MISSION VOICE
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Mt 28: 19, 20)
“To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter”. (2 Thes 2: 14-15)
“And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation”. (Mk 16:15)
“The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few, so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” (Mt 9:37)
“…An obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16)
“Our world feels an urgent need for the Gospel. Perhaps we feel this need precisely because the world seems to be distancing itself from the Gospel, or rather because the world has not yet drawn near to the Gospel” (St. John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, Page 114)
“I sense that the moment has come to commit all of the Church’s energies to a New Evangelization and to the mission ad gentes. No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples” (St. John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio, no. 3)
“We know at this time, there exists a powerful anti-evangelization that has at its disposal means and programs and works with power and force – powerfully opposing the Gospel and all the efforts of evangelization. The struggle found in the modern world is enormous” (cf. St. John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope)
“Our own time, then, must be increasingly marked by new hearing of God’s Word and a New Evangelization. Recovering the centrality of the Divine Word in the Christian life leads us to appreciate anew the deepest meaning of the forceful appeal of Pope John Paul II: to pursue the mission ad gentes, and vigorously to embark upon the New Evangelization, especially in those nations where the Gospel has been forgotten or meets with indifference as a result of widespread secularism” (Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini no. 122)
“Look to the future with commitment to a New Evangelization, one that is new in its ardor, new in its methods, and new in its expression” (St. John Paul II, Address to the Latin American Bishops)
“Know and understand, you, the smallest of my children, that I am the ever Virgin Mary, the Mother of the True God by Whom we live: of the Creator from Whom all things are – Lord of Heaven and earth. I most ardently desire that you build here a temple for me, so that in it, I can manifest and give all my love, compassion, help and protection, as I am your loving Mother – of all of you who live on earth, of all of humanity, and of all those who love and admire me and who invoke me and confide in me. There I will listen to their cries, and I will remedy all their miseries, sorrows and sufferings (Words of Our Lady of Guadalupe to San Juan Diego, December 9, 1531)
“Having lived her condition as a disciple of the Lord perfectly, Mary calls Christians to progress on the path of a fervent life in accordance with the Gospel” (St. John Paul II, Letter to Cardinal Paul Tung, December 16, 1997)
“Mary, Virgin and Mother, you, who, moved by the Holy Spirit, welcomed the Word of life into the depths of your humble faith: as you gave yourself completely to the Eternal One, help us to say our own ‘FIAT’ to the urgent call, as pressing as ever; to proclaim the good news of Jesus. Star of the New Evangelization, help us to bear radiant witness to communion, service, ardent and generous faith, justice, and love of the poor, that the joy of the Gospel may reach the ends of the earth, illuminating even the fringes of our world. Mother of the living Gospel, wellspring of happiness for God’s little ones, pray for us.” (Prayer extract from Evangelii Gaudium – 24 November 2013)
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