KENYA: Hearts Ablaze, Feet in Motion, Catholics Geared Up for ‘Global Solidarity’ on World Mission Sunday

By Elizabeth Asasha

Catholic religious ministers have stamped their readiness for the annual World Mission Sunday, which will be observed this Sunday, October 22, under the theme “Hearts on fire, feet on the move,” set forth to the universal church by Pope Francis.

Rt. Rev. Charles Joseph Sampa Kasonde, Chairman of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA), commented on the preparedness for the annual event, echoing the significance of instruction, preparation of the faithful, and communion participation in the mission as convoked by the Holy father.

Speaking on Thursday, October 19, at Donum Dei Roussel House in Karen, Nairobi shortly after the AMECEA executive board convening, the religious leader, who also dons in the mitre as the Local Ordinary of the Catholic Diocese of Solwezi in Zambia, underscored the foremost individual and group commitments that collectively bolster activities geared towards missionary work noting that, “each endeavor, no matter how humble, plays an essential part within the grand tapestry of God’s mission.”

“I have reiterated on Communion participation and mission,” Stated Bishop Kasonde, “You are not sent out empty-handed, you need to be capacitated, to be filled and we are being filled with the message of Christ to reach out to our brothers and sisters evangelizing, and bringing Christ alive among them.”

Bishop Kasonde demystified the Mission Sunday theme, ‘Hearts on Fire, Feet on the Move’, as one that requires empowerment through spiritual nourishment, education, and formation to capacitate believers for the pastoral ministry.

“We are on fire because we have been endowed by the grace of Christ and this is the love of Christ that moves in us, sparks an urge in all of us to reach out to our brothers and sisters in communities to communicate and bring the peace that our Lord Jesus Christ stands for, “ said the Catholic prelate, adding that the mission in the church is in tandem with this conviction, “it is not a mission in isolation, but rather participative.”

“Once you are filled in, and the resources are given to you, you develop an urge within you to reach out to others and that is the foot now going; reaching out to our brothers and sisters in Mission.” Noted Bishop Kasonde, the current Chancellor of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA)

Fr. Bonaventure Luchidio, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, reiterated that mission work is not a prerogative of one category of people in the church, but rather of everyone by virtue of baptism while explaining the Holy Father’s end goal in giving the church the action-provoking theme for Mission Sunday 2023.

The priest drew from St. Augustine’s confessions, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you,” to beseech believers to place God, who is Love, at the center of all their efforts, and to quench their restless desire for fulfillment by sharing God’s love with the rest of His creation.

“A heart that speaks to another heart can only speak if there is joy, kindness, and love and our message is not just for the mind; it is a Cor ad cor loquitur” ( heart speaks to heart). ” Fr. Luchidio, who coordinates the work of Fidei Donum (Gift of Faith) priests in far-flung marginalized areas in Kenya stated.

The Kenyan priest made the statement during a live interview on World Mission Sunday on Capuchin Television on Thursday, October 19, in Karen, Nairobi, reaffirming the endearing 2019 Mission Sunday theme, which remains at the core of the Christian Faith, “Baptized and Sent: The Church of Christ on Mission in the World.”

He said, “By the waters of baptism we are given an identity, and membership in the Ecclesia assembly and there are responsibilities in the ecclesial membership; you have to preach because you are a priest, Witness because you are a prophet and you have to teach because you are a king.”

Fr. Luchidio urged all Catholics to pray fervently and donate generously for the mission, emphasizing that every coin collected is directed to support the evangelical work of missionaries around the world.

“We are mission, you are mission, together we are mission, let us go to mission with joy and a smile.” He concluded the one-hour television discourse ahead of the remarkable day in the Catholic liturgical calendar.

The Zambian bishop, Kasonde, explicated the significance of giving in support of missionary work stating, “Whenever you hear of Missio Aaachen, Missio Munich, Missio Invest or Missio US, Canada, they collect the monetary donations, send it to Rome and Pope Francis through the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples at the Dicastery use propaganda Fidei as a vehicle to redistribute this money especially to the third world countries.”

He pointed out a number of religious infrastructures including churches, convents, priest houses, hospitals, schools, and priest houses which have been realized through donations towards mission work.

“No matter how poor you are, the shilling you contribute makes a difference and goes a long way to help dioceses run, create pastoral centers, catechetical programs, liturgical functionality among other pastoral activities.” He continued, “and that is the message of the mission, it is the word of God accompanied by the empowerment for the infrastructure, resource mobilization, and formation of our people.”

Bishop Kasonde revealed that the Thursday 19 meeting, which was attended by executive representatives of AMECEA and the Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa (ACWECA), was held to revisit the mandate of the resolutions made at the inaugural meeting in November 2022, with the goal of strengthening church ties and adding to the formation that the church desires for its members so that they can remain responsible people in this ministry.

In 1922 Pope Pius XI made the Association for the Propagation of the Faith (APF), the official mission-funding society for the whole Catholic Church.

On 14 April, Pope Pius XI gave his approval to a request formulated by the APF which, in plenary assembly, petitioned the Pope to establish ‘a day of prayer and propaganda for the missions to be celebrated on the same day in every Catholic Diocese, parish an institute on the world’. The reasons for the request were clearly stated: ‘The day would foster understanding of the greatness of the missionary task, encourage zeal among the clergy and the people; offer an opportunity to make the APF ever more widely known and encourage offerings for the missions.’