VATICAN - At the Angelus prayer Pope Benedict XVI says “May this Gospel awaken in all the baptised an awareness of being missionaries of Christ, called to prepare the way for Him with words and with the witness of their lives” and he announces his departure for a period of rest in the mountains

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - Before leading the recitation of the Angelus on Sunday 8 July, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI reflected on the Sunday Gospel narrated by St Luke about the time when Jesus sent seventy two disciples ahead of them to the villages He was to visit to prepare the way.
The Pope said St Luke “emphasises that mission is not just for the twelve apostles it is for all the disciples. There is work for everyone in God's field. However Christ does not only send his missionaries he gives them clear and detailed rules for behaviour. "But Christ," the Holy Father added, "does not limit Himself to sending them out, He also gives the missionaries clear and precise rules of behaviour. ... He sends them 'in pairs,' that they may help one another and provide a testimony of fraternal love. He warns them that they will be 'like lambs in the midst of wolves,' in other words they will have to be peaceful in the face of everything and bring a message of peace in all situations. They cannot carry clothing or money, but must live from what Providence provides. They must cure the sick as a sign of God's mercy. Where they are rejected they must leave, limiting themselves to warning people about the responsibility of refusing the Kingdom of God. May this Gospel awaken in all the baptised an awareness of being missionaries of Christ, called to prepare the way for Him with words and with the witness of their lives!"
The Holy Father announced that he was going for a period of rest in the mountains in northern Italy in Lorenzago di Cadore, as guest of the Bishop of Treviso. In the same house where John Paul II stayed a number of times. “The mountain air will do me good - the Pope said - and I will have more time for reflection and prayer. I hope everyone, especially those who feel the most need, will be able spend some time on holiday to temper physical and spiritual energies and enjoy salubrious contact with nature. The mountains, especially, uplift the spirit to towards ‘loftiness' of our humanity which unfortunately day-to-day living tends to diminish”.
Benedict recalled in this regard an Italian youth pilgrimage to Cross on Mount Adamello and he invited young Italians to be in Loreto on 1 and 2 September. “May the Blessed Virgin Mary protect us when we are on mission and when we rest, that we may work joyfully and fruitfully in the Lord's vineyard” the Pope concluded before leading the Angelus prayer. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 9/7/2007; righe 31, parole 467)