The parishes of St Mungo’s (Alloa), St Bernadette’s (Tullibody), Holy Family (Dunblane), St John Vianney (Alva) and St Serf’s (High Valleyfield) came together for a Deanery Mass on the Feast of St Therese of Lisieux, Patroness of the Missions.
Fr Mike Freyne MHM, Dunkeld’s Vicar Episcopal for Missions and Justice and Peace, remarked, “Pope Francis declared that October 2019 will be a special month of prayer and action to strengthen and grow God’s mission through the Church – an Extraordinary Month of Mission. It is an opportunity to encourage us all to reflect on and pray for the Church’s mission, and for the whole Church to fully realise that in our rapidly changing world the Gospel is needed now more than ever!”
Coloured candles were lit, the five colours of the five continents of Missio’s Missionary Rosary which all children received as they left the church. During the Mass, children from St Mungo’s Primary in Alloa, St Bernadette’s Primary in Tullibody and St Modan’s High School in Stirling brought forward a banner with the message, ‘May all children in the world share love, share friendship, and live in the Peace of God’s love, now and forever. Amen.’ All were encouraged to renew their prayers to Our Lady during October, the month of the Holy Rosary.
Bishop Stephen Robson delivered the homily in which likened the work of thousands of priests, religious brothers and sisters and lay people in the missions to job of a farmer. Preparing the ground, planting the precious seed, tending and watering the crop and then gathering at the harvest. “We can see the fruit of their labours is now at work in our own diocese with priests coming to serve us from many places which were once seen as mission territory.”
It has been 100 years since Pope Benedict XV issued the Apostolic Letter Maximum Illud, which Pope Francis describes as ‘a milestone in the evolution of the Church’s missionary work’. One century later, the call to mission ad gentes is as urgent as ever.
World Mission Sunday will be celebrated on 20 October. It is an opportunity for every Catholic community in the world to support the missionary work of the Church through prayer and offerings.
A special Day to celebrate Mission in Dunkeld Diocese will take place on Saturday 26th October, 2019 at the Diocesan Centre in Dundee, beginning with registration, teas & coffees at 9.30am and Opening Prayer at 10am.