Episode Transcript
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This Sunday is Mission Sunday.
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Today’s gospel presents us with a woman of faith,
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a widow,
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and urges us never to grow hopeless about any situation
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in which we find ourselves,
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no matter how hopeless it may seem.
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In ancient Jewish society a woman depended on her husband
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for sustenance and social status.
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To lose a husband meant to poor and defenceless,
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as close to hopeless as one could get.
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This parable was meant to show the importance of perseverance,
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even when God seems delaying in coming to our aid.
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Most of us would like God to answer our prayers instantaneously.
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However, God knows our hearts and thoughts.
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God knows our wants and needs.
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The widow kept her hope in final justice alive
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and did everything in her power to right the wrongs inflicted on her
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by her oppressive neighbours.
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Finally, her dogged determination paid off
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and she was vindicated.
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This Sunday is the 99th World Mission Sunday.
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Before he died, in his message Pope Francis began by recalling
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that this year’s World Mission Day has at its core ‘hope’,
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explaining this very reason he chose as its motto,
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‘Missionaries of hope among all peoples’.
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This reminds individual Christians and the entire Church
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of our fundamental vocation to be, in the footsteps of Christ,
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messengers and builders of hope.
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Pope Francis said, and I quote,
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‘I urge all of you,
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children, young people, adults and the elderly,
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to participate actively in the common evangelising mission
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of the Church
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by your witness to life and prayer,
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by your sacrifices and by your generosity’.
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Your support for Catholic Mission this weekend
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is a practical expression of charity
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that is the source for those in need.
