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SOUTH OZONE PARK \u2014 The command is as old as the faith itself, as proclaimed in the \u201cGreat Commission\u201d from the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. \u00a0
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In Matthew 28:19-20, he told the apostles, \u201cGo, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.\u201d\u00a0
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This has often been dangerous work throughout time, and even today in countries like Nigeria, Pakistan, and Nicaragua \u2014 all modern hotbeds of religious persecution.\u00a0 \u00a0
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Fortunately, in verse 19, Jesus also told the apostles, \u201cAnd behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.\u201d\u00a0
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A major expression of the Lord\u2019s presence is the ongoing support from the global Society for the Propagation of the Faith through its annual World Mission Sunday collections in parishes worldwide, including Brooklyn and Queens.\u00a0
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World Mission Sunday is slated for Oct. 18 this year, marking its 100th anniversary, established by Pope Pius XI in 1926.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Father Thomas Ahern, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in South Ozone Park, said the Church has always prioritized mission work. As proof, he noted, World Mission Sunday is one of only two \u201csecond collections\u201d mandated by the Church through Canon Law (791); the other is the Good Friday Collection for the Holy Land. \u00a0
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Father Ahern has deep knowledge of funding evangelization abroad; he is the director of the Propagation of Faith Office for the Diocese of Brooklyn. \u00a0
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\u201cPersonally, I am inspired by the missionaries,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are, overall, a group of very happy priests, religious, and lay people who are working in the missions in some of the most difficult circumstances.\u201d \u00a0
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As an example, he shared the story of Father Anthony Bature. \u00a0
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This Nigerian priest previously was a summer-priest volunteer for St. Teresa of Avila-St. Anthony of Padua, also in South Ozone Park, a parish Father Ahern previously served. Father Bature also helped at OLPH before returning to Nigeria to build new parishes to meet the growth of Catholicism there. \u00a0
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Father Ahern said Father Bature confirms that Mass attendance is at 80%, even in the strife-torn \u201cMiddle Belt\u201d region where priests and parishioners are constantly attacked by marauding Fulani gunmen. \u00a0
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\u201cHe\u2019s a wonderful guy,\u201d Father Ahern said of Father Bature. \u201cBut his life has been in danger. And right now, 16 priests are displaced because their churches were burned down just in his diocese.\u201d \u00a0
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