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Says Every Catholic, Every Priest Should Nourish Personal Bond With Christs Vicar
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 11, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI met today with the staff and students of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, which prepares the priests who enter into the Holy See’s diplomatic service.
“I am pleased to receive you once again this year, as the academic year draws to a close and as, for some of you, the day is approaching when you will depart for service in Papal Representations throughout the world,” the Pope said in his opening remarks.
“I encourage you to be confident and to prepare diligently for the mission which awaits you, trusting in the faithfulness of the One who has known you from the beginning and has called you into communion with his Son, Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Cor 1:9),” he told them.
At a time when the Vatican has been at the center of repeated leaks and rumors concerning its activities, Benedict XVI said that: “God’s faithfulness is the key to, and the source of, our own faithfulness.”
“I would like today to remind you of precisely this virtue, which well expresses the unique bond existing between the Pope and his direct collaborators, both in the Roman Curia and in the Papal Representations: for many, it is a bond grounded in the priestly character that they have received, which is then specified in the particular mission entrusted to each in the service of the Successor of Peter,” he commented.
“Dear friends, with this in mind, I encourage you to cultivate a personal bond with the Vicar of Christ as a part of your spirituality,” he told them. “Certainly, this is something which ought to apply to every Catholic, and even more to every priest,” he added.
“Yet for those who work in the Holy See, it is of particular importance, since they spend much of their energy, their time and their daily ministry in the service of the Successor of Peter,” he observed.
The Holy Father also expressed his gratitude to all those who support him in the Roman Curia and the Vatican’s diplomatic service.
“Dear friends, to the extent that you are faithful, you will also be worthy of faith,” he said.
“We know too that the faithfulness proper to the Church and to the Holy See is no ‘blind’ loyalty, for it is enlightened by our faith in the One who said: ‘You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church’ (Mt 16:18),” he continued.
“Let us all be committed to following this path, so that one day we may hear the words of the Gospel parable: ‘Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master’ (cf. Mt 25:21),” he concluded.
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