MESSAGE FROM CLÁUDIO CARDINAL HUMMES, PREFECT OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE
CLERGY
To
Catechists
Dear Catechists,
May the
peace of the Lord be with you!
In my first
year of service to the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, in the Congregation for the Clergy - which also has catechesis
entrusted to it - I wish to extend to you my cordial and fraternal greeting.
I ask Almighty
God, who is good and great in his love, and rich in mercy, to bless you in a
very special way.
I do this on
the Feast Day of St Luke the Evangelist, recalling his foundational
contribution to the universal proclamation of Jesus Christ dead and risen, and
of his Kingdom.
First of
all, I want to express my admiration
for your often untiring ecclesial service in the area of the transmission of
Catholic faith to so many catechumens and those entrusted to you who have been already
baptized.
I assure you
of my affection, as my dearest brothers
and sisters, committed to the good
fight of faith, which often requires heroic sacrifices, to which, nonetheless,
you respond with joy and perseverance.
In daily
faithfulness to God and man, you continue to be and represent a real asset for
your parish communities. You are one of
the most promising signs with which the Lord endlessly comforts and surprises us.
In a dedicated
fashion and with passion, seek to acquire and exhibit that image, which is
required of teachers, educators and witnesses of the Truth, by faithfully
passing on that Truth to contemporary man,
in all of its fullness and integrity.
Be able to
strengthen your faith, “always ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks
you for a reason for your hope" [1Pt 3:15], with prayer, with continuing
education, with charity. Be always joyful and zealous so that, also through
your work, "in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to
whom belong glory and dominion" [1 Pt 4:11]
I urge you
to pray and cultivate with trust a relationship of love, devotion, attentiveness, and silence, with
the Lord.
In a world
which is often hopeless, in the grip of violence and selfishness, let every
gesture, every smile, every word of yours be a living testimony that the Lord has is victorious over sin and
death, and that love is possible!
Rediscover
the deep roots of your witness in Baptism and
Confirmation. Nourish your service as catechists with the food of the
strong: the Eucharist.
Reveal the face of Christ to all those you meet, through the grace and
faithfulness of your service.
May the
Spirit of the Lord render your life new and make communion among you grow.
“May the
world of our time, which is searching, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with
hope, be enabled to receive the Good News not from evangelisers who are
dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel
whose lives glow with fervour, who have first received the joy of Christ, and
who are willing to risk their lives so that the kingdom may be proclaimed and
the Church established in the midst of the world.”. (EN 80)
I invoke
upon you the Blessing which was so dear to St Francis of Assisi:
«The Lord
bless you and keep you.
May He show
His face to you and have mercy.
May He turn
His countenance to you and give you peace».
And may the
Virgin Mary, Star of evangelisation, guide you and help you, and be for you a sign of sure hope.
From the
Vatican, 18 October 2007
Feast Day of
St Luke the Evangelist
Claudio Card.
Hummes
Prefect