Apostleship of PrayerApril, 2008
The Holy Father's General Intention:That Christians, even in the difficult and complex situations of present-day society, may not tire of proclaiming with their lives that Christ’s resurrection is the source of hope and of peace.
The Resurrection of Christ is a fact that occurred in history, of which the Apostles were witnesses and certainly not its inventors. At the same time, it was not simply a return to our earthly life. Instead, it is the greatest “mutation” that ever occurred, the decisive “jump” towards a profoundly new dimension of life, the entry into a decidedly different order that regards above all Jesus of Nazareth, but with him also us, the whole human family, history and the entire universe. This is why the Resurrection of Christ is the centre of the preaching and the Christian witness from the beginning and until the end of time.
But the mark of this mystery is love, and only in the logic of love can it be brought close and somehow understood: Jesus Christ risen from the dead, because all of his being is perfectly and intimately united with God who is love, which is stronger than death.
All of this concretely happens through the life and witness of the Church: rather, the Church herself constitutes the first fruit of this transformation, which is God’s work and not ours. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” Galatians 2: 20. My own self is taken away and I am filled with a new and greater subject, in which my “I” is still there but transformed, purified, “open” through the insertion into the Other, who acquires new space n my existence.
All Christians are called to give concrete practicable content to Christian witness, examining how it can be carried out and developed in each of us. In all this we shall therefore be helped by not losing sight in our pastoral activity of the link between faith and daily living, between the Gospel calling and the preoccupations and aspirations that most people have at heart.
Therefore, the work of evangelization is never a simple adaptation to culture, but it is always also a purification, a courageous break that leads to maturation and healing that brings to birth a new creation.
His Mission intention:That the future priests of the young Churches may be constantly more formed culturally and spiritually to evangelize their nations and the whole world.
Our young priests, and priests to be, need to be formed culturally and spiritually in the culture where they are to proceed with the evangelization process, especially if many of their flock do not yet know Christ. Hence our very lives must witness to the change that the Resurrection of Jesus demands of us.
More and more, we shall feel the need to inculturate the Gospel, to evangelize cultures and to foster a sincere and open dialogue with one and all in order to build together a more brotherly and supportive humanity.
In this postmodern age, people listen more willingly to witnesses than to teachers and if they do listen to teachers it is because they are witnesses.
Vince Hurley, S.J.
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