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A Message from Bishop Doran
October 2008
Dear Friends in Christ:
In his World Mission Sunday 2008 Message Pope Benedict XVI reflects on
the life and ministry of St. Paul who traveled “over the roads of the
Roman Empire as a herald, an apostle, a preacher and a teacher of the
Gospel,” and on his example to us today regarding “the continuing
urgency to proclaim the Gospel also in our times.” All papal messages
have profound value, and so I hope you will read the whole message. It
is short, yet profound. You can find it on the Vatican’s website:
www.vatican.va, or write us a note
on your Mission Appeal gift envelope requesting a copy.
I am most drawn to the section of the Holy Father’s Message when he
states, “By looking at St. Paul’s experience, we understand that
missionary activity is a response to the love with which God loves us.
His love redeems us and prods us to the missio ad gentes. It is
the spiritual energy that can make the harmony, justice and communion
grow among persons, races and people to which everyone aspires.”
May all of us, called to this awesome responsibility of living and
extending the Gospel message to our families, neighborhoods, work
places, and the ends of the earth, be connected to that same response of
love that propelled St. Paul to be the Apostle of the Nations. Let us
pray for one another and humbly ask for this grace.
At this point this collection for the missionary needs of the universal
Church embraces our contribution for World Mission Sunday – the missions
in the parts of the United States where the Catholic population is
small, for the Church in Latin America and for members in the Society
for the Propagation of the Faith. Throughout our history as a dioceses
our people have been generous to these needs.
In the Spirit of St. Paul, and to share in gratitude some of our
resources so that the missionary effort of our Church can be sustained
and strengthened throughout the world, I ask you to join with me in a
generous response to this year’s Mission Appeal.
With every good wish for you, I
remain...
Cordially yours in Christ,
The Most Reverend Thomas
G. Doran, D.D., J.C.D.
Bishop of Rockford
World Mission Sunday
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Your contributions to the Society for the Propagation of the
Faith on World Mission Sunday help support pastoral and evangelizing
programs, catechists and catechetical work, the building of churches and
chapels, the work of Religious Communities in health care and education,
and communication and transportation needs. Your gifts help to ensure
that the poor of the Missions receive help and the hope that comes from
knowing of the love of Jesus Christ. The day-to-day service of the
Catholic Church in the Developing World depends on such financial help.
To find out more visit the Propagation of the Faith’s website:
http://www.worldmissions-catholicchurch.org. Last year, the faithful
of this Diocese contributed $275,741.
Missions in the United States
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The Catholic Home Missions is a
powerful expression of stewardship and our Catholic communion. Catholics
from more prosperous parishes across America give generously to offer
desperately needed help to the mission Church here at home. Visit their
website: www.usccb.org/hm. The
Black and Indian Collection, established in 1884, is the embodiment of
the Church’s concern for evangelizing the Black and Indian peoples of
the US and the Eskimo and Aleute peoples of Alaska. Last year, the
faithful of this Diocese contributed $60,802 which was equally divided
between these two collections.
The
Church in Latin America
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This Appeal supports the Rockford Diocese’s connection with
the Diocese of Chulucanas in Peru. Our sister diocese uses our $10,000
gift in order to train leaders in the promotion of the Diocesan Pastoral
Plan. Currently Father Schuessler, a priest of this Diocese, is serving
there, and receives supplemental assistance from this appeal to meet his
basic needs. A one-time gift of $5,000 was sent to a mission diocese in
Columbia. Another $5,000 from the collection also are sent to the US
Bishops’ Office for Latin America which provides grants to dioceses,
parishes, religious congregations, seminaries, and other Catholic
institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean to assist in the
formation of priests, religious, lay ministers, missionaries, pastoral
workers, catechists, and youth ministers. Visit their website:
www.usccb.org/latinamerica.
Membership in the Society for the Propagation of the Faith
(SPF)
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Would you consider making an extra special commitment to the
missionary work of the Church as a member of the Propagation of the
Faith? Here is what you can do…
• Pray
daily for the Church’s missionary work by saying one Our Father, Hail Mary and
Glory Be.
St. Francis Xavier, pray for us. St.
Thérèse of Lisieux, pray for us.
• Offer your personal cross in union with the suffering
of Christ for the redemption of unknown men
and women.
• Donate to this appeal and whenever you can during the
year, and
By designating this appeal on the
Mission Appeal envelope, your name and address will be sent to the National SPF
Office. Last year 1,167 people signed up and contributed $19,226.
Donate Now!
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