Proclaiming Christ “without worrying about our success”, aware of the fact that “often God’s messengers are not well received”: Benedict XVI said this yesterday morning in the homily of the Mass he celebrated in St. Peter’s Square, in front of the cathedral in Frascati, during his pastoral visit to the diocese. In the Christian community, Christ’s commitment to formation, the Pope explained, “is always the first service offered by people in positions of responsibility, starting with parents, who in the family accomplish the mission of educating children; we then think of parish priests, who are responsible for formation in the community, and all priests, in different fields of work: they all consider education to be a priority; and the lay faithful who, in addition to their role as parents, are involved in the formation of young people or adults, as leaders in Apostolic Action and other ecclesial movements, or engaged in civil and social areas, always with a strong focus on the formation of people”. “The Lord - the Pontiff pointed out - calls everyone, distributing different gifts for different tasks in the Church. He calls to the priesthood and consecrated life, and He calls to marriage and the commitment as lay people in the Church and in society”. (continued)

Even, “in the diocesan community of Frascati - the Pope stated -, the Lord abundantly sows His gifts, He calls you to follow Him and to extend His mission today. Even here there is a need for a new evangelisation, which is why I encourage you to intensely live the Year of Faith, which will begin in October, 50 years after the opening of Vatican Council II”. “The documents of the Council - the Pontiff continued - contain an enormous wealth for the formation of new generations of Christians, for the formation of our consciousness. So read them” and “rediscover the beauty of being Christians, of being Church, of living the great ‘we’ that Jesus has formed around Him, to evangelise the world: the ‘we’ of the Church that is never closed, but always open and focused on the proclamation of the Gospel to all people”. Then an exhortation to the faithful in Frascati: “Be united among yourselves, and at the same time be open, be missionaries. Stand firm in the faith, rooted in Christ through the Word and the Eucharist; be people of prayer, to always remain bound to Christ, as branches to the vine, and at the same time go out, bring His message to everyone, especially the small, the poor, the suffering”. “In every community - he concluded - love each other, do not be divided but live as brothers and sisters, so that the world may believe that Jesus is alive in His Church and the Kingdom of God is near”.