VATICAN - The Pope addresses Polish youth: “My friends, do not be afraid to lean on Christ! Long for Christ, as the foundation of your life! Enkindle within you the desire to build your life on him and for him!”

Krakow (Agenzia Fides) - In the afternoon of Friday 27 May Pope Benedict XVI went to Wawel Cathedral and then Błonie Park for a meeting with Polish youth. After being welcomed by Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, and listening to testimony from a few of the estimated 600,000 young people gathered in the park the Pope gave his address based on the Gospel passage about the house built on rock.
“My friends, in the heart of every man there is the desire for a house. Even more so in the young person’s heart there is a great longing for a proper house, a stable house, one to which he can not only return with joy, but where every guest who arrives can be joyfully welcomed - Pope Benedict XVI said -. Do not be afraid of this desire! Do not run away from this desire! Do not be discouraged at the sight of crumbling houses, frustrated desires and faded longings.”
“How do we build this house?"?” the Pope asked. “Building on the rock means first of all building on Christ and with Christ … it means building on a foundation that is called ‘crucified love’”. It means building with Someone for whom we are important, who is always faithful and who tends to the wounded heart of man … “Building on Christy means founding on his will all our desires, expectations, dreams, ambitions and plans”… “My friends, do not be afraid to lean on Christ! Long for Christ, as the foundation of your life! Enkindle within you the desire to build your life on him and for him!”
“To build on the rock means to build on Christ and with Christ, who is the rock.”, the Pope said. “On the road of life we may sometimes not be aware of Jesus’ presence. However, it is really this presence, living and true, in the work of creation, in the Word of God and in the Eucharist, in the community of believers and in every man redeemed by the precious Blood of Christ, which is the inexhaustible source of human strength”… “Building on the rock also means building on Someone who was rejected.… The undeniable fact of the election of Jesus by God does not conceal the mystery of evil, whereby man is able to reject Him who has loved to the very end.. This rejection of Jesus by man, … extends throughout human history, even to our own time.”
“Building on the rock means being aware that there will be misfortunes.… Christ does not promise that a downpour will never inundate a house under construction,... To have built on rock means being able to count on the knowledge that at difficult times there is a reliable force upon which you can trust.… It is foolish, in fact, to build on sand, when you can do so on rock and therefore have a house that is capable of withstanding every storm… Maybe it is easier to base one’s life on the shifting sands of one’s own worldview, building a future far from the word of Jesus and sometimes even opposed to it. Be assured that he who builds in this way is not prudent, because he wants to convince himself and others that in his life no storm will rage and no wave will strike his house.”
“Building on rock also means building on Peter and with Peter... If Christ, the Rock, the living and precious stone, calls his Apostle "rock", it means that he wants Peter, and together with him the entire Church, to be a visible sign of the one Saviour and Lord. Here, in Kraków, the beloved city of my Predecessor John Paul II, no one is astonished by the words "to build with Peter and on Peter". For this reason I say to you: do not be afraid to build your life on the Church and with the Church.! You are all proud of the love you have for Peter and for the Church entrusted to him. Do not be fooled by those who want to play Christ against the Church.! … do not forget that neither that Peter who is watching our gathering from the window of God the Father, nor this Peter who is now standing in front of you, nor any successive Peter will ever be opposed to you or the building of a lasting house on the rock. Indeed, he will offer his heart and his hands to help you construct a life on Christ and with Christ.”
The Holy Father ended his address with these words: “You are all witnesses to hope, to that hope which is not afraid to build the house of one’s own life because it is certain that it can count on the foundation that will never crumble: Jesus Christ our Lord..” At the end the Pope blessed a foundation stone for John Paul II Centre and he consigned the Flame of Mercy to the young people entrusting them with the mission to evangelise the world. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 29/5/2006 - righe 50, parole 780)