Parish Missions
PARISH MISSIONS
Maryknoll offers Parish Missions to get your parish "out on mission." We are all baptized into the mission of Jesus, who came to show us that God is on a mission of love. God invites us to participate in that mission of love. It is a mission that begins in our hearts and overflows into our families, parishes and communities. But it does not stop there. God's love knows no boundaries and cannot be contained. When we experience it, we will want to share it everywhere and with everyone, particularly those who need it the most.
Using Pope Francis's Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium as a guide, Maryknoll Parish Missions explore how God invites us to participate in the mission by forming communities of missionary disciples who go forth in JOY to share the Good News of God's love. Drawing on its rich mission history of over one hundred years of sharing and receiving God's love around the world, our Maryknoll Mission Promoters will help your parish find its true missionary heart.
Going forth in Joy: Creating Communities of Missionary Disciples
In all its activities the parish encourages and train . its members to be evangelizers.
It is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a center of constant missionary outreach.
Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium
Session 1: Created to Go Forth in Joy (Monday)
Session 2: Carrying on Jesus' Mission (Tuesday)
Session 3: Pentecost Continues Here (Wednesday)
"For if we have received the love which restores meaning to our lives, how can we fail to share that love with others?" (EG8)
God is love and Scripture tells the story of God's mission to share that love. But God gives us the choice to accept it or reject it. When we accept it and it takes root in our hearts, we experience the profound joy that we will we want to share with others. Sharing the love is saying "YES" to God's invitation to participate in the mission of love.
"Mission is at once a passion for Jesus and a passion for his people." (EG268)
In Jesus, God becomes human to show us the breadth of God's love. The Gospel stories not only show us how Jesus did mission, but that he passed the mission on to his disciples. Jesus invites us to grow in a spirituality grounded in his mission so that we too can experience the joy of sharing God's love with others.
"There is no greater freedom than that of allowing oneself to be guided by the Holy Spirit." (EG280)
With the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost, the mission of God receives a Church to carry on the mission. Pentecost continues today and the Holy Spirit invites us to form communities of missionary disciples who go forth in joy to share the Good News of God's love with others, especially those who are unloved.
FAQs
What is the format of the Parish Mission?
Typically the Parish Mission will include a Maryknoller preaching at all the Sunday masses with three mission sessions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. When parishes prefer that there be a morning session, it is usually after the morning Mass and is repeated in the evening. Sessions are about 90 minutes and involve presentation, interaction, faith sharing and prayer.
Who will do the Parish Mission?
Depending on the size of the parish, Maryknoll usually sends a team of its dynamic Mission Promoters to do the mission. The team may include a combination of Maryknoll priests, brothers, Maryknoll deacon mission partners and Maryknoll lay mission promoters.
How can we involve the parish youth in the mission?
Maryknoll is more than happy to include in the Parish Mission specialized sessions for Catholic Schools, Religious Education Programs and Confirmation groups.
What support can you offer for our parish staff to form communities of missionary disciples?
While we are at the parish for the Parish Mission, we can offer workshops for parish and school staff during the day between the Mission sessions to train them to become more effective mission educators and animators in the parish.
What support can you offer after the Parish Mission?
Maryknoll offers a number of ways to continue to support the parish in forming communities of missionary disciples:
Maryknoll can provide parishioners with home delivery of the award winning Maryknoll Magazine to inspire them and help them connect their own mission stories with those of people around the world.
Maryknoll can provide assistance for parishes that want to engage in a mission immersion trip, either domestically or internationally.
Maryknoll can provide a variety of mission resources for the parish ministers to use in their programs and ministries and can provide formation for parish leaders in forming missionary disciples.
How much does the Parish Mission cost?
Maryknoll operates on the generosity of its donors. We look forward to discussing what type of donation would help Maryknoll cover its expenses and support its mission work.
Why is Maryknoll doing parish missions? I thought you worked overseas?
Maryknoll's mandate since it was founded over a hundred years ago, is to help the Catholic Church in the U.S. respond to God's invitation to participate in mission. Through the Parish Mission, Maryknoll hopes to be of service to the parish in better appreciating and responding to that baptismal call to mission.