INAUGURATION OF THE EXTRAORDINARY
MISSION MONTH -OCTOBER 2019 AT DIOCESE LEVEL

The Church of God is the body of Christ, and it is only trough baptism, because baptism is a sacrament, that makes you a member of the church, the church of God and enables one to inherit the kingdom of God. Without baptism you can sleep in the Church, you don't eat you don't get any of this things. Pope Francis has asked the Church including our diocese to celebrate this month. You know every year October is called mission month because we focus on mission, because the world mission Sunday falls in October. He asks us to focus on mission this month to renew the vigour and the enthusiasm in us. To re-unite our faith in Jesus so that we too may go out spread the good news. And he wants us to spread it like the wild fire. He wants everywhere to be alight and aflame with God's love. To unite the love of Christ is to love your neighbour Jesus is saying that in the second commandment. The first one you all know!

And if you want to give a gift to somebody, you give something which is precious not something useless. You don't give somebody old shoes, you give them the new once. And for me what is precious in my life is faith. If you give me faith you have given me everything that is close to faith that I can get, but if you give me nothing that is not close to faith you have not given me anything. So I want you to know that as you give peace remember to offer somebody something, that gift of faith. What I have received, what I am I give out to you. So water of baptism is what unites us and in-fact for those who understand what I am saying and who have grown in faith the water of baptism is what unites us and therefore that water is thicker than blood. That is why we have so many of others who can come and die in our land. the would have died in other places, but they have no blood relations but that water of baptism is thicker than blood. It is our direct theme, is like as if we have God's private number that we can call him on that. and if you have these link with Jesus then you must also have an urge, you must have the urge and the desire to tell others about it, not to keep it to yourself. St Paul says it is burning in my heart like fire and I am longing to share it with other people. why am I so comfortable when seated all the time? We need to get bang on the door all the time., we need to bang on the door on mission.

The Church of Botswana started in 1879 when the first Jesuits missionaries, 11 of them arrived in Botswana. But they entered through Botswana, very close to Mochudi and they wanted to settle in Shoshong, but sadly the chief of Shoshong did not give them permission to settle there, because he was a member of the London Missionary Society (LMS). So they went and found home in the place called Old Tati, is no more existing it is now some ruins on it. And there they started the mission, there they baptised the first people, they built the first church, they had the first Religious Profession in Botswana, and there the first school was also built. These missionaries two of them died there one after only five months and the other one year and they are buried there. (And next year October i would like to take all of you who want go with me to that place for pilgrimage, and that we can go back to the roots of our faith and ask those men to pray for us).

You know the second attempt when the Oblates of Mary Immaculate came in 1928 and bought the farm. This by mare missionaries left on carrying nothing because they were no cars, they were carrying nothing except their faith. They were convinced in their hearts that what they came here to do is important. So they were willing to leave everything at their homes and comes and share and teach us to love God. They were doing this through baptism as we heard in the Gospel. "Teach them, then baptise them." Not just baptise them, but teach them, share with them when they believe then baptise them. We have graves of missionaries scattered all over our diocese, in Lobatse, in Kgale, in Kanye, in Tlokweng and here in Gaborone. Whose people would have loved to burry them in their own countries but they are with us. This tells us that because of baptism we are united, because of baptism we are one people so it doesn't matter where I die or where I am buried because that water of baptism is thicker.

So you have been baptized and sent! Whom are you sent? And what are you sent to do? I do know that is not everybody who can stand up and preach not everybody is given that gift. But everybody is given the gift to do something, to push the Gospel forward. To introduce Jesus to people. You can visit the sick person, you can visit an elderly person. You know old people need us! Because one day we will also be like them. That is the secret possible, today they are neglected, tomorrow you will be your turn. You can visit them. You can call a child and say come, my child i will teach you the way to love God. I will teach you the straight and narrow way. You can feed the hungry, you can cloth the naked, you can bring a smile to somebody's face.

They are waiting for us brothers and sisters, people out there you think they are enjoying but they are waiting for us. They are waiting for you, you, you and you! Go out brothers and sisters! Pope Francis says, "the sweetness of the good news, the sweetness of God's word leads us to want to share it with whom all those we come to encounter in this life....." Therefore the church that spends each time enable gazing, looking at its needs and wants is a church that will not grow, is a church that starts to die slowly. But you know the church of God is alive, is a living thing, it cannot die. And therefore, we are suppose to give it life, by going out and bringing in new people into the church. The church is inviting you through this month and for the rest of the year as we want to celebrate this Extraordinary Mission Month for the whole year. To take part in the activities that we organise in your parishes and in your denaries and also on the diocesan level. Take Jesus to others!

The Tabernacle is a good place, know that Jesus is there to come and pray, but today I want to tell you that Jesus in the Tabernacle is knocking, is knocking that we let him out, he is knocking that we take him to other people who look for him, who need him, who need to hear the word of God. Carry him in your hearts, carry him on your lips, lend him your legs and your feet and let him bring himself to others if you will not bring him. But if you carry him is even better. Carry him and share him with your friends.

There are few suggestions that I want to leave you with which you can try and invoke yourselves in this Extraordinary Mission Month and later on Mission Year; 1. Get to know Jesus better, not just know him, get to know him better, you have your bible, there is no better place to do that. 2. Make a spiritual retreat during this year and get to know Jesus, speak to him and let him speak to you. You know there are many Saints in the Church also many African Saints in the Church, that you can, at the suggestion of the Pope, you can study about one. Take one Saint and study about him and try to imitate him. You know very close to us in Tzaneen there, was a lay person who died for the faith, he is called, Blessed Benedict Daswa. We can learn from him how a lay person can live his life for the Gospel. We can also remember all those good men and women who have helped us to have faith in this Diocese and the last one to die is Fr. John Corrigan CP, who died two weeks ago. He used to be parish priest here, he used to be parish priest in Francistown, he used to be parish priest in Tlokweng and in Broadhurts, so we know him. These people should inspire us. What we receive, we share.*