Acta Benedicti Pp. XVI 317

So let me make two brief observations on the problem of ''attrition'',

which I hope will stimulate further reflection.

First, as you know, it is becoming more and more difficult, in our Western

societies, to speak in a meaningful way of ''salvation''. Yet salvation -

deliverance from the reality of evil, and the gift of new life and freedom in

Christ - is at the heart of the Gospel. We need to discover, as I have

suggested, new and engaging ways of proclaiming this message and awaken-

ing a thirst for the fulfillment which only Christ can bring. It is in the

Church's liturgy, and above all in the sacrament of the Eucharist, that these

realities are most powerfully expressed and lived in the life of believers;

perhaps we still have much to do in realizing the Council's vision of the

liturgy as the exercise of the common priesthood and the impetus for a

fruitful apostolate in the world.

Second, we need to acknowledge with concern the almost complete eclipse

of an eschatological sense in many of our traditionally Christian societies. As

you know, I have pointed to this problem in the Encyclical Spe Salvi. Suffice

it to say that faith and hope are not limited to this world: as theological

virtues, they unite us with the Lord and draw us toward the fulfillment not

only of our personal destiny but also that of all creation. Faith and hope are

the inspiration and basis of our efforts to prepare for the coming of the

Kingdom of God. In Christianity, there can be no room for purely private

religion: Christ is the Savior of the world, and, as members of his Body and

sharers in his prophetic, priestly and royal munera, we cannot separate our

love for him from our commitment to the building up of the Church and the

extension of his Kingdom. To the extent that religion becomes a purely

private affair, it loses its very soul.

Let me conclude by stating the obvious. The fields are still ripe for har-

vesting; 22 God continues to give the growth.23 We can and must believe, with

the late Pope John Paul II, that God is preparing a new springtime for

Christianity.24 What is needed above all, at this time in the history of the

Church in America, is a renewal of that apostolic zeal which inspires her

shepherds actively to seek out the lost, to bind up those who have been

22 Cf. Jn 4:35. 23 Cf. 1 Cor 3:6. 24 Cf. Redemptoris Missio, 86.