For the next nine days I am ofering a short

refecton and challenge to help all prepare

for the Global Catholic Celebraton of Mission
Sunday, October 19
th
. I invite you all to take
a minute and check out each days sharing.
Day 1. The whole Catholic world celebrates
MISSION during this month of October. We
are all engaged in MISSION by virtue of our
Baptsm in one way or another. We each are
infused with the grace and authority to go
beyond ourselves in big and small ways to
witness the person of Jesus Christ, live His
message and serve others near and far. The annual celebraton of Mission Sunday happens on the third
Sunday of October, this year being the 19
th
. Hopefully, the homily on that Sunday will touch on the fact
that we are all missionaries and invite us all to engagement beyond our parish community as well as re-
membering in prayer those missionaries who are far from home. There may be special lectures or other
events that help us understand the greater call to Mission. Many Catholic schools and Religious Educaton
Classes have the children engage in projects that help them become aware of children from other far away
countries who share the same faith, but may not share the same opportunites of educaton, good health
and the like.
A Thought from the Founder, St. Guido Confort
My dear people, how can we obtain this grace? There is no doubt that
God is ready to grant it to all, He won it for all through the sufferings and
the Blood of His only-begotten Son, and He shall give all an abundant and
gratuitous share in it; the condition for obtaining this grace is that we ask
for it in prayer.

Ordinarily, therefore, there is no salvation for the Christian without prayer; grace and pray-
er are inseparable, writes the greatest Doctor of the Church. To deny the necessity of grace
is the same as denying the necessity of prayer. Show me a man who has no need of divine
grace and I shall grant you that he has no need of prayer. This is why the God of all kind-
ness said: Without me you can do nothing [John 15:5]; He also added: It is necessary to
pray always without ceasing - oportet semper orare et nunquam deficere [Luke 18:1]. Fur-
thermore: Watch and pray, ask, seek, insist, pray at all times and in all places [see Matt.
26:41; Luke 21:36]. Portion taken from Homily on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6,
1913