OCTOBER: MONTH OF THE ROSARY AND MISSIONS

VATICAN CITY, OCT 1, 2006 (VIS) - The Rosary and the missions, two characteristics of the month of October, were the themes of Benedict XVI's reflections, in the last Angelus prayer by the Pope from the Apostolic Palace in Castelgandolfo, before returning to Rome.

  The Pope said: "Next Saturday, October 7, we will celebrate the feast day of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary, and it is as if, every year, the Virgin invites us to rediscover the beauty of this prayer, so simple and so deep". After saying this, he reminded that John Paul II was a "great apostle of the Rosary" and mentioned the Apostolic Letter "Rosarium Virginis Mariae", dedicated to this prayer.

  He continued: "The Rosary is a contemplative and Christo-centric prayer, inseparable from the Holy Scriptures. It is the prayer of the Christian advancing in his pilgrimage of faith, in the following of Jesus, preceded by Mary". The Pope invited all to recite the Rosary during this month "in the family, in the community and in the parishes for the Pope's intentions, for the mission of the Church  and for world peace".

  The Holy Father also spoke about the World Missionary Day, which will be celebrated on October 22, asserting that "the Church is by its nature missionary" and her mission is "the continuation of Christ's mission: to bring God's love to all, proclaiming it with words and the concrete testimony of charity. In the Message for the next World Missionary Day I presented charity as the 'soul of the mission'".

  In concluding, Benedict XVI recalled the two patrons of the missions, Saint Francis Xavier and Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus, "Carmelite virgin and doctor of the Church", whose feast day is celebrated today. "May she, who showed the 'simple' way to holiness is through abandoning oneself in trust to the love of God, help us in being believable witnesses of the Gospel of Charity".
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