Message from the 3rd Ordinary General Assembly of the Union of Catholic Apostolate
Authentic Apostles of Jesus Christ in the Church and the world today
John Paul II (cf. General Statutes p. 12)
At the beginning of this Jubilee Year of the 50th Anniversary of Saint Vincent Pallotti’s canonisation we, the members of the 3rd Ordinary General Assembly of the Union of Catholic Apostolate, representing our sisters and brothers in the Union throughout the world, came to the Cenacle of the San Vincenzo Pallotti Spirituality Centre in Grottaferrata, Rome, to pray, to listen, to share and to work together as one family for the infinite glory of God.
It gave us great joy to hear in the NCC reports how the idea and the charism of Vincent Pallotti are spreading throughout the world. We are conscious that the Union is like a seed that is growing according to the needs and the culture of each of our realities. We have experienced its unifying force among lay people, sisters, brothers, priests, old and young working together.
We called on the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us the wind and fire of Pentecost for our times, to re-energize and re-enflame our spirits, enabling us to be Authentic Apostles of Jesus Christ in the Church and in the world today (cf. GS p. 12, Teachings of John Paul II, 9/1 [1986], p. 1899), truly open to the call of the Church to participate wholeheartedly in the “New Evangelisation”. One of the biggest obstacles to this New Evangelisation is the risk of us getting too comfortable in the Cenacle. We desire, like the Apostles before us, to leave the Upper Room in order to respond to the challenges of the 21st century which hungers for God, for God’s truth, for God’s love and for a living experience of the spirituality of communion. In this spirit, we are all called to allow ourselves to be transformed and so to become transforming; to search for and commit ourselves to new and creative initiatives which give expression to new forms of apostolate that meet the needs of our time.
Without the Holy Spirit we cannot succeed in fulfilling this challenging task to which we are called but, with Him, with Mary, Queen of Apostles and Star of the New Evangelisation, and with St. Vincent Pallotti, we can play our full part in contributing to the New Evangelisation in “these times which are difficult but full of hope” (Paul VI EN 82).
We know that the Holy Spirit goes “to where He is loved, where He is invited, where He is awaited” (St. Bonaventure, Sermon for IV Sunday after Easter, 2). We want our Union of Catholic Apostolate both to be in itself and to create for others such a space where the Spirit will come because He is loved, invited and awaited by us.
We want to thank all of you who accompanied us during these days with prayer, sacrifice and words of encouragement. Thank you all for the good work that you do and for the witness of selfless service which you offer to the whole Pallottine family.
May God continue to bless every member and collaborator of the Union of Catholic Apostolate; may He grant us a renewed hope in the future and the courage and zeal needed to face our tomorrow as authentic apostles of Christ in the Church and in the world of our times.
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Pentecost by Kieko Miura, Liturgical Glass
