The "indispensable mission of every ecclesial community" is "to receive from God and to offer to the world the Risen Christ, so that every situation of weakness and of death may be transformed, through the Holy Spirit, into an opportunity for growth and life," the Pontiff said.
"And everyone, in the end, asks this of us, even those who seem not to," he affirmed. "From personal and communal experience, we know well that it is Jesus whom everyone awaits."
"We impose nothing, yet we propose ceaselessly," the Holy Father stated.
He said: "To this end, in every Eucharistic celebration, we will listen more attentively to the word of Christ and devoutly taste the bread of his presence.
"This will make us witnesses, and, even more, bearers of the Risen Jesus in the world, bringing him to the various sectors of society and to all those who live and work there, spreading that life in abundance which he has won for us by his cross and resurrection, and which satisfies the most authentic yearnings of the human heart."
Benedict XVI pointed out that "the most profound expectations of the world and the great certainties of the Gospel meet in the ineluctable mission which is ours."
Thus, he said, "we must overcome the temptation to restrict ourselves to what we already have, or think we have, safely in our possession: It would be sure death in terms of the Church's presence in the world."
"In recent years," the Pope observed, "the anthropological, cultural, social and religious framework of humanity has changed."
"Today," he continued, "the Church is called to face new challenges and is ready to dialogue with different cultures and religions, in the search for ways of building, along with all people of good will, the peaceful coexistence of peoples."
"And everyone, in the end, asks this of us, even those who seem not to," he affirmed. "From personal and communal experience, we know well that it is Jesus whom everyone awaits."
"We impose nothing, yet we propose ceaselessly," the Holy Father stated.
He said: "To this end, in every Eucharistic celebration, we will listen more attentively to the word of Christ and devoutly taste the bread of his presence.
"This will make us witnesses, and, even more, bearers of the Risen Jesus in the world, bringing him to the various sectors of society and to all those who live and work there, spreading that life in abundance which he has won for us by his cross and resurrection, and which satisfies the most authentic yearnings of the human heart."
Benedict XVI pointed out that "the most profound expectations of the world and the great certainties of the Gospel meet in the ineluctable mission which is ours."
Thus, he said, "we must overcome the temptation to restrict ourselves to what we already have, or think we have, safely in our possession: It would be sure death in terms of the Church's presence in the world."
"In recent years," the Pope observed, "the anthropological, cultural, social and religious framework of humanity has changed."
"Today," he continued, "the Church is called to face new challenges and is ready to dialogue with different cultures and religions, in the search for ways of building, along with all people of good will, the peaceful coexistence of peoples."
Read the full text of "It is Jesus Whom Everyone Awaits."
No comments:
Post a Comment