THE JUBILEE IS AN OCCASION TO GROW IN FAITH

VATICAN CITY, OCT 15, 1999 (VIS) - This evening, the Pope requested rectors, professors and students of the ecclesiastical universities of Rome, to make the Jubilee of the year 2000 an "occasion, not just to deepen theological knowledge, but above all to grow in faith in Jesus Christ."

John Paul II pronounced these words in his homily during the Mass celebrated in the Vatican basilica by Cardinal Pio Laghi, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education. The Mass marked the beginning of the academic year in the ecclesiastical universities.

"The act of faith, considered in its entirety," affirmed the Holy Father, "must necessarily translate itself into concrete stances and decisions. In this way it is possible to overcome the apparent clash between faith and action. Faith understood in its full sense is not an abstract quality, separated from everyday life, rather it includes every dimension of the individual."

The Holy Father underlined that St. Teresa of Avila, whose feast day falls today, represents "an eloquent example of this synthesis of faith and action. ... Her mystical experience, like that of all saints, clearly shows that, in those who seek God, everything tends towards the only center: the integral response to God that is communicated to Him."

HML;ECCLESIASTICAL UNIVERSITIES;...;LAGHI;VIS;19991018;Word: 220;