Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The life and preaching of Saint Paul “were wholly directed to making Jesus known and loved by all, for all persons are called to become a single people in him. This is the mission of the Church and of every baptized person in our time too, even in the era of globalization; a mission that with attentive pastoral solicitude is also directed to the variegated universe of migrants - students far from home, immigrants, refugees, displaced people, evacuees - including for example, the victims of modern forms of slavery, and of human trafficking. Today too the message of salvation must be presented with the same approach as that of the Apostle to the Gentiles, taking into account the different social and cultural situations and special difficulties of each one as a consequence of his or her condition as a migrant or itinerant person.” This is the exhortation that the Holy Father Benedict XVI made in his Message for the 95th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which will be celebrated on Sunday, January 18, 2009 on “St Paul migrant, ‘Apostle of the peoples.’”
The Holy Father hopes that “every Christian community may feel the same apostolic zeal as St Paul” and that “his example also be an incentive for us to show solidarity to these brothers and sisters of ours and to promote, in every part of the world and by every means, peaceful coexistence among different races, cultures and religions.”
At the beginning of his Message, the Pontiff recalls that this Day is this year based on the Jubilee Year being held in honor of the apostle, on the 2,000th anniversary of his birth: “the preaching and mediation between the different cultures and the Gospel which Paul, "a migrant by vocation" carried out, are also an important reference point for those who find themselves involved in the migratory movement today.”
Later, recalling the various parts of Paul’s life, the Pontiff recalled that after his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, “His life changed radically (cf. Phil 3:7-11): Jesus became for him his raison d’être and the motive that inspired his apostolic dedication to the service of the Gospel. He changed from being a persecutor of Christians to being an Apostle of Christ. Guided by the Holy Spirit, he spared no effort to see that the Gospel which is "the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek" (Rm 1:16) was proclaimed to all, making no distinction of nationality or culture. On his apostolic journeys, in spite of meeting with constant opposition, he first proclaimed the Gospel in the synagogues, giving prior attention to his compatriots in the diaspora (cf. Acts 18:4-6). If they rejected him he would address the Gentiles, making himself - an authentic "missionary to migrants" - as a migrant and an ambassador of Jesus Christ "at large" in order to invite every person to become a "new creation" in the Son of God (2 Cor 5:17). The proclamation of the kerygma caused him to cross the seas of the Near East and to travel the roads of Europe until he reached Rome.”
The “missionary zeal” and “passion of the wrestler” that distinguished St. Paul “stemmed from the fact that since ‘Christ [had] made him his own’, (Phil 3:12), he remained so closely united to him that he felt he shared in his same life, through sharing in ‘his sufferings’. This is the source of the apostolic ardour of St Paul... no difficulty hindered him from persevering in his courageous evangelizing action in cosmopolitan cities such as Rome and Corinth, which were populated at that time by a mosaic of races and cultures.”
The Acts of the Apostles and the Letters of St. Paul are a model of the Church that “was not exclusive but on the contrary open to all, formed by believers without distinction of culture or race” and “In this perspective, fraternal solidarity expressed in daily gestures of sharing, joint participation and joyful concern for others, acquires a unique prominence. However, it is impossible to achieve this dimension of brotherly mutual acceptance, St Paul always teaches, without the readiness to listen to and welcome the Word preached and practiced, a Word that urges all to be imitators of Christ, to be imitators of the Apostle. And therefore, the more closely the community is united to Christ, the more it cares for its neighbor, eschewing judgement, scorn and scandal, and opening itself to reciprocal acceptance.”
Benedict XVI continues: “If we are aware of this, how can we fail to take charge of all those, particularly refugees and displaced people, who are in conditions of difficulty or hardship? How can we fail to meet the needs of those who are de facto the weakest and most defenceless, marked by precariousness and insecurity, marginalized and often excluded by society?”
The Holy Father hopes that the World Day of Migrants and Refugees may “be for all an incentive to live brotherly love to the full without making any kind of distinction and without discrimination, in the conviction that any one who needs us and whom we can help is our neighbour (cf. Deus Caritas Est, n. 15). May the teaching and example of St Paul, a great and humble Apostle and a migrant, an evangelizer of peoples and cultures, spur us to understand that the exercise of charity is the culmination and synthesis of the whole of Christian life... The entire Gospel message is condensed in love, and authentic disciples of Christ are recognized by the mutual love their bear one another and by their acceptance of all.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 9/10/2008)
