VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 30, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI thanked the staff of the papal summer residence for their prayer and support and left this evening to return to the Vatican.
The Pope said his good-byes to the Castel Gandolfo staff on Wednesday. He thanked each member of the group — including cooks, cleaners, gardeners and others — personally greeting them and their families.
«Dear friends,» he said, «continue to offer daily witness of your faith, especially by humbly listening to the Word of God. … All Christians are called to accept and to live, day after day with simplicity and joy, the Word of truth the Lord communicated to us. … It is vital that each Christian should live in contact and personal dialogue with the Word of God, given to us in sacred Scripture, reading it not as a word of the past, but as a living Word addressed to us today.»
The Holy Father assured the staff of his constant prayer for them, particularly that «each of you may increasingly and more profoundly come to know and assimilate the Word of God, stimulus and source of Christian life in all situations and for all people.»
He recommended in this regard learning from the Virgin Mary since she «is a model of such obedient attention.»
