austraLasia - 5884(II)_Great motivation for sharing faith beyond our 'walls'

World Mission Sunday

Vatican, 22 October 2022 -- This Sunday (October 23) the Catholic Church celebrates the 96th World Mission Sunday, with the Message of Pope Francis 'You shall be my witnesses' (Acts 1:8) and the Catholic Church World Statistics 2022 released by FIDES (Congregation for the Evangelization). It is a special time to pray, support and contribute to the missionary drive of the Catholic community.

Although each of our SDB provinces celebrates the province-wide 'Salesian Mission Day' (2022 - Communicating Christ Today, # Online missionaries) at different times in the year, World Mission Sunday offers everyone a very good opportunity to grow in communion with the whole missionary Catholic community worldwide.

Here are some 'tips' on how to animate this annual occasion:

* Pope Francis once more shares (Message to WMD 2022) his dream about a completely 'missionary Church'. Read or share the Pope's Message to the 96th World Mission Sunday 'And you will be my witnesses'.

* The World Catholic statistics (2020.12.31) provide us with much information: In a year the Catholic population grows by 15 million (exception is the continent of Oceania). Priests are decreasing in numbers (-4117, that makes a a total of 410,219 priest, both religious and diocesan), permanent deacons are growing (+397, total 48,635), religious (brothers) are growing (+274, total 50,569), major seminarians are decreasing (=2203, total of 111,855). This extensive statistical report is available on Boscolink.

* Usually the best missionary animation is the life of living missionaries, listening to their motivation for a missionary vocation: read some SDB new missionary interviews (e.g. first Thai SDB missionary ever, 2022), browse the list of your province missionaries (e.g. VIE Province directory 2022-2023 which, besides the 353 confreres also shows 113 missionaries ad gentes and 55 missionaries within VIE province over the past 70 years since the beginning of Salesian presence there).

* The Catholic community worldwide is growing, but in a special way in the African continent, so dedicate a few minutes to understand what kind of Church vocations and institutions are growing in this dynamic part of the world.

* Watch some missionary interview video clips or movies, like the one-minute music clip of 94-year-old Fr Vincent Donati (former missionary in Japan, Korea and Sudan, now living in the prenovitiate community in Nairobi, Kenya; still passionate as a band conductor), or pray over the photo of Fr Joseph Tran's smashed vehicle (Brasil - Manaus province) who recently survived this horrible accident with 3 aspirants.

* Look at how to support some needy mission with a small gesture of solidarity, like Don Bosco Radio in Bolivia (project of the 2022 Salesian Mission Day)

And you shall be my witnesses!

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5884(II)_Great motivation for sharing faith beyond our 'walls'