VATICAN - Pope Benedict XVI in Brazil - “My appeal to you today, young people present at this gathering, is this: do not waste your youth. Do not seek to escape from it. Live it intensely. Consecrate it to the high ideals of faith and human solidarity”

Friday, 11 May 2007

São Paulo (Agenzia Fides) - In the afternoon of Thursday 10 May, Pope Benedict XVI left the monastery of São Bento and went to Paulo Machado de Carvalho municipal sports ground in Pacaembu for a meeting with young people on the theme: "Young person, disciple and missionary of Jesus Christ". In his long address the Pope expressed his joy at being present mentioning also the 20th World Youth Day in Cologne: “Some of you gathered here today were also present! It is an emotional memory for me on account of the abundant fruits of the Lord’s grace poured out upon those who were there.”. The Pope said "The Christian life you lead in numerous parishes and small ecclesial communities, in universities, colleges and schools, and most of all, in places of work both in the city and in the countryside, is undoubtedly pleasing to the Lord. But it is necessary to go even further…We can never say "enough", because the love of God is infinite, and the Lord asks us—or better—requires us to open our hearts wider so that there will be room for even more love, goodness, and understanding for our brothers and sisters, and for the problems which concern not only the human community, but also the effective preservation and protection of the natural environment of which we are all a part”.
Reflecting on the passage of the Gospel of Matthew (cfr 19, 16-22) which had just been proclaimed the Pope said that the young man's question , what to do to gain eternal life - “ does not regard only the future. It does not regard only a question about what will happen after death, on the contrary… the young man’s question raises the issue of life’s meaning. It can therefore be formulated in this way: what must I do so that my life has meaning? How must I live so as to reap the full fruits of life? Or again: what must I do so that my life is not wasted? Jesus alone can give us the answer, because he alone can guarantee us eternal life. He alone, therefore, can show us the meaning of this present life and give it fullness..”
Before replying Jesus asks the young man: “why do you ask me what is good?”. “ This young man perceives that Jesus is good and that he is a teacher—a teacher who does not deceive. The Pope explains … The young man in the Gospel has perceived God in Jesus Christ. Jesus assures us that God alone is good. To be open to goodness means to receive God. In this way, he invites us to see God in all things and in everything that happens, even where most people see only God’s absence. When we see the beauty of creation and recognise the goodness present there, it is impossible not to believe in God and to experience his saving and reassuring presence. If we came to see all the good that exists in the world—and moreover, experience the good that comes from God himself—we would never cease to approach him, praise him, and thank him.… But we can only know in an imperfect, partial way. To understand what is good, we need help, which the Church offers us on many occasions, especially through catechesis.” The commandments are “great indicators” they point to the right path the Holy Father said “ It is not enough, however, simply to know them. Witness is even more important than knowledge; or rather, it is applied knowledge”.
Pope Benedict XVI said : “ These years of your life are the years which will prepare you for your future…We hear talk of the fears of today’s youth. These fears reveal an enormous lack of hope. “ But as I gaze at you young people here present—you who radiate so much joy and enthusiasm—I see you as Christ sees you: with a gaze of love and trust, in the certainty that you have found the true way. You are the youth of the Church. I send you out, therefore, on the great mission of evangelizing young men and women who have gone astray in this world like sheep without a shepherd. Be apostles of youth… May they too may discover the sure ways of the commandments, and, by following them, come to God.” The Pope urged the young people to be men and women who are free and responsible; make the family a centre that radiates peace and joy; be promoters of life, from its beginning to its natural end; protect the elderly, since they deserve respect and admiration for the good they have done. The Pope also expects young people to seek to sanctify their work, carrying it out with technical skill and diligence, so as to contribute to the progress of all their brothers and sisters, and to shed the light of the Word upon all human activities (cf. Lumen Gentium, 36). But above all, the Pope wants them to set about building a more just and fraternal society”.
Pope Benedict XVI stressed the need to respect the institution of the Sacrament of Matrimony: “There cannot be true domestic happiness unless, at the same time, there is fidelity between spouses, he said. Marriage is an institution of natural law, which has been raised by Christ to the dignity of a sacrament; it is a great gift that God has given to mankind: respect it and honour it. At the same time, God calls you to respect one another when you fall in love and become engaged, since conjugal life, reserved by divine ordinance to married couples, will bring happiness and peace only to the extent that you are able to build your future hopes upon chastity, both within and outside marriage". Then the Pope thanked “ Consecrated persons, by giving themselves totally to God, prompted by the Holy Spirit, participate in the Church’s mission, bearing witness before all people to their hope in the heavenly Kingdom”.
“ Youth appears as a form of wealth because it leads to the discovery of life as a gift and a task- the Pope said in the last part of his address -. The young man in the Gospel understood that his youth was itself a treasure. He went to Jesus, the good Teacher, in order to seek some direction. At the moment of the great decision, however, he lacked the courage to wager everything on Jesus Christ. In consequence, he went away sad and downcast… My appeal to you today, young people present at this gathering, is this: do not waste your youth. Do not seek to escape from it. Live it intensely. Consecrate it to the high ideals of faith and human solidarity. You, young people, are not just the future of the Church and of humanity, as if we could somehow run away from the present. On the contrary: you are that young man now; you are that young man in the Church and in humanity today. You are his young face. The Church needs you, as young people, to manifest to the world the face of Jesus Christ, visible in the Christian community. Without this young face, the Church would appear disfigured”.
Referring to the imminent opening of the 5th General Conference of the Bishops' Conferences of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Pope said “ I ask you to follow its deliberations attentively; to participate in its discussions; to receive its fruits. As was the case with earlier Conferences, the present one will also leave a significant mark on the next ten years of evangelization in Latin America and the Caribbean. No one must stay on the sidelines or remain indifferent in the face of this ecclesial initiative, least of all you young people”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 11/5/2007; righe 70, parole 1.079)


Share: