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Pope Links Love and Missionaries

What is missionary action? According to the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, it consists in communicating the love of God to others.

"Prayer and concrete support for missions are seen today as being an integral part of every Christian’s life," the Pope said in an audience to participants of the plenary assembly of the Higher Council of the Pontifical Missionary Works last May. 

He added that promoting “a responsible sense of sharing and communion involves faithful of all communities in support for the needs of mission lands. This is an eloquent sign of the catholicity of the Church.” 

The Pontifical Missionary Works was founded to support the missionary activity of the Church in non-Christian regions. It is under the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and has four key tasks: (1) The Work of the Propagation of the Faith awakens interest and responsibility for universal evangelization, and promotes spiritual and material assistance and the exchange of apostolic personnel for the evangelization of the world. (2) The Work of St. Peter the Apostle is concerned with making people sensitive to the need of forming a native clergy and fostering spiritual and material collaboration with future priests. (3) The Work of Missionary Childhood assists educators to awaken a universal missionary conscience among the youth, and (4) The Pontifical Missionary Union of the Clergy: promotes missionary formation among the clergy and consecrated groups.

It is through the Propagation of the Faith that the Priests of the Basilian Fathers Missions preach throughout the United Statues and Canada, usually in the summer months, to spread mission awareness and appeal for spiritual and temporal help for the missions and the Society of St. Peter the Aposlte under the auspices of Pope Benedict XVI.

Google Delivers a Surprise Thank You

This summer, Father Vince Thompson was on a flight from Detroit to Newark on his return from Canada to Colombia. He was seated next to a young lady named Kelly, who had a strong fear of flying. After the flight, Kelly wanted to send a thank you to Father Vince for talking to her and for helping her stay calm. Unfortunately, all she had was his name, and no contact information. So she did what many technologically inclined young people do these days – she sat at her home computer and ran Father Vince’s name through Google, an internet search engine. Bingo! She got a “hit” to annball.com where there is an article about Saint Basil’s Coffee and Father Vince’s work in Colombia as well as a link to the Basilian Fathers Missions website.

Kelly sent a very nice e-mail which thanked Father Vince and surprised and delighted all of us. Her note proves that the internet can be a blessing and help us stay connected to our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world.

In part, Kelly wrote: “Having Father Vince sit next to me made me feel comfortable. He told me that I ‘was in Gods hands’. He was a very nice, warm, and intelligent man and I felt like I knew him for years once I sat next to him. We also discussed my upcoming marriage. He pointed out some very important points about family life to me.”

Father Vince Thompson ministering to the poor
in a mountainous barrio in Bogota, Colombia.