When parishioners attend Mass at Sacred Heart, Glyndon, July 14 and 15, they will hear from a missionary working in Argentina about the continuing labors of the Catholic Church in that region.
Members of the congregation will then be asked to generously contribute in the second collection to help fund those ongoing efforts.
Sacred Heart is among 53 parishes in the Archdiocese of Baltimore that will receive visits in July from 34 missionaries performing outreach in economically struggling regions of the world. The effort is part of the missionary cooperative collection.
Each parish has the discretion as to which weekend in July they will conduct the second collection for the missionary cooperative, said Dr. Rod Mortel, director of the Office of the Propagation of the faith for the archdiocese.
Missionaries from South America, Africa, the Caribbean, South Korea – and other localities around the globe – will discuss their work and how it’s helping the people to whom they minister improve their lives and their faith, Dr. Mortel said.
“They will spend the entire weekend in the parishes to which they are assigned,” he said. “Some of them work in orphanages, others work in immigration. They have many missions and they are going to share those experiences with the people in our churches.”
The visits from the missionaries help excite parishioners about the work they do on behalf of the Catholic Church and often their stories inspire them to donate generously, said Father Silvester T. Kim, associate pastor of Sacred Heart, Glyndon.
Last year the parish heard from a missionary from the Philippines, which encouraged members of the congregation to dig a little deeper into their pockets when the collection basket came to them, Father Kim said.
“It’s nice when you see a different face at the pulpit from someone who is working outside of America,” he said. “By having him here and speaking about his mission, parishioners seem to respond better when they know where their money is going to help out.”