Vatican, July 13th, 2006
Madam, Sir,
Having been informed about the 10th international Gathering of Teams which
will be held in Lourdes from the 16th to the 21st of next September, the
Holy Father joins with all the members in thought and in prayer.
The chosen Theme for this Gathering : « Teams, living communities
of couples, reflecting the love of Christ », invites the members
of your movement to be fully aware of their religious and missionary responsibilities
in todays world. The Pope encourages them therefore to continually become
witnesses of the risen Christ, by allowing the grace to be signs of Christ’s
love, that they have received in the Sacrament of Marriage, to shine through
their life as a couple. May they contribute in that way to spread to today’s
society the truth of the christian message on the family : this is
an invitation to fully discover the dignity of the human being, created
in the image
of God, by living the joy of truly human relationships, because they
were established on mutual love in the image of divine love! The Holy
Father
also invites Teams Members to become closer to people experiencing
difficulties in their conjugal life or being confronted by its obvious
failure, so that
they can help them regain strength thanks to a friendly mutual help
and rediscover the hope that does not disappoint us (Romans 5,5). May
the example
of the Virgin Mary who welcomed the gift of God unhesitatingly and
gave herself wholly to her Lord, be for the members of Teams, a support
and
a guide through the joys as well as the difficulties of their daily
endeavours!
Invoking the maternal protection of Our Lady of Lourdes upon the organizers
and all the participants of this international Gathering, His Holiness
grants them wholeheartedly a special apostolic Blessing, as well as to
all the members of Teams, spread throughout the world.
Pleased to pass on to you, this message on behalf of the Holy Father,
I remain yours faithfully, devoted in our Lord.