ASIA/SINGAPORE - Archbishop Goh: "Sanctify work with prayer"

Tuesday, 18 February 2014

Singapore (Agenzia Fides) – It is prayer that makes every Christian an apostle and evangelist: with this conviction, the Archbishop of Singapore Mgr. William Goh, sent a message to all workers, employees, pastoral workers and volunteers involved in Catholic organizations, parishes, schools, movements and associations. In the message, sent to Fides Agency, Mgr. Goh says: "Inspired by the exhortations of Pope Francis, I want to encourage all organizations of the Archdiocese to pray every day in the office, in the morning, at noon and in the evening, with the Liturgy of the hours". In fact, the Archbishop explains, "without prayer, our work becomes sterile and bland, devoid of vitality and joy. Through prayer, our work becomes a vocation, our office a place of joy, of brotherly love, a place where we proclaim the joy of the gospel to each other and to the world". "The first recipients of the Good News – says the text – regards us who work in the vineyard of the Lord: in this way that proclamation becomes life that unites all of us engaged in various fields of the apostolate". The urgency of the "new evangelization" involves, in the first place "a personal conversion of every Catholic", he remarks. "No one should think - he continues - that this invitation is not for him, since no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord".
The Archbishop invites to form Christian communities of prayer. "Our Christian communities must become genuine schools of prayer, where the meeting with Christ is expressed not just in imploring help but also in thanksgiving, praise, adoration, contemplation, listening, until the heart truly falls in love". An intense and constant prayer, in fact, opening the heart to the love of God, "also opens it to the love of our brothers and sisters, and makes us capable of shaping history according to God's plan", he concludes. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 18/02/2014)


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