Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Frascati (Agenzia Fides) - On Sunday morning, July 15, the Holy Father Benedict XVI paid a pastoral visit to the suburbicarian diocese of Frascati, where he presided at a concelebrated Mass at the Cathedral churchyard. In his homily he paused to comment on the Sunday Gospel, where Jesus takes the initiative to send the twelve Apostles on a mission (cf. Mk 6.7 to 13). "The fact that Jesus calls some disciples to collaborate directly in His mission - explained the pope – expresses an aspect of His love: He does not disdain the help that other men can contribute to his work, He knows their limits, their weaknesses, but does not despise them, indeed, He confers on them the dignity of being His emissaries." According to the Evangelist, Jesus sends them out two by two and give them instructions: "The apostles must not be attached to money and comforts ... they will not always receive a favorable welcome: at times will be rejected, and indeed may also be persecuted. But that should not affect them: they must speak in the name of Jesus and preach the Kingdom of God, without worrying about their success. "This is the case of the prophet Amos, sent out by God to prophesize in the sanctuary of Bethel (cf. 7.12 to 15 Am) and was ordered to leave. "He replied that he did not choose this mission - the Pope said - but the Lord made him a prophet and sent him there, to the kingdom of Israel. Therefore, whether accepted or rejected, he will continue to prophesize, preaching what God says and not what people want to hear. And this remains the mandate of the Church; she does not preach what the powerful want to hear. The criterion is truth and justice even if it is against applause and against human power." The Holy Father then highlighted two other issues in the Gospel: When the Twelve will encounter rejected in some places, in this case they must go elsewhere, after having carried out the gesture of shaking the dust from their feet, to express "moral detachment - as if to say: the announcement was given to you, you are the ones who refuse it - and material detachment - we did not and do not want anything for ourselves." The second indication is that "the preaching must be accompanied, according to the instructions and example given by Jesus, by the healing of the sick. Care of the sick bodily and spiritually ... This dual physical and spiritual healing is always the mandate of the disciples of Christ. So the apostolic mission must always include both aspects of preaching the word of God and the manifestation of His goodness with acts of charity, service and dedication."
Speaking to the diocesan community of Frascati, the Holy Father stressed the importance of commitment to formation, aimed primarily at educators and stressed that "the Lord calls us all, distributing different gifts for different tasks in the Church." He therefore urged to intensely live the Year of Faith and highlighted that the "Documents of the Council contain an enormous wealth for the formation of new generations of Christians, for the formation of our consciousness. So read them, read the Catechism of the Catholic Church and rediscover the beauty of being Christians, of being the Church to enjoy the great "we" that Jesus has formed around him, to evangelize the world: the 'we' of the Church, never closed , but always open and projected towards the proclamation of the Gospel." (SL) (Agenzia Fides 16/7/2012)
