FRATERNITY MUST BE NOURISHED BY TRINITARIAN COMMUNION

VATICAN CITY, FEB 12, 2000 (VIS) - This morning the Pope received the participants in the 34th general chapter of the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata of Jesus Christ. Those present represented the more than 400 fathers and brothers spread throughout the world.

"In the spirit and the footsteps of your founder, St. Gaspare Bertoni," said John Paul II, "you perform parish ministry, with special attention to young people; you dedicate yourselves to preaching and to the formation of clergy; you are committed to the mission 'ad gentes' in Latin America, Africa and Asia."

After recalling the central theme of their general chapter - fraternal sharing within the religious community - the Pope stated that "Gospel fraternity is in fact, the irradiation of Trinitarian communion, and this must constantly be nourished, through the Word of God, by the sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation and by daily prayer."

The Pope then referred to the exercise of sharing spiritual and apostolic experiences, which had been suggested during the general chapter, and said: "This is, in effect, an indispensable support for the apostolic mission which is characteristic of your congregation, that is to say, the mission of serving the Church under the guidance of the bishops. Helping each other in communion, favoring, so to speak, the spreading of divine love, poured into each one's hearts by the Holy Spirit, is the primary condition for fulfilling the apostolic mission which is often 'arduous and difficult' and 'exposed to dangers', a mission which 'does not depend on man's strength, but on the grace of the Holy Spirit'."

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