VATICAN - Pope Benedict XVI addresses Superiors General: “ in you I thank the immense army of witnesses to Christ's love who operate on the frontiers of evangelisation, education and social charity”.

Tuesday, 8 May 2007

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - Addressing Superiors General, representing 794 families of women religious operating in 85 different countries all over the world Pope Benedict XVI whom he received in audience on Monday 7 May, on the occasion of a Plenary Assembly of the International Union of Superiors General Pope Benedict XVI said : “in you I thank the immense army of witnesses to Christ's love who operate on the frontiers of evangelisation, education and social charity”.
Referring to the theme of the Plenary - "Called to weave a new spirituality which may generate hope and life for all humanity " -, the Pope said: “the Lord draws you dear Sisters to ‘weave' today the living cloth of fruitful service to the Church and eloquent witness to the Gospel ‘ever ancient, ever new, in fidelity to the radical nature of the Gospel and courageously incarnated in present day reality, especially where human and spiritual poverty is greatest.” Pope Benedict XVI affirmed that no few social, economic and religious challenges face the Consecrated Life and that the five pastoral fields highlighted by the Plenary - women, migrants, land and its sacredness, the laity, dialogue with the religions of the world - “are ‘threads’ to be woven and interwoven in the complex fabric of day to day living in interpersonal relations and in the apostolate. It is a question not rarely of walking unexplored missionary and spiritual paths, maintaining a strong interior relationship with Christ. Only this union with God flows and is nourished the 'prophetic' role of your mission to announce the Kingdom of Heaven, an indispensable announcement in all times and in all societies.”
The Pope urged the religious to not allow themselves to be “excessively preoccupied with the interests and difficulties of daily life” and to follow their respective founders who “who sought with word and deed to communication God's love through total gift of self, keeping their eyes and heart on Him”. The Pope said: “if you wish to follow faithfully in the footsteps of your founders and help your sisters follow their example, cultivate the 'mystical' dimension of the Consecrated Life, that is keep your soul united with God through contemplation. Scripture teaches, the ‘prophet’ first listens and contemplate and then speaks allowing himself to be totally permeated with that love of God which fears nothing and is even stronger than death. The authentic prophet, therefore, is not so concerned with doing things, which are certainly important, but never essential. He strives above all to bear witness to God's love, striving to live this love in the realities of the world ”.
The principal concerns of General Superiors must be to help their sisters “first search for Christ and then put themselves generously at the service of the Gospel”. Pope Benedict XVI then stressed the necessity to give special attention to the human, cultural and spiritual formation of people and he urged the Superiors to be “the first to set the example shunning comfort, commodity and convenience”, to share the riches of the respective charisma “with those involved in the one mission of the Church which is to build the Kingdom of God”, to build “ serene and cordial collaboration with priests and with the lay faithful, especially with families in order to attend to the sufferings, needs, and material poverty and above all spiritual poverty of the men and women of our day. Cultivate also sincere communion and frank collaboration with the bishops, the first to be responsible for evangelisation in the particular Churches.” The Holy Father concluded calling the Superiors General to be messengers of the joy of Easter, “like the women who went to the tomb, found it empty and had the gift of meeting the Risen Christ. The ran happily to give the news to the Apostles ”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 8/5/2007 - righe 45, parole 633)


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