Visit to the parish of the Great Mother of God November 11, 1984

St. John Paul II

Rome, November 11, 1984

In the parish, the Holy Father met with the members of the four Neocatechumenal Communities -about 130 people in total- who work in the parish. To them and to their entire families, John Paul II has addressed these words:

“In your journey of faith, you have made two discoveries: the first is that of Baptism since the term ‘Neocatechumen’ refers to this sacrament in which the breadth of the divine life is hidden, the life that the Father offers to us with Christ in the Holy Spirit; the second discovery is of the courage to live. Faith has to be confessed, manifested, brought to others, brought to the world. You have this courage of faith that is often missing in Christians, even the baptized. This is one of the faults of Christian life today. You have the charism of courage in the manifestation of faith. I wish you to do a good job deepening this charism and a good apostolic work in the parish of the Great Mother of God. I hope that you will find much joy in this vocation, much joy in your families, in your children whom you especially love and to whom you give your whole life. May you receive great comfort from these children. They are the hope of the previous generation. With this desire, I bless you from the heart together with those close to you and with all the people to whom you go to in your itinerant apostolate.”