LRMS at SM MANILA MASSES
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THE Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society has been celebrating masses in SM Manila as a pastoral response to provide the Holy Eucharist among the mall shoppers every third and fourth Sunday of the month. It is always the commitment of the Society to bring the Church as well as the Holy Eucharist closer to the people. Malls are the usual places where people go because of the convenience they get when they go shopping, meals, meetings, and other forms of relaxation and unwinding. Bringing the Holy Eucharist to places like the malls is a noble response to a desired pastoral concern. The management of SM Manila has begun the celebration of Masses almost simultaneous with its opening in 2001. The influx of mass goers has been remarkable since the inception of having masses in that mall. Masses of the third and fourth Sunday of the month are taken cared of by the LRMS priests. Mass goers constantly support priestly and religious vocations through prayers, vocation promotion, and financial assistance. Mall masses has also attracted many priestly vocations which makes places like these as fertile grounds for spiritual nourishment, community development, and vocation animation. The SM Manila Mall Masses are under the supervision and pastoral guidance of St. Vincent Parish which is managed by the Congregation on Missions (CM).
EVENTS
THE GREAT 3 WORKS TO SUPPORT MISSIONARY VOCATIONS
THE mission document issued by Pope Benedict XV in 1919 entitle Maximum Illud illustrated the three important helps for every Catholic can tangibly support the mission of the Church namely: Prayer, promotion of priestly vocations, and financial support. Mission is the nature of the Church and without mission, the Church ceases to be. The pope desired that the entire Catholic Church has to be mindful of the importance of the missionary effort which the Church has to undertake in every epoch of its existence and every "a Catholic can assist the missionary effort, and missionaries themselves constantly remind us of them." (MI 32)
Benedict XV clarified that the three ways to help the missionary activities of the Church are major ways which are not beyond the reach of every individual Catholic.
The first help is prayer which can be done by any Catholic. The pope sets 7 reasons why prayer has to play an important role in the missions. 1) may God show and give His "merciful aid" to those who are in the missions; 2) the toil of missionaries would be futile without the aid of divine grace; 3) it is God who develops the seeds of faith in every person. Saint Paul referred to this fact when he said, “It was I who planted the seed; it is Apollo who waters it; but it is God Who makes it grow” (1 Cor 3:6); 4) it was the Lord who promised that every prayer will be granted. Jesus remind his disciples "regarding anything they ask for, their prayer shall be granted by My Father in heaven” (Mt 18:19); 5) every cause of prayer will always be granted by God especially the cause for mission; 6) God responds for every prayer that is intended for His people; 7) it is the duty of every Catholic to pray for the missions and it is the very reason why the Apostleship of Prayer was erected so that "It is our hope that none of them will neglect to join this organization. We pray that they will all want to participate in the mission effort, and if they cannot assist in the field, they will, nevertheless, be willing to contribute their zeal and their devotion." (MI 33)
The second help is fostering vocations for the missions. The fostering of vocations is an important call in the missions and the pope sets 5 reasons for its urgency. 1) there is the scarcity of missionaries in the world after the tragic effects of the first world war; 2) fostering vocations for the mission is a form of service to Christ and to the Church; 3) vocations may grow if superiors and bishops send priests to the missions. The pope exhorts: "Do not be deceived by the claims of a false prudence; do not let human reasoning deter you with the plea that what you send to the foreign missions you will be subtracting from the resources of your diocese. To fill the place of each priest you send to the missions, God will give you many priests, and very able priests, for your work at home." (MI 34) 4) conversion of the peoples is a priority and this could happen when bishops and superiors send "best of their men, those who are outstanding in virtue, in devotion, in zeal for souls." (MI 35) 5) the Church has to make it a point that the people should be harvested by the missionaries and the pope reminds everyone: "Do not balk now at leaving the harvest to be reaped by others." (MI 35)
The third help is economic help which will ease the difficulties of missionaries in their mission stations. The pope sends 3 important reminders: 1) the first world was had devastated many of the associations and institutions used for the missions. The war "has wiped out a great number of schools, hospitals and hostels, has destroyed organized charities and put an end to many other types of foundation they once operated." (MI 36) 2) economic assistance is laudable when it is freely given. Benedict XV appealed: "In this crisis We appeal to all good Christians for whatever liberality they can afford. “How can the love of God abide in him who possesses worldly goods, and, seeing his brother in need, closes his heart to him?” (1 Jn 3:17) (MI 36) 3) the economic assistance belongs to the act of charity on the part of every Catholic and this form of charity extends to help our brothers and sisters who are suffering from physical hunger and other forms as well as liberating them from the enticements and imprisonment of the Satan and the evil one.
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