Cardinal Hummes thanks catechists for heroism in proclaiming the Gospel

Rome, Italy, Oct 23, 2007 / 08:35 am

In a letter to the catechists of the world dated October 18, the feast of St. Luke, the prefect for the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes, thanked them for their heroic service to the cause of evangelization.

“In this first year of my service to the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, at the Congregation for the Clergy, which is also entrusted with catechesis, I desire to send you my cordial and fraternal greetings,” the Brazilian cardinal said.  He assured catechists of his appreciation for their hard work, which “often requires heroic sacrifices” offered “with joy and perseverance.”

“You all are one of the most promising signs with which the Lord never ceases to comfort and surprise us,” the letter continued.  Cardinal Hummes encouraged them to continue being witnesses to the truth and to pass it on faithfully to the people of our times.

He exhorted catechists to strengthen their faith with prayer, formation and charity.  “Always be joyful and diligent so that, through your work, ‘God may be glorified in all through Jesus Christ.  To Him be the power and the glory’,” he said.

“In a world often without hope and victimized by violence and selfishness,” he went on, “may each gesture, each smile, each word you say be a living testimony that the Lord has overcome sin and death and that love is possible!”

Cardinal Humes said today’s world needs ministers of the Gospel whose lives “irradiate the fervor of those who have received the joy of Christ,” rather than evangelizers who are sad, discouraged, impatient or anxious.