Next Weekend: Our Annual Pontifical Mission Appeal
Next weekend, our parish will participate in our annual Pontifical Mission Appeal, a beautiful opportunity to live out the missionary dimension of our Catholic faith. Each year, the Holy Father invites Catholics throughout the world to look beyond the boundaries of their own parish and diocese to support the Church's mission of proclaiming the Gospel to communities where the needs are often great and the resources are few.
This year's appeal will support the missionary work of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) in Peru, and we will be blessed to welcome Sister Helen Ann, who will share the story of this remarkable ministry and how our prayers and generosity help make it possible.
The IHM Sisters have faithfully served the people of Peru for many years through ministries of education, healthcare, evangelization, and pastoral outreach. Today, four IHM Sisters continue this mission, accompanying families in some of the country's most remote and economically challenged regions. They provide religious education, prepare children and adults for the sacraments, visit isolated communities, distribute food and essential supplies, and operate a boarding home that enables young women from distant mountain villages to receive a high school education an opportunity that would otherwise be beyond their reach.
Through political instability, natural disasters, food shortages, and the COVID-19 pandemic, the sisters have remained steadfast witnesses to the hope and love of Jesus Christ.
As members of the Body of Christ, we share responsibility for the Church's mission. While most of us are called to proclaim the Gospel here in Central New York, we also have the privilege of supporting those whom the Church sends to serve in the missions throughout the world. Through our prayers and our financial generosity, we become partners in the work of evangelization, extending Christ's love far beyond our own community. In this way, the Church's mission truly becomes our mission.
I encourage you to begin praying now for our upcoming Pontifical Mission Appeal, for the IHM Sisters serving in Peru, and for the people they accompany each day. Then, as we gather for Mass next weekend, please give Sister Helen Ann a warm Mary, Mother of Our Savior welcome, listen attentively to the story of the Church's missionary work, and prayerfully consider making as generous a gift as you are able. Together, we continue to answer Christ's command to "go and make disciples of all nations" by supporting those who have dedicated their lives to carrying His Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Thank you in advance for your prayers, your generosity, and your continued support of the Church's missionary work throughout the world. May the Lord continue to strengthen Mary, Mother of Our Savior Parish as a missionary community, always eager to proclaim the Gospel here at home while generously supporting those who carry Christ's love to the ends of the earth.
Your Servant in Christ,
Father Jason C. Hage, Pastor
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Mary, Mother of Our Savior, pray for us!