Martyrs remind us that Christ is a living and concrete person, Pope Benedict XVI says

Vatican City, Aug 7, 2006 / 22:00 pm

–In a message sent to the participants of the International Catholic Action Forum taking place in Lugazi, Uganda, Pope Benedict XVI said, “Jesus Christ is not the symbol of some vague, abstract value, but rather a living and concrete Person, an absolutely singular person.”

In his message the Holy Father invited participants of the event to recall the example of the martyrs Charles Lwanga and companions, in order to, “confirm the choice of following in the steps of these Christian laymen who have given witness to the faith even to the point of shedding their blood for the gospels.”

Signed by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican Secretary of State, the message invites the members of Catholic Action to bear witness with their lives that “all Christians are called to the mystical union” with Christ and to “cultivate the spirituality of communion” by living with humility and gratitude in the Church, union with the bishops and with the entire People of God.

The pontiff likewise encouraged Catholic Action members to, “bear witness to the beauty of an ardent faith that transforms daily life and is presented in an attractive way to all those who ask a reason for the hope that is us believers.”  For the martyrs, he continued, Christ is, “an absolutely singular Person, of whom every baptized person can say with the Apostle Paul: ‘He has loved me and has given Himself for me’.”