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| UDIENZA AI
PARTECIPANTI AL CAPITOLO GENERALE DELL’ORDINE DEI CANONICI
REGOLARI PREMOSTRATENSI, 29.09.2003 |
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A fine mattinata, il Santo Padre Giovanni
Paolo II ha ricevuto in Udienza i partecipanti al Capitolo Generale
dell’Ordine dei Canonici Regolari Premostratensi ed ha loro
rivolto il discorso che pubblichiamo di seguito:
DISCORSO DEL SANTO PADRE
With affection in the Lord, it gives me great pleasure to greet
you, Canons Regular of Prémontré, on the occasion
of your General Chapter. I thank Abbot General Emeritus Hermenegild
J. Noyens for his words of affection and devotion and assure you
all of my spiritual closeness as you prepare to elect your new Abbot
General.
The Canons Regular of Prémontré, in their long and
illustrious history, have contributed significantly to the growth
and life of the Church, especially in Europe, and I join with you
today in giving thanks to God for all the blessings which He has
bestowed upon you over the many centuries of your existence. Consecrated
life and its witness to the saving message of Jesus Christ has played
a fundamental role in the evangelisation of Europe and in the shaping
of its Christian identity. Just as Pope Gregory VII’s call
to renewal was embraced by Saint Norbert, so the Church today looks
to his spiritual sons to contribute with enthusiasm to the challenges
posed by preaching the Gospel at the dawn of the Third Millennium.
"Europe will always need the holiness, prophetic witness, evangelising
activity and service of consecrated persons" (Ecclesia in Europa,
37).
In more recent years your Order has extended its presence to various
parts of the world and has sought to serve the Church through new
forms of the apostolate. These will always demand a genuine commitment
to imitate, in the spirit of your founder, the example of the early
Church, by living and promoting the ideal of "cor unum et anima
una" (cf. Acts 4:32). This witness to "koinonia"
will be a powerful sign and source of hope for a world confronted
with exaggerated forms of individualism and social fragmentation.
In light of this, I urge you to continue to foster a spirit of fraternal
charity, lived in the name of Jesus and in his love.
Like many others religious Institutes, the Norbertine family is
experiencing some difficulties in attracting vocations. In this
regard, I encourage you to persevere in your efforts to make known
to the world, especially to the young, the beauty and joy of a religious
vocation. Let the pledge which you make at your profession —
Offerens trado me ipsum Ecclesiae — be a living and eloquent
expression of your "radical gift of self for the love of the
Lord Jesus and, in him, for every member of the human family"
(Vita Consacrata, 3).
My dear Brothers in the Lord, may God enlighten you during these
days of deliberation and sustain you on the path of holiness and
service to his Church. Invoking the intercession of Our Blessed
Lady, Queen of the Rosary, I accompany you with my thoughts and
prayers, and cordially impart to you, the members of the General
Chapter and to all the Canons Regular of Prémontré
my Apostolic Blessing. |
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