Day for the Promotion of the Redemptorist Missionary Vocation  

The second Sunday of November is the day designated for the promotion of the Redemptorist Missionary Vocation and this year it falls on the 12th of November.  It is not a coincidence that the Congregation was founded by St. Alphonsus on the 9th of November, 1732.

At this time (2017) there are approximately 5000 Redemptorists working across 77 countries.  Clearly the missionary challenges vary from one country to another and the responses to those challenges vary also.  But there is a bond which unites all Redemptorists as expressed by the 2016 General Chapter (a gathering of representatives from all over the world) – Redemptorists are Witnesses of the Redeemer, in Solidarity for Mission to a Wounded World.

To be a witness of the Redeemer is to commit oneself to the person of Jesus, to his teachings and to his attitudes.  To be in solidarity means to be supportive of others, to have compassion for them, to identify with their struggles.  In this instance it means that Redemptorists commit themselves to be in solidarity with those who are wounded, those who are deprived, those whose dignity is not respected, those who suffer discrimination, those for whom a relationship has gone wrong, refugees, the homeless, those who are trafficked.  And they do so in the name of the faith they have received in Baptism and confirmed in their religious profession.

The wounded world is a reality – there are so many people who can be identified with one or other of the groupings mentioned in the last paragraph and that is not by any means an exhaustive list. In every country in the world there are wounded people and it is our mission to be witnesses of the Redeemer in their lives.

Salvation is about healing, about becoming the persons that the Lord wishes us to be.  It is about experiencing the love, mercy and compassion of God and the solidarity of one’s fellow human beings.  It is about knowing that God is the God of life and therefore every human life is precious and to be cherished, nurtured and respected.

All Christians, through their Baptism, are called to engage in the mission of Salvation and, within that general perspective, Redemptorists do so in the spirit of St. Alphonsus – to follow the example of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, by preaching the Word of God to the poor, as he declared of himself: He sent me to preach the Good News to the poor.

Redemptorists are grateful for the vocation they have received and believe in it to the point that they pray to the Lord to call others to the Redemptorist way of life.  On the world day for promotion of the Redemptorist Missionary Vocation you are invited to pray for that intention.  Thank you for doing so.