar to street children, highlighting that love and attention are the true ministry.

Somos la Red: Cómo la Iglesia Reúne a Todos para Cristo

The homily emphasizes that the Church, as the Body of Christ, is called to be a 'net' woven by God to gather all people into His kingdom. Drawing on the Pope's analogy, it encourages unity among believers, using their diverse gifts to invite everyone to encounter Jesus, without judgment, as only Christ knows the heart.

A Global Church: Supporting Missions and Building Community in India

Father Ina

The homily is delivered by a visiting priest from India, Father Ina, who shares a humorous anecdote before making a mission appeal. He discusses the urgent need to construct a new parish center in his home diocese of Warangal, India, due to the current building's dilapidated state and the rapid growth of the Catholic population. He emphasizes the universal nature of the Catholic Church and the mutual support between dioceses, highlighting how priests from India serve in the US due to shortages, and how US support helps build schools and facilitate social change in India.

Supporting the Salet Missionaries: A Call to Action for the Poorest Countries

Father Roberto Hipólito

The homily, delivered by a visiting missionary priest, focuses on the mission of the Salet missionaries, particularly in impoverished countries. It highlights the challenges faced by these missionaries in various regions like Tanzania, Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Haiti, and India, emphasizing their work in education, feeding the poor, and forming new priests. The priest appeals for financial support and prayers to sustain these vital missions.

The Treasure of God's Kingdom and the Urgent Needs of Nigeria

Father Jude

The homily begins with a reflection on the parables of the kingdom of God, emphasizing the fortune of belonging to God's kingdom and allowing oneself to be guided by the Holy Spirit to become like Christ. It then transitions into a detailed presentation by Father Jude about the geopolitical and socioeconomic challenges in Nigeria, specifically highlighting the needs of his home Archdiocese of Benin City, including supporting seminarians, providing education and healthcare, building orphanages, and supplying clean water.

God's Patience and Our Call to Wake Up: Living as Missionaries of Mercy

Padre Hector Magallon

The homily emphasizes God's immense mercy and patience, contrasting it with human judgment, using the parable of the wheat and the weeds and the Prodigal Son. It urges believers to awaken their faith, persevere through spiritual deserts, and act as missionaries of God's love, starting within their own homes and extending to the world, supporting missions both financially and through prayer.

The Missionary Field: How God Stays with Us in Remote Vietnam

Father Peter Lâm Chân

The homily, delivered by a visiting priest from Vietnam, connects the Gospel parable of the wheat and weeds to the missionary work in his diocese of Hung Hoa. He emphasizes that just as the landowner doesn't abandon his field, God and the Church do not abandon people, especially those in remote mountain communities. The homily highlights the need for missionaries to live among these communities, supported by basic necessities like motorbikes and living expenses, to foster the growth of faith and vocations among ethnic minorities.

The Mustard Seed Mission: Educating India's Children with Bishop Ray Lavijay Kumar

Bishop Ray Lavijay Kumar

Bishop Ray Lavijay Kumar from Sri Kakulum, India, shares his mission to educate children in his diocese, emphasizing education as a powerful tool for societal transformation. He connects his work to the Gospel's mustard seed parable, highlighting how the small Catholic community in India, like the mustard seed, grows to provide shelter and hope. The bishop stresses the importance of experiencing and expressing God's love through concrete actions, particularly in caring for the marginalized and supporting education projects.

The True Meaning of Mass: You Are Sent Forth to the World

The homily emphasizes God's patience and kindness, as reflected in the day's readings, particularly the parable of the weeds and the wheat. The priest challenges the faithful to understand that the 'field' is the entire world, not just the Church, and that the meaning of 'Mass' (Missa) is to be sent forth on a mission to bring God's love, kindness, and peace to all humanity, beyond one's immediate circle.

Called to Mission: How Every Christian Spreads the Gospel

Fr. Román Sandville

The homily, delivered by a visiting missionary priest, emphasizes the importance of living a prepared Christian life, vigilant against sin, and actively participating in the Church's mission to spread the Gospel. It highlights that every baptized and confirmed individual is called to be a missionary, whether in their local community or abroad, through prayer, financial support, and living out the Gospel in their daily lives.

The Kingdom of God: A Treasure Worth Everything

The homily reflects on Jesus' parables of the kingdom of heaven as a hidden treasure and a pearl of great price, emphasizing that God's kingdom is the supreme value worth sacrificing everything for. It highlights the importance of wisdom and discernment in recognizing this value and illustrates it with the example of missionaries who dedicate their lives to serving God and others, drawing from the priest's recent immersion trip to Brazil with Marinol missionaries.