Each year, this year being the 99th edition, the Church celebrates Mission Sunday as a sacred reminder of who she truly is — a missionary community.
It is not simply a day for special collections or for distant missionaries; it is a day to rediscover the beating heart of the Church: the salvation of souls (Can 1752).
From the moment the Risen Lord said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19), mission became not one activity among many, but the very identity of the Church.
The Church does not merely have a mission — she is mission.
The Church therefore cannot remain enclosed within her walls; she must breathe with the Spirit that sends her forth. And every baptized person shares in this sending forth, bearing witness through faith, love, and service in daily life — each according to his or her own capacity.
With some sent by going — leaving their homes, cultures, and comforts to proclaim Christ in new places.
And Others sent by supporting those who go — through prayer, sacrifice, encouragement, and material generosity.
Both share in the same mission, each playing an indispensable role in the one movement of the Church that carries the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
The missionary on the road and the faithful who sustain the mission in silence are united by the same fire — the love of Christ that urges us on.
In supporting the Church’s missionary work — through prayer, material assistance, or personal involvement — we participate in this universal outreach. We become part of the great chain of witnesses who continue the mission begun by Christ Himself.
A Moment to Rekindle the Fire
Mission Sunday above all offers a privileged moment to pause — to look inward and outward: inward, to rediscover the fire that first sent us; and outward, to see anew the faces and realities where Christ awaits us.
Mission is not what we do; it is who we are.
We are sent — not merely to accomplish projects, but to embody God’s tenderness in a world thirsting for mercy.
As SMA, our missionary charism finds its full expression in the preferential love for the most abandoned : when we bring the Gospel to those on the geographical, social, and spiritual peripheries; when we meet Christ in the faces of refugees, street children, the forgotten elderly, and the rural poor. To serve them is to serve Christ Himself.
From Africa, With Africa, and in Africa
Moreover, the theme for tour past General Assembly 2025, “set apart to proclaim the Gospel in Africa, with Africa, and from Africa.,” expresses a profound truth of the missionary reality today:
The African Church is no longer a mission field alone; it is a mission force — vibrant, generous, and deeply rooted in community life.
- In Africa: The mission continues within this land — among the most abandoned, the refugees, the poor, and the young who search for meaning and hope.
- With Africa: Mission is now a shared journey — Africans evangelizing not only their own people but also other nations beyond Africa, with missionaries from every continent. The missionary movement that once brought the Gospel to Africa now flows outward from Africa to the world, a beautiful circle of grace and reciprocity.
- From Africa: Missionaries today are sent from African communities, carrying with them the vitality and faith born on this continent to share it with the world.
This threefold element is not simply geographical; it is spiritual. It calls us to live incarnate among the people, to share life with them, and to let the Gospel take flesh in every culture we encounter.
Whether in the field or at home, whether by proclamation or by prayer, Each of us has a place in the missionary body of Christ. Let us then renew the grace of our calling.
May we, “religious” and faithful alike, carry together the Gospel in Africa, with Africa, and from Africa — for the glory of God and the salvation of His People.
Brice Ulrich AFFERI
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