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Fragments of messages
to the World Youth Day (www.vatican.va) His last words addressed
to the young people in his agony: “I looked for you, you came to me, and now
I thank you” Do not be afraid! You are the hope of the
world. You, with God’s strength will change the world. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the
words of eternal life” “God our Savior . . . desires all men to
be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2, 4). Salvation comes from Christ. He continually says
that he is the truth, the light that enlightens every human being, the Son of
God who has come to give life: “And this is eternal life, that they know you
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Io. 17, 3). Do not let the evil overcome you, but win
the evil with the good. God will never abandon us, even in the
most difficult trials. Jesus said: “The truth will
make you free”. You will become free and will help the others to be free as well.
Homely of the beginning of the Papacy. Sunday 22th October 1978 Oh Christ, help me to be a servant, a servant of
your servants! Please pray for me! Help me in order
to be able to serve! Do not be afraid of opening the door to Christ. Help
the Pope and who wants to serve Christ, and serve the man and the whole humanity!
Do not be
afraid! Open wide the doors to Christ! Open
the boundaries of the countries, the economical and political systems, the wide
and different cultural and developing areas. Do not be afraid! Christ knows what is inside
the man. Only Him
knows it! In our days the man often does not know what he carries inside of
him, in the deep of his spirit, of his heart. As a consequence, he is often
uncertain about the meaning of his life. He is overcome by doubts that often
become despair. Allow – I beg you with humility and trust – let Christ speak
to the man. He is the only one to have words of life, yes! of
eternal life! Young people France, Paris June 1st 1980 Let me answer first the most important of your
questions: who is Christ for me. Let me direct this question to you: who is
Christ for you? I will now tell you who is Christ
for me. The Gospel is an interrupted conversation with the man, with the
different generations, with the countries, traditions, cultures… but it is
always a dialogue without interruptions with the man, with each man, unique
and absolutely singular. Christ is the Word of an uninterrupted dialogue. He
is the dialogue with the man, even though many do
not converse with him, or they do not know how to do, some refuse even to
have a dialogue. This conversation develops in an unexpected and surprising
way. World Youth Day, On the eve of the new
millennium, I make again to you my pressing appeal to open wide the doors to
Christ who “to those who received him, gave power to become children
of God” (Jn 1:12) To receive Jesus Christ
means to accept from the Father the command to live, loving Him and our
brothers and sisters, showing solidarity to everyone, without distinction; it
means believing that in the history of humanity even though it is marked by
evil and suffering, the final word belongs to life and to love, because God
came to dwell among us, so we may dwell in Him. Contemplate and reflect! God
created us to share in his very own life; he calls us to be his children,
living members of the mystical Body of Christ, luminous temple of the Spirit
of Love. He calls us to be his: he wants us all to be saints. Dear young
people, may it be your holy ambition to be holy, as He is holy. You will ask me: but is it
possible today to be saints? If we had to rely only on human strength, the
undertaking would be truly impossible. You are well aware, in fact, of your
successes and your failures; you are aware of the heavy burdens weighing on
man, the many dangers which threaten him and the consequences caused by his
sins. At times we may be gripped by discouragement and even come to think
that it is impossible to change anything either in the world or in ourselves Although the journey is
difficult, we can do everything in the One who is our Redeemer. Turn then to
no one, except Jesus. Do not look elsewhere for that which only He can give
you, because “of all the names in the world given to men this is the only one
by which we can be saved” (Acts 4:12). With Christ, saintliness - the
divine plan for every baptized person - becomes possible. Rely on Him;
believe in the invincible power of the Gospel and place faith as the
foundation of your hope. Jesus walks with you, he
renews your heart and strengthens you with the vigour
of his Spirit. Young people of every continent, do not be afraid to be the saints of the new
millennium! Be contemplative, love prayer; be coherent with your faith and
generous in the service of your brothers and sisters, be active members of
the Church and builders of peace. To succeed in this demanding project of
life, continue to listen to His Word, draw strength from the Sacraments,
especially the Eucharist and Penance. The Lord wants you to be intrepid
apostles of his Gospel and builders of a new humanity. In fact, how could you
say you believe in God made man without taking a firm position against all
that destroys the human person and the family? If you believe that Christ has
revealed the Father’s love for every person, you cannot fail to strive to
contribute to the building of a new world, founded on the power of love and
forgiveness, on the struggle against injustice and all physical, moral and
spiritual distress, on the orientation of politics, economy, culture and
technology to the service of man and his integral development. May it become your most
precious treasure: in the careful study and generous acceptance of the Word
of the Lord, you will find nourishment and strength for your daily life, you will find motivation for tireless commitment to
the building of a civilization of love. Christ’s question cuts across
the centuries and comes down to us; it challenges us personally and calls for
a decision. What is our answer? Dear young people, if we are here today, it
is because we identify with the Apostle Peter’s reply: “Lord, to whom shall
we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn
6:68). This is the stupendous truth,
dear friends: the Word, who took flesh two thousand years ago, is present
today in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the sacrament
of the presence of Christ, who gives himself to us because he loves us. He
loves each one of us in a unique and personal way in our practical daily
lives: in our families, among our friends, at study and work, in rest and
relaxation. He loves us when he fills our days with freshness, and also when,
in times of suffering, he allows trials to weigh upon us: even in the most
severe trials, he lets us hear his voice. Yes, dear friends, Christ loves
us and he loves us for ever! He loves us even when we disappoint him, when we
fail to meet his expectations for us. He never fails to embrace us in his
mercy. How can we not be grateful to this God who has redeemed us, going so
far as to accept the foolishness of the Cross? To God who has come to be at
our side and has stayed with us to the end? Dear friends, when you go back
home, set the Eucharist at the centre of your personal life and community
life: love the Eucharist, adore the Eucharist and celebrate it, especially on
Sundays, the Lord’s Day. Live the Eucharist by testifying to God’s love for
every person. I entrust to you, dear friends,
this greatest of God’s gifts to us who are pilgrims on the paths of time, but
who bear in our hearts a thirst for eternity. At the end of this World Youth
Day, as I look at you now, at your young faces, at your genuine enthusiasm,
from the depths of my heart I want to give thanks to God for the gift of
youth, which continues to be present in the Church and in the world because
of you. "You are the salt of the earth... You are
the light of the world" Discover your Christian roots, learn about the
Church’s history, deepen your knowledge of the spiritual heritage which has
been passed on to you, follow in the footsteps of
the witnesses and teachers who have gone before you! Only by staying faithful
to God’s commandments, to the Covenant which Christ sealed with his blood
poured out on the Cross, will you be the apostles and witnesses of the new
millennium. It is the nature of human beings, and especially
youth, to seek the Absolute, the meaning and fullness of life. Dear young people, do not be content with anything less than the
highest ideals! Do not let yourselves be dispirited by those who are
disillusioned with life and have grown deaf to the deepest and most authentic
desires of their heart. You are right to be disappointed with hollow
entertainment and passing fads, and with aiming at too little in life. If you
have an ardent desire for the Lord you will steer clear of the mediocrity and
conformism so widespread in our society. "You are the light of the world...". Dear young people, it is up to you to be
the watchmen of the morning (cf. Is 21:11-12) who announce the coming
of the sun who is the Risen Christ! Our personal encounter with Christ bathes life in
new light, sets us on the right path, and sends us out to be his witnesses.
This new way of looking at the world and at people, which comes to us from
him, leads us more deeply into the mystery of faith, which is not just a
collection of theoretical assertions to be accepted and approved by the mind,
but an experience to be had, a truth to be lived, the salt and light of all
reality (cf. Veritatis Splendor, 88).
Just as salt gives flavour
to food and light illumines the darkness, so too holiness gives full meaning
to life and makes it reflect God’s glory. How many saints, especially young
saints, can we count in the Church’s history! Just as salt gives flavour
to food and light illumines the darkness, so too holiness gives full meaning
to life and makes it reflect God’s glory. How many saints, especially young
saints, can we count in the Church’s history! Dear
young people, let yourselves be taken over by the
light of Christ, and spread that light wherever you are. The
question that arises is dramatic: on
what foundations must we build the new historical era that is emerging
from the great transformations of the twentieth century? Is it enough to rely
on the technological revolution now taking place, which seems to respond only
to criteria of productivity and efficiency, without reference to the
individual’s spiritual dimension or to any universally shared ethical values?
Is it right to be content with provisional answers to the ultimate questions,
and to abandon life to the impulses of instinct, to short-lived sensations or
passing fads? The
question will not go away: on what foundations, on what certainties should we
build our lives and the life of the community to which we belong? Angelus 3rd April 2005 To
the humanity that is sometimes disoriented and dominated by the evil, by the
egoism and fear, the resurrected Lord offers his love that
forgives, reconciles, and open the spirit to the hope. It is love that convert the
hearts and give the peace. It is really necessary for the world to understand
and open the door to the Divine Mercy. Lord,
with your death and resurrection we believe in You and with trust we say
today “Jesus, I trust in You, have mercy on us and on the whole world”. |
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