Christ The Good Shepherd Church -  Adelanto, CA issued the following announcement on Oct. 18

Today, the twenty-ninth Sunday of ordinary time, is World Mission Sunday. Today vast numbers of people still do not know Christ. For this reason, the mission ad gentes, continues to be most urgent. All the members of the church are called to participate in this mission. Today is a privileged moment when the faithful of various continents engage in prayer and concrete gestures of solidarity in support of the young churches in mission land. It is a celebration of grace because the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father, offers wisdom and strength to those who are obedient to his action. It is a celebration of joy, because Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, sent to evangelize the world, supports and accompanies our missionary efforts (Pope Francis). 

In the first reading of this Sunday, God makes clear his choice of Israel. In a most surprising way too, he makes known his choice of a foreign king (Cyrus), whom Isaiah referred to as “God’s anointed instrument.” His choice of this “pagan king” as his anointed was for a purpose. This was in order to make His name known among other nations. Therefore, like both Cyrus and Israel, God has chosen us. He has called us to be part of this same project, which is: “that everybody may know about Him. In the second reading of today, Paul, and his companions prayed for the church of Thessalonica. They had preached the good news there, but they knew that only prayer could sustain their work. So they knew the importance of prayer in mission. 

Therefore, it is important we continue to pray for missionaries as the Holy Father reminds us. In today’s gospel, the Pharisees were looking for a way to discredit Christ’s message. This gospel reminds us of a very important reality that every missionary faces. In as much as we preach the good news, detractors and difficulties abound. Hence, the Pharisees in today’s gospel represent the different obstacles a missionary must encounter in the course of his work. They come in different ways. They come in various forms of temptations, persecutions, threats to life, calumny, and so on. Therefore, for a missionary to overcome all these and be successful, especially in today’s world, he or she must be as wise as a serpent and yet gentle as a dove (Mt 10:16). He or she must be a person of prayer and strong faith. 

A missionary must make the Holy Spirit his teacher and partner because, he is the principal agent of mission as Christ promised: “The Advocate will teach you everything. He must be driven by love for God and for His people. Finally, a missionary must be ready at all times to sacrifice and surrender all (including his life) for God’s mission. The joy of being a missionary does not actually come from how much material gifts one receives. Rather, it comes from how much lives one touches, and how much joy one is able to bring to others. It also comes from, how much love he is able to communicate to others through the gospel. May God grant us the grace to continue our missionary work through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Original source can be found here.