Pope says mission is born of love in the heart

(Oct. 23, 2006) Pope Benedict XVI says that to be a missionary means "to take the good news to every person that 'God is love.'" "If the mission is not inspired by love, it is reduced to philanthropic and social activity," the Pope said on the 80th World Mission Sunday, Oct. 22. He made that observation at midday, when praying the traditional Sunday 'Angelus' from the window of his study with some 30,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square. Earlier the Pope had issued a message for the Church’s annual World Mission Sunday whose motto was "Charity, Soul of the Mission." "The mission is always born from a heart transformed by the love of God, as witnessed by innumerable histories of saints and martyrs, who in different ways have spent their lives at the service of the Gospel," the Pope said. He explained that there is room in the mission "for those who commit themselves to realize the kingdom of God in their own homes; for those who live their professional work with a Christian spirit; for those who consecrate themselves totally to the Lord; for those who follow Jesus the Good Shepherd in the ordained ministry to the People of God; for those who go specifically to proclaim Christ to those who do not yet know him." He also greeted the English-speaking faithful on Mission Sunday. Listen to him:
Pope Benedict also used Sunday’s 'Angelus' to greet the world's Muslims at the end of Ramadan and wished them serenity and peace. Eid al-Fitr, the celebration of the end of the month of prayer and fasting, was observed on Monday by Sunni Muslims and will be marked on Tuesday by the Shiites. With the approach of Id al-Fitr, Iraq experienced some of the worst violent bomb attacks in the country. The Pope lamented the situation and appealed for "courage" on the part of the country's politicians and the international community, to support the nation's reconstruction. "Contrasting dramatically with this festive atmosphere," the Pope said after praying the 'Angelus', "is the news that comes from Iraq on the most serious situation of insecurity and cruel violence to which very many innocent people are exposed just because they are Shiites, Sunnis or Christians." He expressed special closeness with Iraq’s Christian community and all victims and prayed for strength and consolation for all.