Missionaries are a sure models for those searching for truth and justice, pope says
Vatican City (AsiaNews) In a world that is now "globalized and in which (people's) yearning for Truth and Justice goes beyond all national borders" missionaries are "the altruists who help our Savior bring His Cross to all persons suffering and dying" throughout the world, the pope said.
Moreover, John Paul II said, when missionaries fight to improve the conditions of life of populations where their missions are based they also help the very nations from which they come to overcome their attachments to consumerism and selfishness."
Today the pope spoke about missionary work in view of today's world, while receiving delegates of the General Assembly of Pontifical Missionary Work inside the Sala Clementina in the Vatican's Apostolic Building.
The assembly of participants were led by Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, prefect for the Congregation for Evangelization of Peoples.
The pope later said to the missionaries in attendance: "It is by preaching about Christ that you indicate the path by which they will obtain salvation. You offer them a message of love and hope. It is with your missionary spirit that you carry out the plan of Christ, the Savior of all mankind. And it is with this same spirit that you help bring the Good News to the ends of the Earth. Christ, the Living One, indeed still offers each one of us, indifferently his message of salvation (through you)."
Missionaries "are sure models for all those in search of (Christ's) saving truth ." The hope, of which missionaries are bearers, the pope said, "is born from (their belief in) Christ's death and resurrection."
"Therefore you must have a special consideration for those people of the world who suffer the most and are in greatest need, that is, the so-called populations of the Third World," the pontiff said.
"Your commitment is akin to that of the missionaries of the Gospel who preached solidarity and love and who sacrificed themselves for peace even giving up their own lives for their love of Christ, their inspiration."
Yet John Paul II added that a missionary's work reaps its effect not only the land that he or she is stationed. "When you are concerned for the suffering of other populaces and work to alleviate their urgent needs, you are also working to help your very same people overcome their rigid selfishness, from being smothered in abundance and emptiness and sometimes inhuman attitudes and behavior," the pope said.
"It's not just about almsgiving, as my dear predecessor Pius XII wrote, but about carrying out an implicit duty that is part of our Christian identity: giving to those who are in need."
Lastly, the pope reminded missionaries that "when you meditate on Christ's messages with sincere faith and work in His spirit, know that His words apply to you: 'Every time you have done these things to only one of these my littlest brothers and sisters, you also do it to me'."
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