Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Osijek/Cepin (Fides Service) – A vibrant call to respond with generosity to the missionary vocation proper to every baptised person was launched by the Pope during the solemn concelebration of Mass which he presided on Saturday 7 June at Osijek-Cepin Sports Airport, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the creation of the Ecclesiastical Province of Zagreb and the conclusion of the diocesan synod of Djakovo and Srijem. Present at the celebration, the President of Croatia, Catholics from Hungary and Slovakia, groups from the Serb part of the diocese. Present also representatives of the Orthodox Church of the Patriarchate of Serbia, the reformed Churches and Judaism and Islam.
“But what is the vocation of a Christian? The answer is demanding, but clear: the vocation of Christian is holiness. It is a vocation which has its roots in Baptism and is proposed anew by the other sacraments, and principally by the Eucharist…the Bishop of Rome has come among you today in order to remind you, in the name of the Lord, that you are called to holiness in every season of life”. The Holy Father greeted those present affectionately and gave thanks to God “ for the clearer awareness which, in the years following the Second Vatican Council, the lay faithful – men and women alike – have gained of the baptismal dignity that is theirs? ”.
“At the beginning of the third millennium God is calling believers, and the laity in particular, to a renewed missionary outreach. Mission is not "something added on" to the Christian vocation. Indeed, the Council states that the Christian vocation is by its very nature a vocation to the apostolate. Dear brothers and sisters, the Church in Slavonia and Srijem has need of you! After the trying times of the war, which has left the people of this region with deep wounds not yet completely healed, a commitment to reconciliation, solidarity and social justice calls for courage on the part of individuals inspired by faith, open to brotherly love and concerned for defending the dignity of the human person made in the image of God. Dear lay faithful, men and women, you are called to assume generously your own share of responsibility for the life of the ecclesial communities to which you belong… No baptised person can remain idle!”SL (Fides Service 9/6/2003 EM lines 27 Words: 387)
