Every day, missionaries are the face of God's miraculous love to countless people around the world. Whether it be in pastoral ministry, health care, education, or numerous other ways, missionaries directly link your prayerful sacrifices to those learning the faith in the missions.

The Pontifical Mission Societies' ministry paves ways for those of us who are blessed spiritually and materially, to reach out to missionaries who spread the faith in every Catholic's name.

To that end, we offer Easter Mass and Spiritual Enrollment cards. They're wonderful ways to tell your friends, family, and the world that you love them and your Catholic faith, because your offerings will bring the gift of God's love to others.

Our Enrollment cards, available for an offering of five dollars, provide a yearlong membership in The Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Members receive the spiritual benefits of being jointly remembered in 15,000 Masses celebrated every year in the missions and at a daily Mass at the Vatican.

If you prefer an individual to be named at Mass, the suggested offering of ten dollars is sent to the missions along with the name of your loved one or intention. These Mass stipends are lifelines to priests in the missions who receive no salary for their ministry.

By choosing to support the missions this Easter, your gift helps untold numbers of people. Not only do our Enrollment and Mass cards benefit the intentions of the recipient, but your gift also helps to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in places like Papua New Guinea.

A few years ago, the Sisters of the Cavanis Community Jesus the Good Shepherd arrived in the Diocese of Bereina in Papua New Guinea. Located in the heart of a forest, one of the sisters told Fides, our Vatican news service, that she was amazed at what she found. "I felt I was living in the past centuries" says Sister Caterina Gasparotto. "In villages, people still lived in a primitive way. Education, personal hygiene, and the ability to relate without violence were our priorities." Sister recounted that when they started, they were teaching children outside under trees. With help, they have built a small school. They even taught themselves to produce textbooks, which are expensive to import! "Work has been challenging and long, but with an amazing result, " says Sister Caterina.

Your support makes miraculous work like Sister's possible. To fill friends' and families' Easter baskets with Masses and prayers through our cards, please call our office at 617-542-1776 or email us at dmanigat@propfaithboston.org.



- Maureen Crowley Heil is Director of Programs and Development for the Pontifical Mission Societies, Boston.