Benedict XVI praises the role of mission throughout the centuries up to now, citing as examples Mother Teresa of Kolkata and John Paul II, “a great missionary”. “Wherever the Gospel arrives, life flourishes; like an arid land, irrigated by rain, it is made green.” Pope tells Poles that Card Wyszynski will be beatified very soon.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – During today’s Regina Coeli in St Peter’s Square, Benedict XVI focused on the joy and importance of the Christian proclamation. “Even today the vocation of the Church is evangelisation, towards the people who have not yet been irrigated by the living water of the Gospel as well as those who, despite their ancient Christian roots, need new sap to bear new fruit, and rediscover the beauty and the joy of faith”. In order to demonstrate the importance of mission, the Pope noted how “the Blessed John Paul II was a great missionary, as documented by an exhibit currently on display a Roma. He revived the mission ad gentes and, at the same time, promoted the new evangelisation”.

Benedict XVI took his cue from the reading of the Acts of the Apostle, in particular the passage that describes how, after the violent persecution in Jerusalem, “Philip, one of the deacons, went down to the city in Samaria, where he preached the Risen Christ, and his proclamation was accompanied by many healings so that the conclusion of the episode was very signification, namely “There was great joy in that city.”

This is significant, Benedict XVI said. “This expression impresses us each time. In its essential nature, it communicates us a sense of hope, as if it said, ‘It is possible! It is possible for humanity to know true joy, because wherever the Gospel arrives, life flourishes; like an arid land, irrigated by rain, it is made green.”

From this, the Holy Father went on to look at the centuries that followed, until our times, looking at them from the perspective of mission. “Reading this passage, it becomes natural to think about the Gospel’s healing power, which for centuries ‘irrigated’, like a beneficent river, so many peoples. Some great saints have brought hope and peace to entire cities, like Saint Charles Borromeo did to Milan at the time of the plague, and the Blessed Mother Teresa in Kolkata, as well as the many missionaries, whose names are known to God, who gave their life to proclaim Christ and bring deep joy among men. Whilst the powerful tried to conquer new lands for political and economic reasons, the messengers of Christ went everywhere for the purpose of bringing Christ to men and men to Christ, knowing that only he can bring true freedom and eternal life.”

At the end of the Regina Coeli, the pope greeted the pilgrims in various languages. He also reminded those from Poland that yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the death of Cardinal Wyszynski.

“Invoking the gift of his beatification, let us learn from him total surrender to the Mother of God. Let his trust expressed in the words ‘I have placed everything in Mary’ be our special model.”

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