Sometimes in life we have to speak up and act. We feel compelled to respond to someone in need or we cannot remain silent to a situation of injustice. Our hearts become restless for something more or something new, and we have to listen. These moments can move us beyond our comfort zones and even beyond our normal understanding of good sense. We just know there is something we have to do and cannot ignore it any longer.

This is the story of the Church and her mission. It is a story of believers awakening to Christ’s love and the Spirit’s tug that will not leave them alone. The Gospel compels them to respond. The early Apostles of Jesus felt compelled by the Spirit to go and share the gospel of love in spite of the risks and uncertainties that followed. They said, “We cannot remain silent to what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). St. Paul felt compelled to preach the Gospel: “I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (I Cor 9:16). It became a necessity of life, like the air we breathe.

On this World Mission Sunday, we affirm that Christ’s love continues to compel us to go and bear witness. Pope Francis has invited us to think about our lives as being in a permanent state of mission. This means that the missionary impulse to go and witness becomes the source and focus of our Christian life. It is no longer enough for a few to represent the Church as missionaries. We all have a role and a stake in making Christ known and loved in the world.

Consider your own state in life. Are you married or single? Are you a priest or a religious sister or brother? Are you a parent or grandparent? Where do you live? What is your work? Are you retired? Are you a student? Do you have an expertise or a passion to share? All of these speak about one’s state in life. Even those who are sick or who suffer in faith have a witness to give. God calls us just as we are, with our own unique life circumstances, to serve God’s purposes.

A woman who embodied this missionary spirit is Pauline Jaricot, the founder of the worldwide Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Pauline lived in 19th century France, where she worked in a factory and cared for her family. When her brother went off to serve missions in China, she began to receive letters from him describing their efforts to share the Gospel. These stories compelled Pauline to act in her life. She gathered with women from the factory to share these letters, pray for missions and commit to give what they had to support the missionary efforts. Eventually, these “mission circles” spread to other parts of France and became a worldwide movement of people sharing faith, praying and acting for the sake of mission.

Her mission movement inspired Catholics to fall in love with Christ and allow that love to permeate everything they said and did. She encouraged followers to deepen their sense of the Church around the world and to stay close to the poor and marginalized in their area. This movement inspires our annual World Mission Sunday celebration. It is the feast day for living a missionary life with a missionary spirit.

We cannot remain silent to the Gospel we have seen and heard. Whether we go or stay to serve God’s mission, we need the same courage to respond to God’s call for us. This is what it means to live in a permanent state of mission. God takes our lives seriously and calls us out of our lives to give witness to Christ in our lives. We can also encourage and cooperate with others who serve in mission around the world. This is how we go forth to love and serve together in Christ’s mission.

Deacon Friesen is director of the Center for Mission in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.