Pope Francis’ Dream for the Church: What Would Happen!

Family Missions Company, Pope Francis, July Intention,

So apparently I am not the only one who loves Pope Francis! Of course it is one thing to like someone and another thing to follow them and what they ask of you! I was very blessed that his monthly evangelization intention for the month of July was for the laity, serving around the world as missionaries! What an amazing confirmation to our call as missionaries serving around the globe.

Family Missions Company, Pope Francis, July Intention,

In his recent (and first) Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis lays out a powerful missionary vision for the Church, “I dream of a ‘missionary option’, that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation.”

Then he asks “What would happen if we were to take these words seriously? We would realize that missionary outreach is paradigmatic for all the Church’s activity.”

Our Holy Father isn’t timid about articulating a bold new missionary age for the Church, mentioning “mission” or “missionary” a total of 129 times, and entitling the first chapter “The Church’s Missionary Transformation.” Although this is perhaps the most overwhelming theme of his first papal exhortation, you wouldn’t know it by most of the press coverage, both secular and Catholic.

Here at Family Missions Company we couldn’t be more pleased with the Pope Francis’ missionary vision for the Church. In fact, I believe you would be hard pressed to find a place where this vision is more totally embraced and lived out than right here at Family Missions Company! We are seeing what does happen when Jesus’ Great Commission is taken seriously, and it is AWESOME to behold!

  • Here in the States, 250 youth encountered Jesus at our annual Faith Camp, 215 participants of our first ever Proclaim Catholic Missions Conference left with a deeper passion for missions, and thousands more heard the Gospel message shared on retreats, conferences, university campuses and in church pews around the country.
  • We hosted over 300 people on 10 short-term mission trips to 6 different countries!
  • Thanks to all our generous benefactors we built 90 floors for poor families, built or renovated 37 homes for as many families, repaired 3 water wells for 3 desert communities, donated 25 pigs to 25 families in need, and 3 chapels, and helped with tens of thousands of dollars in medical needs for the poorest of the poor!
  • Over 900 Typhoon Haiyan affected families found physical relief and spiritual support at the hands of our missionaries!
  • More than 500 bibles were distributed, 23 marriages were blessed, 26 souls were indelibly marked by the waters of baptism, 1 RCIA program was started in the diocese of Pune so that Hindus and Muslims can encounter the embrace of Jesus in the Catholic Church!

Perhaps most encouraging is the 38 new missionaries who were trained this year and have been pouring out their lives in God’s service in Ecuador, Mexico, the Philippines, India and China these past 7 months!

We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, together we can transform the world! It is my hope and prayer that the missionary impulse desired by Pope Francis would grip our hearts and compel us to an even greater commitment to the missionary mandate of Jesus.  

There is much left to do; 5,000,000,000 people are still waiting in darkness for the light of Christ to dawn for them! 

By Joseph Summers

Director at Family Missions Company

 

Family Missions Company

Family Missions Company

Compelled by Jesus' missionary mandate, and filled with the Holy Spirit, Family Missions Company missionaries proclaim Jesus Christ and His Gospel to the poor. Always working in concert with the pastors of the Catholic Church, we strive to live the Gospel that we preach. We believe the Lord is calling many Catholic lay people, both singles and families, to serve in foreign missions, "the greatest and holiest duty of the Church." The need is urgent; we must go!

Leave a Replay

4 thoughts on “Pope Francis’ Dream for the Church: What Would Happen!”

  1. Pingback: Muslims Crucifying Christians Refusing Conversion - Big Pulpit

  2. How does this square with the Pope’s rather condescending repeated admonitions that we are never to poselytize? In fact, he says that trying to talk someone into accepting the Catholic faith is the “worst thing we can do” and we should, instead, simply win people over by the “attraction” of our lives. He even tells those he is speaking with, whehther Evangelicals or atheists, that he is not trying to convert them!

    1. Perhaps the Holy Father is using a bit of what Jesus did here. Jesus didn’t try to convert people with rational argument, but with what He did personally in their lives. He argued with the Pharisees, but with the Canaanite woman at the well He used a different method. He challenged her personally to look into her own life and made a deep contact with what she longed for and desired, showing her the way to salvation through love and attraction. It seems that getting into a debate about theology with her would have been “the worst thing” He could do. How did He treat tax collectors and sinners? Was He good at debate with them, trying to convince them with facts? Or did He show them the Way, the Truth and the Life in His own Being? I love to debate, to get into a good theological boxing match.But I try to limit those to people who are already solid, educated Catholics so that our boxing match ends with a smile. I often lose those, because I am a Parish Priest, not a full time scholastic. The experience often teaches me a lesson or two. Perhaps it teaches my “opponent” a lesson too. But the lesson that I need to learn from it is usually more important to me than winning an argument with an intellectual Catholic theologian.
      Fr. John Higgins
      Pastor

  3. anneeasthartford

    If this is so, why is it that Jesus at the end of the Gospel of Mathew commanded the disciples and us to not only preach the Gospel, but even to baptize the nations? Jesus had given what became known as the “great commission.”

Leave a Reply to Fr. John Higgins Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Sign up for our Newsletter

Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit