On the occasion of the traditional month dedicated to prayer, reflection and action on the universal mission of the Church, the Swiss bishops have in recent days issued a message, signed by the Abbot of Saint Maurice, Joseph Roduit, head of the Missions office of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference, to remind the faithful that October is a month devoted to the Eucharist and mission. “It is important that during this month the emphasis of each pastoral and personal activity be placed on this aspect says the message Throughout the world, the Christians of the Catholic Church meet together to restore a sense to their mission”. It is a mission that is the same as that “of Jesus, who sent his disciples to bring to all peoples the Good News of a God who is our Father, of a Son who is our brother and of a Spirit who inspires us with good thoughts, good words, good attitudes and good deeds”. The Western world, adds Msgr. Roduit, “has a need to discover hope instead of despair. It must find new reasons for believing and for hoping”. The message therefore invites the faithful to conclude “in the best possible way” the Year of the Eucharist proclaimed by John Paul II, who is his apostolic letter Mane nobiscum Domine wrote: “Why not turn this Year of the Eucharist into a time in which diocesan and parish communities commit themselves in a special way, with brotherly action, to combating one form of poverty or another in our world? I am thinking of the drama of famine that torments hundreds of millions of human beings; I am thinking of the diseases that are devastating the developing countries, of the loneliness of the elderly, of the problems of the unemployed, and of the sufferings of immigrants. We cannot deceive ourselves: it is for the love we bear each other, and for the attention we devote to those in need, that we shall be recognized as true disciples of Christ. This is the criterion that will demonstrate the authenticity of our eucharistic celebrations”.
