Missionary Hearts in the Heartland

To the heartland of America. That's where our recent National Meeting of Diocesan Mission Directors and Coordinators took us -- to St. Louis, Missouri. There during our board committee and general meetings, as well as during the three days of our national meeting, we shared the best of the American Catholic tradition: a generous missionary spirit rooted in love of Christ and His Church.



As our special international guests and presenters, we welcomed our new Secretary General of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, Father Timothy Lehane, SVD, the National Director of Pontifical Mission Societies in India, Monsignor Ignaci Siluvai, and Father Roger McCarrick, S.M., National Director in the Pacific Islands. Together with Father Phillip Cover of the National Catholic Educational Association and Sherry Kennedy Brownrigg, a media professional, these special presenters gave us a very healthy dose of uplifting mission stories, mission spirituality and new ideas for mission promotion with the endless potential of social media opportunities. And, of course, Monica Yehle from our national office brightened up our day and overwhelmed us with a dramatic presentation of many new and exciting ventures into new media that are already in progress for our "one family in mission."

You can see a record of our national meeting at our special national meeting site. Many in our diocesan mission offices who could not be with us followed that meeting online -- even blogging their thoughts, along with others in attendance, as the days continued. In fact, in the week of the meeting and the week following, there have been some 4,000 visitors to that site, which includes videos of the presentations, as well as their PowerPoint and other support materials. The videos of those presentations are also included on our YouTube site.





Our international guests have commented many times over about the generosity of our faithful in the United States, the dynamism and dedication of our national office, the corps of committed diocesan directors and coordinators of the Pontifical Mission Societies, and the enthusiasm generated when we gather. I would only say "Amen" to such comments.

What inspires our faithful to be so generous in prayer and in sacrifice is the missionary spirit that is shared by our bishops, and our diocesan mission directors and coordinators, and passed on to the people in the pews. America has spoken again with her heart during that national meeting; a generous missionary heart, indeed.

On behalf of the countless beneficiaries of your kindness all over the mission world, I thank you and encourage you to continue in your missionary vocation. Remember, we are all missionaries by virtue of our Baptism.

Traveling Hope

Blessings on Easter Sunday! Today is truly filled with great hope - the hope found in the Lord's Resurrection.

As I write this message to you, I am preparing to leave for the annual gathering of Catholic school teachers, parish religious education directors and those involved in formation. The National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) convention and the gathering of the National Parish Catechetical Directors (NPCD) takes place all this coming week in Anaheim, California. The Pontifical Mission Societies is honored to have been invited to be part of these conventions, presenting our programs for mission awareness and participating in a "spiritual deepening day" for parish directors of religious education on Wednesday, April 15. We are most hopeful about the benefit of this collaboration, believing that it will be fruitful for us all, most especially our brothers and sisters in the Missions. I'll write more about the events of this week at their conclusion.

Hope, for me, seems these days to be most associated with travel. Last month, I journeyed to Colombia in South America for a meeting of national directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies from Latin American countries. All returned from this meeting energized - and ready to energize others - in commitment to the Church's evangelizing mission, to announcing the hope-filled "Good News" of Jesus' Resurrection through various programs and presentations to the faithful back at home.

I felt a similar sense of hope earlier this year on a journey to Nagaland in northeast India. There, I visited the home of a poor family whose daughter, Jacinta, was making her religious vows. The hope of that day - aside from the obvious hope that comes from knowing that others will experience the love of our Lord through the service of this Sister - came also from realizing that you, through your generosity, were there in a very real way as well. Gifts to the Society of St. Peter Apostle supported the formation of Sister Jacinta and so many young men and women in this area. Many children I met on that and so many other missionary travels have been nourished in the faith through offerings to the Holy Childhood Association. And the catechists who continue to bring the Lord’s “Good News” to the poor are helped by your support of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, as are the parishes and their service there and throughout the Developing World.

Be assured that your donations make a faith-filled, indeed, hope-filled difference in the Missions. Now that surely gives us another reason to be most hopeful on this Easter Sunday! Joy and peace to you!