VATICAN - Pope's address at Angelus on Mission Sunday: “The missionary task is not to bring about revolution in the world but to transfigure it, drawing power from Jesus Christ.”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – At his Angelus address on Sunday, October 24, the Holy Father Benedict XVI reflected on the common ground between the theme for the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops just recently concluded ("The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness") and the theme for World Mission Sunday (“Building Ecclesial Communion is the Key to Mission”): “Both invite us to look upon the Church as a mystery of communion that, by its nature, is destined for the whole person, and to all people.” After quoting Paul VI, who in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi affirms: “The Church exists to evangelize...,” the Holy Father announced the theme of the next General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in 2012: “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.”
Mentioning the testimony of Saint Paul on the “final prize,” which formed a part of the Sunday readings, Benedict XVI said: “This is not an inactive or solitary waiting, on the contrary! The Apostle lived in communion with the risen Christ to "bring the proclamation of the Gospel to completion" so that "all nations shall hear it" (2 Timothy 4:17). The missionary taskis n ot to bring about revolution in the world but to transfigure it, drawing power from Jesus Christ .” Lastly, he entrusted the Christian communities of the Middle East and all missionaries of the Gospel to the Virgin Mary. After praying the Angelus, the Holy Father greeted the pilgrims in different languages, reminding them all of the importance of the celebration of World Mission Sunday. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 25/10/2010)