Pope’s missionary prayer intention

(June 01, 2012) And now, before the news, here’s a brief comment on the missionary prayer intention of Pope Benedict XVI for the month of June - that Christians in Europe may rediscover their true identity and participate with greater enthusiasm in the proclamation of the Gospel. For almost two thousand years since its birth in the Holy Land, the Christian faith has been at work in Europe. The history of Europe is largely the history of Christianity, spearheaded by Sts. Peter and Paul who sacrificed their lives to preach Jesus and His Gospel. The missionaries travelled all over Europe and made the continent a soil in which Christianity is deeply rooted. Later, a great missionary fervour urged European men and women, in turn to leave their native land to proclaim Jesus Christ to the farthest reaches of the earth. But today, Christianity in Europe is in crisis – a spiritual and moral crisis that is sidelining God to the margins of society. Many Christians live their baptism as deep personal engagement, but there is a perceptible resistance to proclaiming the Gospel. Materialism and relativism are having a heavy toll on spiritual life with waning Mass attendance and sacramental life. Today only Poland still has weekly Mass attendance over 50 percent; Scandinavian countries average less than 5 percent. This is why Pope Benedict has called for a new evangelization of Europe and has been insisting that continent not forget and discard its Christian roots. This month he is asking us to join him in praying that European Christians may rediscover their true identity and engage enthusiastically in the proclamation of the Gospel.