In his annual message for World Mission Day (24 October), Pope Benedict XVI reflects on the gratuitous service that is a necessary part of mission: “In a multiethnic society that is experiencing increasingly disturbing forms of loneliness and indifference, Christians must learn to offer signs of hope and to become universal brethren, cultivating the great ideals that transform history and, without false illusions or useless fears, must strive to make the planet a home for all peoples.”
The people of our time need to see Jesus and therefore all the baptized are called to carry out this mission.
At the end of his message, the Pope extends his special thanks to all the missionaries “who bear witness to the coming of the Kingdom of God in the most remote and challenging places, often with their lives,” emphasizing that they are in the vanguard of the Gospel’s proclamation, and that every believer should offer them friendship, closeness and support.
We transmit these best wishes to all the Daughters of St. Paul, immersed in their missionary activities throughout the world.