St Charles Church .org
This is a summary of a Fr. Gerry Creedon homily delivered at St. Charles on October 19, 2003 on World Mission Sunday
LAST NIGHT I CELEBRATED a baptism for two children whose mothers had recently joined the Catholic Church. At the reception following one of the mothers shared about her older child. He had recently joined our Catchesis of the Good Shepherd, a Montessori method of religious education. The tactile, symbolic elements of that program suited him better than the traditional style. Now instead of pushing him to class, he looks forward to his Sunday morning catechesis.
She wondered if there were a way to involve him more deeply in outreach. Her family participates in our Haiti sponsorship project, providing support to a student's education in Cavaillon, our sister parish. He is not allowed to send a gift. I explained that sometimes gift giving causes tension with other children who are not remembered in this way. Besides gifts have a way of getting lost in customs. I suggested sending drawings or artwork with letters. When difference in language creates barriers, children's art allows them to share their worlds. With the Haiti Committee I promised to explore these questions. Her underlying concern is the foundation of world mission Sunday: faith needs to express itself in solidarity.
"For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many". The beatification of Mother Teresa this weekend serves to underline our Church's preferential option for the poor. On the streets of Calcutta she served the last, the lowest and the least. She had been a teacher in an upper class school and experienced ' a vocation within a vocation', in her words.
All of us in our own ways want to imitate her. I was ordained at All Hallows College in Dublin. This missionary seminary has the words "Euntes docete omnes gentes" etched over the front door. Since its foundation during the Irish Famine it has trained priests to follow the Irish immigrant to all of the English-speaking world, where the Irish Diaspora fled. When I opted for the USA, I always had in mind spending time in Latin America. I was blessed with the opportunity to have a vocation within a vocation, when I was allowed to found our diocesan mission in Banica on the Dominican Republic's Border with Haiti. For four years I experienced life with people who were deprived of drinking water, roads, electricity and basic health care, as are many millions of the world's people. In a land without therapists I saw how essential religion is to the survival of people. I am delighted that St. Charles has a longstanding sister relation with two parishes in Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and that over 200 students are receiving an education thanks to their sponsors here.
Each of us wants to follow the example of Teresa, to serve and give life. Support to our Sunday tithe through our regular giving is but one way to make Mission Sunday a yearlong parish commitment. Our support to today's second collection is another such sign. There is no surer path to world peace and security than the work of evangelization and development.