Our Mission in a Wounded World
Each new year, we’re bombarded with sentiments of encouragement and hope, called to new aspirations, and filled with vigor to achieve an improved sense of self.
Benjamin Franklin may have said it best: “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.” I’ve never been a big proponent of New Year’s resolutions. I feel like they’re a setup for failure. So, Franklin’s is solid advice that I can pursue year after year.
Redemptorists, too, consistently strive to improve. Worldwide, they have adopted a new theme, in line with their founder, St. Alphonsus Liguori, through the year 2022: to be “Witnesses of the Redeemer in Solidarity for Mission to a Wounded World.” Like Thomas, we’re invited to touch the wounds of Jesus in those who suffer (John 20:27) and encounter in them a healing of our own wounds (1 Peter 2:24).
Liguorian shares the Redemptorists’ multidimensional mission and will bring it to the forefront this year. We live in a world wounded by sin, violence, injustice, and—increasingly so today—fear. Thus, we Catholics are called to attend to the wounds of the world and carry the crosses of our brothers and sisters. That’s the foundation on which our magazine will build each edition in 2019.
We begin to answer the call in January. For example, our cover story introduces a series on the Catechism of the Catholic Church and its four main parts, commonly called pillars. In “Timeless Wisdom for Troubled Times,” the author relays: “Instead of growing defensive or, worse, intimidated by challenges to our beliefs and practices, let’s begin this new year looking back through salvation history to understand the timeline of our faith.”
We’re excited to revive a longtime favorite, “Morality Matters.” This edition’s column is from the Very Reverend Stephen Rehrauer, CSsR, a moral theologian who was recently elected to his second four-year term as Superior of the Denver Province of the Redemptorists.
Beginning with this issue, we’re also dipping our toe back into the social-media pool by reviving our Facebook account and joining Instagram. See the icons below to learn how to connect with us.
Finally, in line with holding steadfast in our faith, we invite readers to share personal stories of triumph over terminal illness. We’ll collect them through mid-August and publish a compilation article of select content in a future issue. You may e-mail your stories to me at Liguorianeditor@liguori.org.
