Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Luanda (Agenzia Fides) – The transformation of one's own life in light of the Word of Christ, is the theme chosen by the Bishops' Conference of Angola and Sao Tome, for their pastoral plan for the next two years. “After having meditated in recent years on the proclamation of Jesus Christ and his mystery of salvation and sanctification, in these next two years, we will reflect on our life in Christ,” reads the document presenting the pastoral plan, published October 15.
This reflection will be divided into two parts: “During the first year, we will reflect on the personal aspect of our life in Christ, and in the second year we will reflect on its social dimension. We are thus invited during this year, to make a sincere examination of our life, at the light of the Gospel ideal of the Beatitudes and the Commandments, and to reflect on how we have lived charity in works of mercy. We are called to make Christ the center of our life, in a transformation that leads us to echo Paul's words: 'My life is Christ' (Phil 1:21).”
This intimacy with Christ is obtained through the reading and meditation of the Word of God, which should become our daily bread of life and the occasion for discovering the face of the Father. As children of God, we are called to live in intimacy with the Father, in the various forms of prayer: adoration, praise, thanksgiving, and supplication. We are called to fulfill the Father's will in everything, always and no matter the cost, even if it costs us our lives, and to avoid every kind of sin, which is an offense to God and leads people to thinking that superstition can solve their problems, making them fall into fear and a slavery to real or imaginary powers, forgetting that we are sons and daughters, not slaves.”
However, this personal quest in imitation of Christ is not complete without a social dimension. The Bishops recall that “in a world that many times is marked by cruelty, self-worship and hedonism, we are called to live in imitation of the Master, with all the consequences this implies. We are called with Christ to become a sign of contradiction, to not accept the world's logic, to show society today that only love and service make us free and make us one family in God, a community of brothers.”
“Believing in Christ means choosing His truth, His love for the poor, for a life led by coherent moral values. We are aware of the difficulties that many of our brothers must face in the daily fight for survival, and we express our solidarity with them, asking that all social and political powers unite in bringing an end to all poverty.”
“May Mary accompany us in this flight to God and guide us on our way, as authentic followers of Christ, of yeast for the world, of creators of community of faithful. And may Saint Paul, the great Apostle, to whom this year is dedicated, serve as a model for all of us in communicating the Gospel, in speaking out against poverty and injustice, and in being witnesses to the values of the Kingdom,” the Message concludes. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 17/10/2008)
