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Pope Benedict XVI- Angelus |
Angelus Message
On World Mission Sunday
"The Church Exists to Proclaim This Message of Hope"
H.H. Benedict XVI
October 18, 2009
www.zenit.org
Dear
brothers and sisters!
Today, the third Sunday of October, we celebrate World Mission Day,
which is a powerful reminder for every ecclesial community and for
each Christian of the duty to proclaim and bear witness before all
people to the Gospel, especially to those who do not yet know it. In
the message that I wrote for this occasion, I was inspired by an
expression in the Book of Revelation, which echoes the words of
Isaiah’s prophecy: “The nations will walk in his light” (Revelation
21:24). The light that is spoken about is God’s light, revealed in
the Messiah and reflected on the countenance of the Church,
represented as the New Jerusalem, wondrous city in which the
fullness of the glory of God shines forth. It is the light of the
Gospel, which orients the path of the nations and guides them toward
the realization of a great family, in justice and peace, under the
paternity of the one God, who is good and merciful.
The Church exists to proclaim this message of hope to all of
humanity, which in our time has “experienced marvelous achievements
but which seems to have lost its sense of ultimate realities and of
existence itself” (John Paul II, "Redemptoris Missio," 2).
In the month of October, especially this Sunday, the universal
Church highlights her missionary vocation. Led by the Holy Spirit,
she knows that she is called to continue the work of Jesus himself,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, which “is justice,
peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). This Kingdom is
already present in the world as the power of love, of freedom, of
solidarity, of respect for the dignity of every man, and the
ecclesial community feels the force in its heart of the urgency to
work so that Christ’s sovereignty be fully realized. All its members
and articulations cooperate in such a project, according to the
different states of life and charisms.
On this World Mission Day I would like to recall the missionaries --
priests, men and women religious and lay volunteers -- who
consecrate their existence to bringing the Gospel into the world,
even facing hardships and difficulties and sometimes real
persecutions.
I think, among others, of Father Ruggero Ruvoletto, a priest of the
Donum Fidei missionaries, recently killed in Brazil; of Father
Michael Sinnot, a religious, taken hostage a few days ago in the
Philippines.
And how can I not think of what is emerging from the synod of
bishops of Africa in terms of extreme sacrifice and love for Christ
and his Church? I thank the Pontifical Missionary Societies for the
precious service that they give to missionary animation and
formation. Furthermore, I invite all Christians to make a gesture of
material and spiritual sharing to help the young Churches of the
poorest countries.
Dear friends, today, Oct. 18, is also the Feast of St. Luke the
Evangelist, who, along with the Gospel, wrote the Acts of the
Apostle to narrate the expansion of the Christian message to the
ends of the then known world. We invoke his intercession together
with that of St. Francis Xavier and St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus,
patrons of the missions, and of the Virgin Mary, that the Church may
continue to spread the light of Christ among all the nations. I ask
you, moreover, to pray for the Special Assembly for Africa of the
Synod of Bishops, which is taking place this week here in the
Vatican.
[After the Angelus the Pope greeted the pilgrims in various
languages. In Italian he said:]
I address a cordial greeting to the Clerks Regular of the Mother of
God, who have come for the closing of the 4th centenary of the death
of their founder, St. Giovanni Leonardi. Dear brothers, together
with you are also the students of all the Colleges of the Propaganda
Fidei, accompanied by Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, as well as
representatives of pharmacists, whose patron is St. Giovanni
Leonardi.
I exhort all of you to follow him on the path of holiness and to
imitate his missionary zeal. I welcome Italian-speaking pilgrims
with affection, in particular the members of Comunità Cenacolo, who
for many years have helped young people, especially those who have
become addicted to drugs, to find the path of life again meeting
Jesus Christ. I also greet the participants in the conference on the
motu proprio “Summorum Pontificum,” being held in Rome at the
moment, the National Association of Small Communities of Italy, the
musical band "Valletiberina" and the Pontedera section of the
National Association of Carabinieri. I wish everyone a good Sunday.
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
Look
at the One they Pierced!
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary
