“Love for Christ and for one’s fellow men and women must be the hallmark
of every Christian and every community. In the Acts of the Apostles we
read that “the company of those who believed were of one heart and
soul” (4:32). Tertullian, an early Church writer, noted that pagans
were impressed by the love that bound Christians together (cf.
Apologeticum XXXIX). Dear brothers and sisters, imitate the divine
Master who “came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as
a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45). Let love shine forth in each of your
parishes and communities, and in your various associations and
movements. According to the image used by Saint Paul, let your Church
be a well-structured body with Christ as Head, in which every member
acts in harmony with the whole. Nourish your love for Christ by prayer
and listening to his word; feed on him in the Eucharist, and by his
grace, be builders of unity and peace wherever you go.”