‘HOMEBOUND’ MISSIONARY

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30895, 30 October 1965, Page 26

‘HOMEBOUND’ MISSIONARY

Redemptorists At Cathedral “I'm not the kind of missionary who travels to unknown lands—the South Island is my territory,” Father P. Kearney said in Christchurch. Father Kearney, the! superior of the Redemptorist i monastery at New Brighton, is at present holding a mission with another Redemptorist (Father J. Cairney) at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Barbadoes street. Father Kearney said this kind of mission was an opportunity for Roman Catholics to make a deeper commitment to their faith and he described it as a time of spiritual renewal through intensified religious exercises. The mission began last Sunday and will end tomorrow on the feast of Christ the King. Every member of the parish is asked to visit the cathedral once a day during the week, when the special sermons preached by the priests are followed by Mass. Every household in the parish was visited before the mission to ensure a good response. Father Kearney said the themes of the Vatican Coun cil were being used. He said the ideas coming from Rome had to be interpreted, and the mission was an ideal time to do this.

There would always be a need for mission work, although missions did not have the impact which they used to have. Radio, television, and wider newspaper coverage had reduced the need over the years. “There was a time when the only things to happen every three years were the mission and the circus,” he said. “That was the time a lot of those old goldminers needed a bit of a shake-up, too. “This is not so important now. The laity want to know what more they can contribute, and after the mission most people go out into the world more dedicated to their life in Christ.”