VATICAN CITY, FEB 14, 1998 (VIS) - Pope John Paul, at the noon angelus, spoke of today's feast of the brother saints Cyril and Methodius who, together with St. Benedict, are the co-patrons of Europe. He also spoke of the start of Lent this coming Ash Wednesday.
He observed that Cyril and Methodius were "the great evangelizers of the Slav world which ... brought to the Church and to humanity a priceless patrimony of spirituality and culture."
"In this light," the Pope went on, "how can we not think about the mission horizons which are opening in Europe on the threshold of the new millennium? The Holy Door of the Year 2000 will open on a society which needs to be illuminated by the light of Christ. The 'old Europe' has received the gift of the Gospel, but it now calls for a renewed Christian proclamation which will help persons and nations to wed freedom and truth, and will assure spiritual and ethical foundations for the economic and political unification of the continent."
Then, remarking that Lent begins this coming Wednesday with the giving of ashes, he stated, quoting in part "Tertio Millennio Adveniente": "This year, the last before the year 2000, Lent is seen more than ever as a propitious time for a 'return to the house of the Father," a "journey of authentic conversion. This includes both a 'negative' aspect, that of liberation from sin, and a 'positive' aspect, that of choosing good. Isn't this the most suitable context for the rediscovery of the sacrament of Penance in its deepest meaning?"
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