Raising his arms above his head and clenching his fists, Father Peter James Alindogan encouraged the congregation seated before him to “never give up.”
PHOTO GALLERY: 2019 Diocesan World Mission Sunday Mass
“God wants us to trust him,” said Father Alindogan, diocesan missions director.
“God will not say no to us; he wants us to remain confident in our faith,” he said, adding that persistence of faith and willingness to spread it has been “manifested in the Roman Catholic Church through the ages until today, where there are missionaries all over the world who go about sharing the message of God’s love.”
Father Alindogan, pastor of Our Lady of Hope Parish, West Long Branch, was joined by priests of the Diocese Oct. 20 for the diocesan World Mission Sunday Mass celebrated in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. World Mission Sunday is part of the observance of World Mission Month held every October. It is dedicated to honoring the impact missionaries and missionary work have on people in the United States and across the globe.
Reflecting on the day’s First Reading, Father Alindogan said that like Moses, who had raised his hands and prayed to God that Israel would succeed in battle, it is only through the continuous and persistent prayer of all the baptized that God’s love will be revealed, especially to those in areas of the world who have never heard of or experienced God’s love.
Sharing one of many experiences of the fruits of evangelization in other parts of the world, Father Alindogan recalled his 2016 mission trip to Mongolia during which he witnessed the ordination of the country’s first Catholic priest. Though the Catholics of Mongolia had been served by priests from other countries, to see a native son become a priest “was a beautiful expression of how we grow in faith and worship,” he said.
“That is our mission in life,” Father Alindogan reiterated to the congregation, “to go out and tell the Good News. You are missionaries.”
That was a message Cathedral parishioner Veronica DeLeon found especially poignant.
“That is what Jesus asked us to do, to tell the world about him, to spread the Gospel,” she said. “It’ a reminder that we are part of a universal Church.”
Msgr. Joseph Roldan, Cathedral rector, reminded his parishioners that “we all share one faith and one communion, and that has an effect on people we know and those we don’t. Our lives are our mission statement. We are called to live our mission statement and to share it.”
Indeed, the priests concelebrating Mass represented various mission countries. They included Father Rogatus Mpeka, parochial vicar of St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Yardville, who is from Tanzania; Father Charles Muorah, parochial vicar of Sacred Heart Parish, Trenton, who is from Nigeria, and Father Daison Areepparampil, parochial vicar of St. James Parish, Red Bank, who is a native of Kerala, India. Msgr. Roldan was born in America and is of Hispanic heritage and Father Alindogan was born, raised, educated and ordained a priest in the Philippines.
Danny Urizar, a member of St. Joseph Parish, Trenton, who is a third year college seminarian in St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Wynnewood, Pa., enjoyed seeing see the different cultures represented at Mass. He said he appreciated being reminded how Catholics are able “to go out and help the world know about God and the Catholic Church to those who are not allowed to know about God or can’t experience the Catholic Church.”
The Mass also resonated with first-time attendants Gina Banzon of St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish, Hamilton, Gina Peralta of St. Anselm Parish, Wayside, and Marietta Datar of St. Michael Parish, West End.
For Banzon, the day served as a reminder “of what we are supposed to be doing as Catholics, to spread the faith,” while Peralta said the image of a “family coming together” came to mind.
“It’s a blessing that we are here,” Datar said, then added World Mission Sunday brings to mind how “my being a Catholic is my call to be a disciple. It’s a good way to reflect on yourself and what you can do for others.”