"YOU FLOURISH BECAUSE YOUR ROOTS REACH DEEP INTO CHRIST"

VATICAN CITY, MAY 9, 2001 (VIS) - At 4:30 this afternoon, following a private visit to the Church of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and the tomb of Blessed George Preca in Hamrun, Pope John Paul went to the adjacent center, which houses the Society of Christian Doctrine, for a liturgy of the Word.

The Society for Christian Doctrine was founded in 1907 by Blessed Preca. Known in Malta as MUSEUM, an acronym for "Magister, utinam sequatur Evangelium universus mundus," ("Master, may the whole world follow the Gospel"), its scope is to prepare young people so that they in turn can impart religious formation to others. The SCD, which has male and female branches, was approved by ecclesiastical authorities in 1932. Present in almost every Maltese parish, members undergo a two-year preparatory course. They take a vow of celibacy, and daily attend Mass and read from their founder's work entitled "The Watch." In the evenings they hold catechetical formation sessions.

"I thank you for your warm welcome," the Holy Father told the 1,000 faithful in the SCD auditorium. "It shows that the hospitality which once embraced the Apostle Paul is still to be found in Malta."

He noted that "the island of Malta is a rock rising from the sea, where the soil is often thin and the sun harsh. ... Yet down the centuries Malta has been extraordinarily generous and fertile in the deeper ways of the Spirit. The unshakeable faith of the Maltese people has ensured that this rock has been the good soil of which the Gospel speaks. In this soil, Blessed George Preca planted the Society of Christian Doctrine, where it has flourished in the century of its life."

Referring to Fr. Preca's Maltese name, the pope added: "Not only did Dun Gorg sow the seed; he tended the sapling and fed the young tree so that it would grow strong and fruitful, as it has. You have flourished because you have roots reaching deep into Christ, and because you have been well nurtured by Dun Gorg's life of holiness."

John Paul II noted that "wherever Dun Gorg went to preach he was followed by crowds of people. They were captivated by his words. Why? It was because they recognized in the preaching of Dun Gorg the voice of Jesus himself. It was the Lord to Whom they were listening; they were drawn by the irresistible attractiveness of Christ Who alone, they knew, could satisfy the deepest longing of their hearts."

"Your rule of life," he then remarked, "urges you to pray often and to meet regularly with your spiritual director, who serves as guide and companion on the path of your fidelity. ... Like Saint Paul, from contemplation you are called to go forth as missionaries: not just as teachers but as witnesses who can speak with power because you can say, like the first disciples: 'We have seen the Lord!'
"Your founder was especially devoted to the words: 'Verbum Dei caro factum est' ... 'The Word was made flesh'. Here in fact is the foundation of your vocation and apostolate. ... You are to plant the seed of God's word in people's hearts, so that Christ may live in them! You must teach everyone ' children, young people, adults ' to contemplate the face of Christ, to see the Lord so that the light of God's glory which shines from the face of Jesus may shine forth from them as well."

PV-MALTA;SOCIETY CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE;...;HAMRUN;VIS;20010510;Word: 570;