CATHOLIC ACTION: LAY PEOPLE WHO FULLY LIVE THE GOSPEL

VATICAN CITY, SEP 12, 2003 (VIS) - Made public this afternoon was a Message by the Holy Father to participants in the special assembly of Italian Catholic Action on the theme: "History becomes prophecy."

The main objective of the assembly, which is taking place in Rome, is to revise the association's Statute "in order to update it according to the changing needs of the times and the apostolic perspectives of the new millennium," according to the Message dated September 8.

"The Church," it continues, "needs you, needs the lay people of Catholic Action who have found a 'school of sanctity' where they have learned to live the Gospel fully in everyday life."

John Paul II assures the youths and adults of Catholic Action that their association "will be renewed if every one of its members rediscovers the promises of Baptism, choosing consciously and freely Christian sanctity as 'the high measure of ordinary Christian life', in the daily conditions of life. It is therefore necessary to allow oneself to be molded by the liturgy of the Church, to cultivate the art of meditation and interior life, to practice spiritual exercises every year. My dear brothers and sisters, make every one of your groups be a true school of prayer and may every member be assured the help for discernment and fidelity to his or her vocation."

"I urge you," says the Pope, "to put all your energy at the service of communion in close unity to the bishop, collaborating with him and with priests. ... Help your parish to rediscover the passion for proclaiming the Gospel and to cultivate pastoral concern for all in order to help them to experience the joy of encountering the Lord."

The Holy Father ends by encouraging them "to give value to a solid formation, suitable for the urgency of the new evangelization. Always take care of every person and help everyone to defend the treasure of the faith, defending it in every environment of life. May Catholic Action become once again a great school of lay spirituality and an apostolate for a growing number of people and communities!"

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