Pope Benedict XVI called bishops to a ‘saintly life’ in order to encourage the faithful to open their hearts to the Gospel that the same bishops preach. This morning the Pope received a group of Brazilian bishops from the region of Leste II, at the end of their ad Limina visit.
Bishops from Brazil's 252 dioceses have spent most of 2009 and part of 2010 making their visits to Rome to speak to the Pope about the reality of the church in this vast nation.
Saturday’s group represent the diocese from south east Brazil, led by Mgr. Walmor Oliveira de Azevedo, Archbishop of Belo Horizonte and regional Leste 2 president of the Brazilian Bishops Conference.
Speaking to them, Pope Benedict emphasized the importance of communion between the faithful and their pastors, and the importance of the "bond of unity, love and peace" that ties the Pope to the bishops.
He concentrated on three main tasks of pastors, namely teaching, sanctifying and governing the people of God First, stressing that as teachers and doctors of the faith, the bishops are called to teach the truth with authentic courage.
Referring to his address at the 2007 Aparecida Conference the Pope said; “The Church has the great task of guarding and nourishing the faith of the People of God, and reminding the faithful”, that "by virtue of their Baptism they are called to be disciples and missionaries of Jesus Christ. "
Meanwhile, he also urged pastors to help the faithful "to discover the joy of faith," the joy of feeling loved personally by God”.
“Believing” he continued, "lies primarily in abandoning oneself to God who knows and loves us personally."
The Pope called for the Brazilian bishops to instill trust in the Lord in their own people, ensuring that faith is always "preserved, defended and transmitted in all its purity and integrity."
Pope Benedict went on to stress the crucial importance of the celebration of the sacraments and the Eucharist in particular for the bishops.
"The task you have received to sanctify," he said, pushes you to be "promoters and leaders of prayer in the, human city, which is often restless, noisy and forgetful of God." We need to create "places and occasions of prayer" was his exhortation, where “you can hear God and experience the encounter with Jesus Christ”.
Finally, he turned his thoughts to the task of leading the Christian people, which requires bishops to promote the participation of all the faithful in the building up of the Church.
"Regarding the task of governance - he said - the bishop is called to administer and regulate the lives of the people of God" through rules, guidelines and recommendations.
“This is an important function so that the diocesan community remains united within and continues on a path of sincere communion of faith, love and discipline with the Bishop of Rome and with the whole Church”.
The government of a bishop, concluded Pope Benedict, "will be pastorally effective" only if it rests "on a moral authority, revealed in a saintly life."
In fact, this alone will "encourage souls to welcome the Gospel he preaches in his Church, as well as the standards he sets for the good of the People of God."
SIC: RVR