MISSIONS: COMMUNICATE DIVINE LOVE THAT LEADS TO SALVATION

VATICAN CITY, MAY 8, 2006 (VIS) - Benedict XVI today received participants in the general assembly of the senior council of the Pontifical Missionary Works. The assembly is reflecting upon the theme of "the missionary mandate that Jesus entrusted to His disciples."

  "Your presence," said the Pope, "testifies to the Church's missionary commitment on the various continents, while the 'pontifical' character that distinguishes your association highlights the special link binding you to the See of Peter."

  After pointing out that, "following an intense period of aggiornamento," the association was able to draw up and gain approval for its new statutes, the Holy Father recalled how, ever since its foundation at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Pontifical Missionary Works "has realized that missionary activity consists in communicating to our brothers and sisters the love of God, as revealed in the plan of salvation."

  "Through initiatives of effective and generous charity," he went on, "the Works of the Propagation of the Faith, of St. Peter the Apostle and of the Holy Childhood have spread the announcement of the Good News and contributed to establishing and consolidating the Church in new territories. The Pontifical Missionary Union of the Clergy has encouraged an increase of concern for evangelization among clergy and religious.

  "All this has led to a reawakening of faith and love among Christian people, together with great missionary enthusiasm. ... Prayer and concrete support for missions are seen today as being an integral part of every Christian's life," while "a responsible sense of sharing and communion involves faithful of all communities in support for the needs of mission lands. This is an eloquent sign of the catholicity of the Church."

  "This intense missionary movement," he went on, "has developed over these years into a promising form of missionary cooperation. You are significant witness thereto because you contribute to nourishing everywhere that spirit of universal mission which was the distinctive sign of your birth ... and the force behind your growth."

  At the end of his address, Benedict XVI called on his listeners to continue to "provide this precious service to ecclesial communities," highlighting how the "unity of evangelizing activity grows in the extent to which all activity has as its reference God Who is love," and "Christ, in Whom that love finds its supreme expression. In this way," he concluded, "your activity will never be reduced to mere organizational efficiency or linked to particular interests of any kind, but will always be a manifestation of divine love."
AC/PONTIFICAL MISSIONARY WORKS/...                VIS 20060508 (430)