In the words of José María Calderón, Director of OMP Spain, "The World Mission Sunday collection, the DOMUND, which the Church celebrates all over the world, is the most important of all the activities of the Church.he way we Christians are concerned about the Church, wherever it may be.
– Supernatural World Mission Day, World Mission Sunday, DOMUNDThe 2020 edition was presented this morning in Madrid, at the headquarters of the Pontifical Mission Societies, at a press conference attended by the following speakers José María Calderón, Bishop Bernardito AuzaApostolic Nuncio to Spain and Enrique RosichComboni Missionary in Chad.
Virtual and face-to-face actions
This year's campaign emphasizes the availability of the missionaries' hearts with the slogan "...".Here I am, send me", and which has the peculiarity of being universal - not exclusive to the Spanish church. A The campaign was also marked by the coronavirus, which meant that the vast majority of the actions surrounding the Day took place in the digital environment: virtual solidarity race, donations through the web, etc. However, this has not stopped the exhibition "Domund uncovered", which can be visited in the Cathedral of Burgos until October 20, and the proclamation of DOMUND, in the same church, by Felix Sancho, president of the Hereda San Pablo Burgos Basketball Club.
Beyond charity
The Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Spain has especially emphasized the following colons during the presentation of the campaign. The first, the awareness that helping the DOMUND is not just an act of charityThe Church's catholicity is not only a reality, but a manifestation of the reality of the Church's catholicity: "Helping DOMUND is helping the church to be church; it means that the Christian feels responsible for the whole Church." Closely linked to this reflection was the second point: it is the universal Church that sends out missionaries where they are needed and who distributes the aid received.
A year of mission
For his part, the Apostolic Nuncio in Spain, Bishop Bernardito Auza, wanted to emphasize that "although the Church always prays for its missionaries, with this Day we also want to thank them and help them in their work". and explained the initiative of Pope Francis so that priests in formation within the Vatican diplomatic corps have an exclusive year of missionary experience in one of the dioceses dependent on the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples or on the Congregation for Bishops, because "Pope Francis is very clear that the Church is born of mission."
Living with people
Life in a church less than 100 years old, the Catholic community of Chad, was the focus of the intervention of the Comboni missionary. Enrique Rosich. This Melilla native, raised in Madrid, wanted to emphasize that his first experience of arriving in Chad in 1981 was that of "to be helped by a people who do not know you, but who receive you as sent by God". Among his experiences, he has reported that "A catechist once told me that Jesus gives us words that are very difficult to put into practice, for example, when Jesus speaks of loving the enemy, and there the enemy can kill you...but Jesus does not change his word". Rosich also wanted to emphasize that in the mission "one does not do things, one lives with the people. That is to be a missionary, to live with them"..
Generosity, in spite of everything
One of the most curious facts that were revealed at the presentation of the campaign was the fact that contributions from Spain and the United States account for half of what is received in OMP worldwide. Last year, the Spanish contribution to the DOMUND amounted to more than 10 million euros. This amount helps the Church's presence in 149 mission territories. This year, with the COVID19 crisis, the collection is expected to be somewhat more difficult: the decrease in church attendance, the impossibility of visiting schools or the traditional piggy bank are some of the initiatives that cannot be carried out due to the pandemic. For this reason, the PMS appeals for generosity, in spite of everything, facilitating the means of contribution and always asking for prayers for the missionaries who make the Church throughout the world.
