Pope to Catholics: Most Important Service Is Proclamation of Jesus Christ

15-08-2008

Quito, Aug 14, 2008 (CNA).- Pope
Benedict XVI sent a message to the Third American Missionary Congress
(CAM3) being held in Quito this week, reminding Catholics that "the
most important service we can give our brothers and sisters is the
clear and humble proclamation of Jesus Christ, who came to this world
that we might have life and have it in abundance."

"Amidst
the difficulties of a sometimes hostile environment from the lack of
immediate and spectacular results, or faced with the insufficiency of
human means, I invite you not to be overcome by fear, weighed down by
discouragement or dragged along by inertia," the Pope said.

"The
present time is a providential occasion for listening again with
simplicity, purity of heart and fidelity to how Christ reminds us that
we are not servants but friends," the Pope continued.

"He
instructs us in order that we might remain in his love without molding
ourselves to the messages of this world. Let us not be deaf to his
Word. Let us learn from Him. Let us imitate his way of life. Let us be
sowers of the Word. In this way, with all of our lives, with the joy of
knowing we are loved by Jesus, who we can call brother, we will be
valid instruments for Him to continue drawing everyone to Himself with
the mercy that flows from his Cross," the Pope added.

He
went on to encourage Catholics "to share this treasure with others, as
there is no greater treasure than to enjoy the friendship of Christ and
walk by his side. Consecrating our greatest energies to this beautiful
labor is worth it, knowing that divine grace precedes, sustains and
accompanies us in carrying it out," the Pontiff stated.

"May
you find, therefore, in persevering prayer, in the fervent meditation
of the Word of God, in the obedience to the Magisterium of the Church,
in the dignified celebration of the Sacraments and in the testimony of
fraternal charity, the strength necessary to identify with the
sentiments of Christ. You will be his disciples with coherence and
generosity, proclaiming with your own examples, that Christ is the Son
of God, the Redeemer of man and the firm rock upon which we cement our
existence," the Pope continued.

He
also encouraged Catholics in America to feel "the consolation of Christ
and to offer his love to those in tribulation, to those who are weighed
down by suffering and have been wounded by the coldness of
indifferentism or the scourge of corruption. These challenges demand we
overcome individualism and isolation and that we strengthen the sense
of belonging to the Church and the loyal collaboration with her
pastors, in order to form Christian communities that are prayerful,
unified, fraternal and missionary."