1. On the central theme of this Conference, “Disciples and Missionaries of Jesus Christ, so that Our Peoples May Have Life in Him,” we think it important to highlight that even before concerning ourselves with the formation of disciples, we should indicate how a disciple is born. The Pope, in the square of this Marian shrine, told us that the Church “grows greatly through ‘attraction’–as Christ ‘attracts everything to Himself,’ with the power of His love, which culminated in the sacrifice of the Cross.”2 The disciple is born because of an attraction, through the power of the Spirit who breaks in and transforms the person’s life, generating the People of God. The Spirit of the Risen Jesus Christ, through His charisms, manifested in the testimony of people touched by the Mystery, creates the new subject of the new evangelization, the disciple.
Our movements are enriched with many people who had abandoned the Church, those for whom the Christian life had meant little or nothing. All of them had an encounter that was important for their lives and they began to care about Jesus Christ and the life of the Church.
The reality of the movements today demonstrates concretely the dimension of discipleship that, starting with a loving adherence to the Person of the Lord Jesus, moves ever more deeply into His teachings, following them as a journey, seeking to cleave to the Truth, the beauty that fascinates the human being hungry for authenticity and meaning, who aspires to live His Life, thus giving glory to God. Their members aspire to take seriously their vocation to holiness and, looking to the Virgin Mary in order to immerse themselves in the rhythm of her heartbeat in the impassioned adventure of the sequela of her Son, dedicate themselves to the loving design of the Father. Many, seeing this existential witness, are amazed and direct their minds and hearts to Christ and, fascinated by the Light emanating from Him, follow Him with an enthusiasm and ardor that become ever more intense and communicative.

2. In order to grow in discipleship to the point of becoming missionaries, a method is necessary. Doctrine is important, but not sufficient. What become necessary are experienced pedagogical journeys that lead to the encounter with the Lord that responds to the questions of reason and the desire for happiness. One cleaves to the event of Christ through experience, through something that corresponds to the structure of our humanity. The movements are a fruitful experience of belonging and of communitarian life in the plurality of the Church. This experience of the family of God is available for and at the service of the entire Church.
This process develops through an educational itinerary that involves catechism, prayer, assiduous meditation on the Word of God, sacraments, Eucharistic adoration, charity, solidarity, culture, and mission. In this existential experience, the disciple feels welcomed, and lets himself be transformed, discovering a drive for the apostolate of the announcement of Jesus and for collaboration in the transformation of the world according to God’s plan. Without a method, disciples don’t exist; only those who let themselves be educated can be educators.
3. The missionary is a disciple who communicates the beauty, enthusiasm, ardor, and audacity of the new life in Christ that he has received as a gift. For the movements, mission is not so much a set of initiatives as the announcement and communication of that life, the giving of oneself in any circumstance. We have been touched by the decisive encounter with a person, a missionary, who communicated to us something different as an ardent shining forth of the Holy Spirit that gives rise to the attraction for the Person of Jesus.
Today, it is often said, “Christ, yes; the Church, no.” The movements offer an existential space for encounter with Christ and His Church. Testimony and announcement happen in all spheres: private, social, cultural, and ecclesiastical. The action of the Holy Spirit kindles the heart; under His impulse, life changes into works of evangelization and human promotion. In the Latin American reality, there is not one ecclesiastical movement that does not engage in an intense social commitment, starting with the Gospel, above all with the poorest and most defenseless.
Conscious of the gift received and of the responsibility it entails, and of the humility proper to the sons and daughters of the Church, the members of the ecclesiastical movements and new communities of Latin America and of the Caribbean are enthusiastic about participating under the guidance of the Pastors of the local Churches in the great mission of evangelization of the continent, announcing Jesus and His teachings even more, and building a more just and reconciled society, learned in the school of Mary and following her footsteps as the first and most perfect disciple and missionary.

Notes
1Benedict XVI, prayer of the Holy Rosary in the Sanctuary of Aparecida, Brazil, May 12, 2007.
2Benedict XVI, homily during the Mass inaugurating the 5th General Conference of the Latin American Bishops, Aparecida, Brazil, May 13, 2007.