Letter from Archbishop Donoghue on World Missions

Published: October 14, 2004

My dear Friends in Christ,

As we celebrate World Mission Sunday, October 24, we are mindful of the responsibility given to us at our Baptism to be active participants in the Church’s mission to all peoples. Today, more than two-thirds of the world’s people have yet to hear the great “Good News” of Jesus Christ, their Savior, or to experience—through the word and witness of missionaries—the abiding love of His Father. World Mission Sunday gives us the opportunity, within the context of the Eucharist, to offer our prayers and support for the mission of making Jesus known, even “to the ends of the earth.”

As Pope John Paul II notes in his message for this year’s World Mission Sunday celebration: “When we take part in the Eucharistic Sacrifice we understand more profoundly the universality of redemption and, consequently, the urgency of the Church’s mission.”

On World Mission Sunday, we unite with Catholics throughout the world—all of us gathered at the Eucharist—in special commitment to the missionary task. We should pray for the Church’s missionary work and offer our personal sacrifices—our own sufferings, our cares and concerns—in union with the sufferings of Christ on the Cross for the salvation of the world. We also should offer financial help through the Propagation of the Faith for the Church’s work in more than 1,100 dioceses throughout the Missions.

The missionary work of the Church depends on each one of us. Please be as generous as your means will allow this World Mission Sunday and continue to pray that all of us in the Archdiocese of Atlanta may be eager and effective witnesses to God, our loving Father, and to His only Son, Jesus Christ.

Assuring you of my prayers and best wishes and with kind personal regards, I am

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend John F. Donoghue

Archbishop of Atlanta