Setting Out from Christ
Here are
some parts of John Paul II’s message to
the participants in the Congress of Lay Catholics in the former Soviet
Union held in Kiev, October 8th–12th
Old Europe,
from West to East, is looking for a new identity…. Europe must remember that Christianity has been the
lifeblood from which it has drawn the noblest inspirations of its spirit
for two thousand years….
The theme of
your Congress–“Being Witnesses
to Christ Today”–expresses well the meaning of this mission,
which none of the Baptized can delegate to others or avoid….
This will be
possible to the extent that each of you is able to strengthen the awareness
of your own Baptism. The
sacrament of Baptism makes us children of God called to holiness, members
of the Church–the Mystical Body of Christ–with a shared
responsibility for building up the Christian community, participants in the
Church’s mission of announcing to men and women the Good News of
salvation….
Your vocation
and mission will bear fruit provided that, in your actions, you are able
always to make a return to Christ, to
set out from Christ, to keep your gaze fixed firmly on Christ’s
face…. Let His light shine in your personal lives, in your
families, in your workplaces, in the world of education, culture, and
politics….
A precious contribution in this regard can be made by
associations, church movements, and new communities, the experience of
which has given birth to fruitful pedagogical paths and a renewed apostolic
enthusiasm.
The lay faithful,
with a proper formation and always in respect of freedom, in brotherly love,
in dialogue, and in cooperation,
can
open new paths to Christian unity, which is a “walking together
toward Christ.” The love of Christ heals wounds, overcomes
prejudices, prepares the paths of unity. Pray unceasingly so that
what seems impossible by the standards of human logic will be made possible
by God, who offers His powerful assistance. Bring to fulfilment the
commandment of His Son: “Ut unum sint” [“that they may all be one”](Jn 17:21).