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Skriven 2006-03-28 21:24:52 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service (Press Release)
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Hello All!

                The following press release is Copyrighted by the
                          Vatican Information Service.
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                               VIS-Press releases

TO EVANGELIZE IS TO ENTER INTO COMMUNION WITH CHRIST

VATICAN CITY, MAR 22, 2006 (VIS) - In today's general audience, held in St.
Peter's Square in the presence of 35,000 faithful, Benedict XVI continued the
catechesis he began last week on the calling and the mission of the Apostles.

"St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians," said the Pope, "presents the Church as a
structure 'built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Christ Jesus
Himself being the cornerstone.' ... The Gospels all agree in recounting that
the call of the Apostles marked the first steps of Jesus' ministry."

The Holy Father went on to consider this call in the various gospel accounts.
St. Mark and St. Matthew place the scene at the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus
called the fishermen Simon, Andrew, James and John to be "fishers of men." For
his part, St. Luke dwells on the miraculous catch of fish, "a symbol of their
mission as fishers of men. The destiny of those 'called' will, from now on, be
intimately linked to that of Jesus. The Apostle is an envoy, but prior to that
he is an 'expert' on Jesus."

For St. John, the meeting took place on the banks of the River Jordan and "and
throws light on [the Apostles'] spiritual world. They were men awaiting the
Kingdom of God, anxious to know the Messiah Whose coming had been announced as
imminent. And John the Baptist's identification of Jesus as the Lamb of God was
sufficient to arouse in them the desire for a personal meeting with the
Master."

"Thus the Apostles' adventure began as an encounter between people who opened
to one another," said Benedict XVI. "The disciples began to have a direct
knowledge of the Master. Indeed, more than proclaiming an idea, they will be
witnesses to the person of Christ. And before being sent to evangelize, they
will have to 'be' with Jesus, establishing a personal relationship with Him. On
this basis, evangelization will be nothing other than the announcement of what
they experienced and an invitation to enter into the mystery of communion with
Christ."

Although Christ appears to limit the Apostles' mission to Israel alone when He
says "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," in reality,
the Pope explained, these words must be seen in the context of Israel as a
"community of the covenant. According to messianic expectation, the divine
promises will be fulfilled when God Himself, through His Chosen One, gathers
His people together, like a shepherd his flock."

"Jesus is the eschatological shepherd Who gathers the lost sheep of the house
of Israel and goes out to seek them, because He knows and loves them. By this
'gathering,' the Kingdom of God is announced to all people." After Jesus'
passion and resurrection, the Pope concluded, "the universal nature of the
Apostles' mission became explicit. Christ will send the Apostles 'into all the
world,' to 'all nations,' and 'to the end of the earth'."
AG/CALL APOSTLES/... VIS 060322 (510)

SUMMARY

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