The message as a duty of all believers by virtue of baptism was the focus of Pope Francis’ speech during his reception, Thursday, May 11, of the delegation of the Council of Missionary Institutions in Italy. He called His Holiness to work with devotion and generosity and to nurture missionary work by listening to the Word, the Eucharist and prayer.
Pope Francis received the delegation of the Council of Missionary Institutes in Italy, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Council. At the beginning of his speech, he welcomed his guests, pointing out that their institutes that meet in the Council have been promoting the message in Italy for half a century, as a voice for thousands of missionaries who speak to everyone from one of the dimensions of Christian life, the missionary dimension, which is for every believer by virtue of baptism.
Then Pope Francis recalled the affirmation of the Second Vatican Council on the fact that preaching the Gospel is an essential duty for the people of God, and from this standpoint, Pope Francis continued, directing His Holiness in the Apostolic Exhortation “Joy of the Gospel” to invite everyone to be in the parts of the earth in a state of perpetual mission. Proclamation is for the Church It is not a potential choice or a marginal aspect, but rather a vital dimension. The Church was born with a mission, and mission is the oxygen of Christian life, His Holiness said. He continued, encouraging his guests to move forward with courage so that the power of the Holy Spirit in the Church and in the world always finds minds and hearts yearning to sow the word and to bring to all the joy of the Risen One, by breaking down barriers and encouraging the building of a society based on the principles of the Gospel, love, justice and peace. .
His Holiness, the Pope, wanted to recall in his speech that in those years when the Council of Missionary Institutes was established in Italy, Pope Saint Julius VI spoke about the mission, referring to some of its basic dimensions: testimony of life, proclamation of the word, catechesis and celebration of the sacraments. Pope Francis added that the first Christian communities had From these principles, stimulated by the Holy Spirit, I gained the resolve to proclaim the gospel.
Therefore, the Pope called on the audience to imitate the first disciples, not forgetting to nourish their lives and apostolic work with the Word of God, the Eucharist, and prayer. His Holiness added that the message and the example of communion is above all a sacrament of grace, not our work but rather the work of God, the Pope said, stressing that not only the lives and work of the missionaries, but also the meetings they undertake and the decisions they make, must all stem from listening. To the word and the celebration of the Eucharist and prayer. His Holiness called on his guests, on the other hand, to entrust everything to God and to purify their hearts and the institutions in which they work from everything that might hinder the creative work of the Holy Spirit.
In the conclusion of his speech, Pope Francis wanted to stress that the message is not a project for a company or a humanitarian organization, and it is not an abhorrent annexation, but rather it transcends everything, and that is why this is an invitation, His Holiness said to his guests, to work with dedication, creativity and generosity while entrusting everything, with trust, to God. .
