GENERAL CHAPTER: TRINITARIANS REFLECT ON "LIVING WHAT WE ARE"

VATICAN CITY, JUN 15, 2001 (VIS) - Participants in the General Chapter of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity were welcomed by Pope John Paul this morning who recalled his meeting with them three years ago as they celebrated the eighth centenary of the approval of their institute's Rule. The assembly is reflecting on the theme "Living What We Are."

"Your spirituality, which draws strength from the mystery of the Trinity and the Redemption," he noted, "has never ceased placing you at the service of prisoners and the poor in your long story marked by many examples of holiness. ... It is a spirituality which places you in the heart of the Christian message: the love of God the Father which embraces all men through the Redemption of Christ."

The Holy Father exhorted them to "'live' with passion what you 'are'. ... In an era marked by a worrisome 'culture of emptiness' and an existence 'without sense', you are called to announce without compromise the Trinitarian God, the God Who listens to the cry of the oppressed and afflicted."

"The Church counts on you!" he told them. "Work in union with Christ. ... You are called to pursue His mission, as valid today as it was then, because it aims at proclaiming and witnessing to Christ, Who died and rose again for the salvation of all men."

The Pope closed with remarks dedicated to the importance of the new evangelization: "How many people are still waiting to know Jesus and His Gospel! How many situations of injustice, moral and material discomfort are there in so many parts of the earth! The mission is urgent and everyone's contribution is indispensable."

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