Novena for the Centennial - Day 3

Since 1921, the Quebec Foreign Mission Society is at the service of the Gospel.  We are celebrating 100 years; we wish to celebrate together the journey of our missionary commitment. We are celebrating the dynamism of our missionary Society, and with gratitude, we remember our past, we renew the passion of living the mission in communion in our historic present, and we rekindle the hope for the future.
 
This novena is meant for the members and associates, former members and associates, candidates and seminarians in formation, affiliates, friends, members of our Churches and/or local communities, the youth who belong to our networks, and the persons of good will who wish to join us in our thanksgivings to God for the dynamism and the renewal of our missionary Society. 

Oh God, we give you thanks for our families, our Churches of origin and for the communities where the missionary vocation has germinated.
 
Bible reading for reflection Mk 3.34-35
 
"My mother and my brothers are those who hear the Word of God and act on it.”

Reflection:
Jesus did not centre his mission only on his blood family ties. On the contrary, he gives them a new meaning.
The Lord has a universal heart, he does not let himself be restricted. The only frontiers of his family are the frontiers of the world; he feels himself as the brother of all, of the one who does the will of God.
 
Be reviewing our fidelity to the will of God, we may ask ourselves:
 
1-      How can we, in our communities where we belong, live out a «family» style like the one of Jesus? : more attractive by its simplicity, more called by the fondness and respect for each one, and more able to welcome the reality of so many brothers and sisters who are vulnerable, marginalized by this model of society that rejects ?  
2-   How can we be closer and in solidarity with the new realities of the families?
How can I commit myself in taking care of the family and of the great common home that is the world, with all that it contains of strength and of value for me and for the future?  
 
Prayer of thanksgiving:
 Lord, accept our prayer in these difficult times that our society has to go through. May each family find again the strength and the fervour of its first and formative vocation. Accompany all types of families in their mission in life and for life. May they, in the process of personal discovery of its members, learn from their errors and value their ancestors, and so they will be able to accompany and answer the needs and realities of today.    
 
What we have are souvenirs, fed by the experiences of our predecessors, companions, witnesses of the mission. During the 100 years of our small missionary Society, help us to rediscover the founding experiences, not as souvenirs, but as living experiences that carry the same attitudes and the same way of seeing and living the mission of Jesus. Amen.   

Commitment: We invite you to have a sensitive, attentive and deeply human attitude to feel with the other, to give space to love and to the family feelings which build, raise and harmonize, an authentic love that projects itself out of self, that looks then towards others.
We commit ourselves to keep in mind in our prayers all types of families that we find in our society.   

 

Prayer for the Centennial of the SME

God ever faithful,
“Whom shall I send?” - you ask us.
On this path, on the same boat,
where we all are,
we answer to you:
“Here we are, Lord, send us" (Is. 6,8)
 
Your Spirit pushes us and carries us,
encourages us and sends us to mission
to the world and to all peoples.
It is your endless love
the one that moves us
"to run the risk of the encounter
at the service of the Gospel".
 
In today's Church and history,
here we are, Lord, send us.
We are a small Missionary Society that,
humble and confronted with many challenges,
wants to be part of the transformation of hearts,
minds, bodies, societies and cultures,
at all times and in all places.
 
Here we are, Lord,
at the service of your Gospel,
to bear witness to your love
and your salvation,
attentive to the needs of bread and justice,
freedom and work, dignity and peace
of our brothers and sisters,
taking care of all your creation as well.
 
Here we are, Lord, send us,
to seed hope,
to build up a new world,
holding your word and discovering your presence
in all peoples and cultures.
 
Reaching out to their encounter,
we proclaim that you are
the ever-merciful God,
whose love last forever.
 
May, the Virgin Mary, first disciple and missionary,
pray for us, now and forever. Amen.