Vatican City, Dec 8, 2003 / 22:00 pm
Pope John Paul II told a group of Polish seminarians on Tuesday that they must prepare for their future priestly duties with an intense prayer life.
The Pontiff welcomed the rector, priests, professors, religious and seminarians from the seminary of Radom, Poland, recalling his visit to the seminary in 1991 and speaking on the historical and spiritual legacies of which the seminarians today are heirs.
He noted that “in this year of formation you have the motto ‘Imitate what you will celebrate - ‘imitare quod tractibus’.”
“This is an invitation,” the Pope continued, “that each one of you seminarians, God willing, will hear during the liturgy of ordination. Usually this refers to the mysteries enclosed within the Eucharist and its celebration. In reality the deeper content of this call seems to come directly from Christ’s words: ‘Do this in memory of Me’. And ‘Christ’s memory’ is His entire earthly life, but above all, its paschal conclusion.”