URGENCY OF CONVERSION SPRINGS FROM CONTEMPLATION

VATICAN CITY, MAY 12, 2001 (VIS) - This morning, the Holy Father received the members of the General Council of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit on the occasion of their 13th General Chapter on the theme: "To enter the Third Millennium with the awareness that, devoted to the mission, it is necessary to deepen and direct pastoral work with faithful creativity."

John Paul II exhorted the religious to "fix their gaze upon Christ. ... From this contemplation springs the urgency of a personal and communal, profound and constant conversion, which means, as your founder the venerable Servant of God Felix de Jesus Rougier said, to renew your loving attention for God, thus being able to meet Him in daily prayer, in the sacramental experience, in attentive listening to the Word."

"Urged by the Holy Spirit, 'Duc in altum'," the Pope continued, "put out into the deep, transforming your commitment into pastoral directives that respond to the needs of your charism and the necessities of the community entrusted to you."

The Holy Father recalled that the General Chapter addressed "the theme of vocations and the internationalization of the Institute, seen from the perspective of the mandate that the Church received from the Risen Christ: 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations', and in memory of the figure and desire of your founder."

"Your commitment, when lived with joy and generosity," the Pope concluded, "a greater definition of your pastoral ministries and the fraternal love in your communities, will translate into an invitation to all those who seek the radical following of Christ in the religious and priestly vocation."

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