The Archbishop of Abuja Diocese, His Grace, Ignatius Kaigama, says evangelism is the surest way to stabilise the world in view of the various challenges.

Kaigama said this in a Homily on Sunday during the celebration of the “Mission Sunday” at the All Saints Parish, Dutse Alhaji, Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in the Catholic Church, every 30th Sunday of the year is observed as the “Mission Sunday” with a message from the Pope read world wide.

According to Kaigama, the Bible announces God’s universal plan of salvation for mankind and Jesus commanded His disciples to go into the world and preach the Gospel.

“While the second reading today, Romans chapter 10 verse 14 poses two fundamental questions in our lives: “how can they hear without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent?

“This must be the mission and focus for every baptized person which is to preach the good news about Jesus Christ, not about us.

“This is also what the response to the Psalm enjoins us to do: “tell of the Lord’s wonders among all the peoples”, he said.

The Archbishop said the Holy Father, Pope Francis, advised faithful to launch themselves into the deep to fulfil the mandate received from Jesus.

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He noted that the mandate was to go into the world and evangelise to all people, as the gift of faith could not be considered as private privilege but as a gift to be shared with those who had yet received it.

However, Pope in his message said that since the decree of Pope Pius XI in 1926, the Church had celebrated Mission Sunday and also dedicated the month of October to prayerful reflection and giving material support for missionary work.

“This year, being the 95th celebration, the over 1.3 billion Catholics in the world reflect on the importance of missionary work in the Church and for the society”.

“The Pope’s Message for this year’s Mission Sunday describes the current situation in the world in which the Church had been called and sent to evangelise.

“The pandemic has brought to the fore and amplified the pain, the solitude, the poverty and the injustices experienced by so many people.

“It has unmasked our false sense of security and revealed the brokenness and polarization gradually growing in our midst,” the pope said.

He said that the Mission Sunday challenged faithful to be good news through good conduct, discipline, hard work, respect for human life and truth.

He urged the people to guard against bad news of insecurity and the destruction of lives and property; bring back to the fold those who have gone astray or are now simply lukewarm about God and religion in general.

The Pope called on the people to turn societal challenges, conflicts and difficulties into opportunities for mission.

“We must not be blind to the plight of the poor and needy around us and so, we must be missionaries of social justice, equity and fairness; in order to build a well ordered society,” the Pope added.

(NAN)

Vanguard News Nigeria