DRAW FROM EUCHARIST THE STRENGTH FOR MISSIONARY TASK

VATICAN CITY, SEP 13, 2001 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received at Castelgandolfo the participants of the General Chapter of the Daughters of St. Paul, meeting on the theme "From the Eucharist to mission. Together communicating the Gospel today."

"Go 'together'! Thus He repeats to you during the chapter. Go forth with confidence so that, sustained by the Eucharist, spring of renewed life, you can draw the light, strength, and grace necessary for your missionary task. From this sublime mystery, you can obtain ardor and enthusiasm for announcing to the men of our time, with ever faster and more effective means, the hope that doesn't disappoint."

John Paul II exhorted the religious with these words: "May Christ be the center of your existence and of your mission. Strive for sanctity! If it happens, as disciples, that you toil without success, transform this apparently frustrated experience into a precious occasion of prayer and spiritual growth. The challenges of the present age are many, and the means available for confronting them do not always seem adequate. The problems and obstacles are not always, however, a cause of discouragement; on the contrary, they urge you to open your heart to divine grace so that, strengthened by the word of Christ, you may spread the joy and newness of the Gospel with your presence and your action."

"I am grateful to you," the Holy Father concluded, "for the service that you give to the Church in a vast and complex missionary field, which is the milieux of social communications. In this age, characterized by global communication, it is necessary to make the message of salvation resound with vigor. To complete this task, more necessary than ever is the presence of competent individuals, who at the same time are convicted and credible witnesses of Christ."

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