A Popular Mission in Emmitsburg and Thurmont

(Fr. Andrew’s homily for May 5th 2024) 

From June 16 to June 29, we will have a popular mission in our parish. What is a popular mission? Why have one? How can I be a part of it?[1]

1.  A popular mission is a mission to Catholics, that is, mostly directed to those who are already Catholic. Thus, it is different from the mission “ad gentes”, that is, to those who do not know about Jesus. A popular mission is a popular and simple way to preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to all the People of God. It includes house visits with prayer, activities for the youth, etc. during the day, and every evening a special activity, including the missionary sermon, music performances, skits, etc. Really, a popular mission is a celebration of faith and life.

A popular mission is a call to conversion, that is, a call to return to the truth and to the friendship of God for those who may have lost their faith and grace through sin. A popular mission is also a call to a more perfect life for Christians who may have lost their original fervor, it invigorates and inspires good Christians, it motivates people to live the beatitudes and grow in holiness, it arouses priestly and religious vocations.[2] It is for everyone a call to receive God’s grace and nurture this gift into our hearts.

A popular mission is grounded on the Trinitarian life of God himself. As the Son is the perfect image of the Father in the Holy Trinity, God sent his Son so that each one of us may be a living image of Jesus. As the Holy Spirit is the Love of the Father and the Son, Father and Son sent the Holy Spirit so that we may love God and each other as God has loved us in Jesus Christ. A popular mission is an extension of Jesus’ mission on earth, so that each one of us may welcome in our hearts the Blessed Trinity by a greater outpouring of God’s grace. As we’ve heard in the second reading, “God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him” (1 John 4:7-10).

2.  Why having a popular mission? God wanted the world to be saved through missionaries. He first sent the prophets, then His own Son, then the Apostles and the Church after them. God has sent us: “Go into all the world and proclaim the Good News to all creation” (Mark 16:15).

The Church affirms in the Canon Law that the priest has “among his principal duties the proclamation of the Gospel of God to all.”[3] And to the parish priests this Law of the Church prescribes that: “At certain times ... the parish priests should organize those forms of preaching called spiritual exercises and sacred missions or others adapted to the needs.”[4]

Convinced of the necessity of the "Missions to the People", Saint John Paul II said: “For this reason, I repeat today with greater force and conviction what I have already written in the Apostolic Letter Catechesi Tradendae: ‘The traditional missions are irreplaceable for a periodic and vigorous renewal of Christian life.’”[5] For John Paul II, the missions were still relevant today, as he said in another opportunity to a congress on missions: “I also express to you my gratitude and that of the whole Church for your interest and good will in maintaining and renewing the pious and effective practice of the Popular Missions.”[6]

The pope also said, as if he were giving the main reason to preach popular missions: “Christians today, to a large extent, feel lost, confused, perplexed and even disappointed; ideas contrary to the revealed truth as has always been taught have been widely spread; true heresies have proliferated in the dogmatic and moral fields, creating doubts, confusion and rebellion; even the liturgy has been manipulated; Christians, immersed in intellectual and moral "relativism" and therefore in permissivism, [Christians] are tempted by atheism, agnosticism, vaguely moralistic illuminism, by a sociological Christianity, without defined dogmas and without objective morality. It is necessary to know the man of today, if we want to understand him, to listen to him, to love him as he is, not in order to excuse evil, but to discover its roots...”[7] These challenges, so pressing in the hearts of many Christians, demand from the Church a particular response, which is why we engage, among other things, in the preaching of popular missions.

A big part of a mission’s renewal has to do with the sacrament of reconciliation and with home visits. “There are many who, after many years without going to confession or having done a bad confession earlier in life, end up going to confession in the Mission with good dispositions. This is one of the greatest fruits of the missions. And home visits are important as well: nowadays it is not enough calling the sheep to the sheepfold, but it is necessary to go and look for the sheep.

A widespread objection against the popular missions is their economic cost. In our experience, the Missions pay themselves. When the popular mission is done well, no economic burden remains on the parish. God does not allow Himself to be outdone in generosity!

3.  How can I be a part of it? Pray for the fruits of the mission, pray for the missionaries, especially for the priests who will preach and hear confessions. Without Jesus we can do nothing: if He does not help, the mission is a failure. This is why prayer is first. You may also want to contribute with food or other expenses regarding the mission, as the pastor will later indicate. Then, some of you may want to help more directly in the activities of the mission and perhaps be missionaries yourselves. In the following days we will hear more about the different activities and different ways we can be part of them. A mission is a parish celebration and will never be forgotten.

Let us pray for a fruitful mission. May God shower His graces upon our parish, through the intercession of Mary, His Mother.


[1] Most of what follows comes from the Directory of Popular Missions of the IVE.

[2] John Paul II, El anuncio del Evangelio en la sociedad moderna, Discurso a los participantes del congreso nacional italiano sobre el tema "Misiones al pueblo para los años 80", n. 4 (06/02/1981); OR (08/03/1981). Available online https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/es/speeches/1981/february/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19810206_missioni.html (Accessed May 3rd, 2024).

[3] CIC, c. 762.

[4] CIC, c.770.

[5] Cf. Catechesi Tradendae 47. John Paul II, El anuncio del Evangelio… n. 1.

[6] John Paul II, El anuncio del Evangelio… n. 1.

[7] John Paul II, El anuncio del Evangelio… n. 2.

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