Saint Paul wrote these words to the Ephesians. His exhortation, dear brothers and sisters, resounds today in our assembly with particular timeliness. But what is the vocation of a Christian? The answer is demanding, but clear: the vocation of Christian is holiness. It is a vocation which has its roots in Baptism and is proposed anew by the other sacraments, and principally by the Eucharist. I wish to recall this fundamental truth today, as I celebrate together with you the solemn conclusion of the second Synod of your local Church, to which you have devoted almost five years of prayer and reflection on the theme: "You are the Christ, for us and for all men and women.
I embrace with affection the Bishops and all the faithful of the Dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Zagreb , which is celebrating the hundredth and fiftieth anniversary of its establishment. My thoughts also go to the pilgrims who have come with their Pastors from Bosnia-Hercegovina, from Hungary, and from Serbia and Montenegro. A faithful servant of the Church, he was my valued co-worker as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the beginning of my Pontificate.
I greet our brothers and sisters who share with us faith in Jesus, the Son of God and the one Saviour of the world. My greeting also goes to our brothers and sisters of the Communities born of the Reformation.
I also offer respectful greetings to the members of the Jewish Community and to the followers of Islam. Finally my respectful greetings go to the civil and military Authorities , whom I thank most heartily for their commitment to the preparation of this Pastoral Visit.
How can we not be grateful to God for the clearer awareness which, in the years following the Second Vatican Council, the lay faithful — men and women alike — have gained of the baptismal dignity that is theirs? This in fact is the model for their mission.
