Formation of Apostolic Spirit in the Young

We wish to draw your attention particularly to one aspect of the education of young Catholics: the formation of their apostolic spirit. Instead of giving way to a slightly selfish tendency by thinking only of the salvation of their own souls, they should be made aware of their responsibilities toward others and of the ways to help others.

No one doubts that prayer, sacrifice, and courageous action to win others to God constitute very definite guarantees for personal salvation. We do not in any way condemn what has been done in the past because there have been many remarkable achievements in this respect. We refer, among other things, to the many Catholic weeklies which have sustained popular enthusiasm for the charitable activities of the apostolate. Movements such as that of the Holy Childhood have given proof in this respect of fruitful initiatives.

But an apostolic spirit takes root in the child's heart not only at school, but long before the school age, and it is engendered by the care of the mother herself. The child should learn how to pray at Mass and offer the Sacrifice with an intention which embraces the whole world and, above all, the important interests of the Church. Examining his conscience concerning his duties toward his neighbor, he will not only ask him self, "Have I harmed my neighbor?" but will also ask, "Have I shown him the way which leads to God, to Christ, to the Church, and to salvation?"

As for the exercise of the lay apostolate, since the observations We made earlier on matters of principle dealt with this at several points; We shall only refer to certain fields of the apostolate from which an urgent appeal rises at present.