Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “On the example of so many disciples of Christ, you also, dear friends, accept with joy the invitation to follow, to live intensely and fruitfully in this world...Do not be afraid, then, dear boys and girls, if the Lord calls you to the religious, monastic, missionary life or one of special consecration: He is able to give profound joy to one who responds with courage!” This is the appeal that the Holy Father Benedict XVI has launched towards all youth of the world in his Message for the 25th World Youth Day (WYD), to be celebrated March 28, 2010, Palm Sunday, on a diocesan level.
Benedict XVI recalls the establishment of this World Day, by the Venerable John Paul II, as “a prophetic initiative that has borne abundant fruits.” The 25th WYD also “represents a stage toward the next World Youth meeting, which will take place in August 2011 in Madrid.” This year, Benedict XVI dedicates his reflection to the theme: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"” (Mk 10:17), the question posed to Jesus by a rich young man, recalling that this theme was already addressed in 1985 by Pope John Paul II in his Letter, addressed for the first time to young people.
In the Gospel account, it tells of “Jesus' great attention to youth...how great his desire is to meet with you personally and open a dialogue with each one of you,” says Benedict XVI, highlighting that “Christianity is not primarily a morality, but experience of Jesus Christ, who loves us personally, young and old, poor and rich; he loves us even when we turn our back to him...In this love is found the source of the whole of Christian life and the fundamental reason of evangelization: If we have truly encountered Jesus, we cannot do other than witness him to those who have not yet crossed his look!”
Like the rich young man who asks Jesus: "What must I do?," so too the youth of today live this time of their lives as a time for discovering God's gifts to them and their responsibilities. “To discover the plan of life that could render you fully happy, listen to God, who has a plan of love for each one of you.” There is also a need to “ask oneself about the definitive future that awaits each one of us,” because “it orients the plan of life toward horizons that are not limited and passing, but ample and profound, which lead to loving the world, so loved by God himself, to dedicate oneself to its development, but always with the liberty and joy born from faith and hope. They are horizons that help not to absolutize earthly realities, seeing that God prepares a greater prospect for us.”
The Holy Father indicates the 10 Commandments as “essential points of reference to live in love, to clearly distinguish good from evil and build a solid and lasting plan of life...God gives us the commandments because he wants to educate us to true liberty, because he wants to build with us a Kingdom of love, justice and peace. To listen to them and to put them into practice does not mean to be alienated, but to find the path of authentic liberty and love, because the commandments do not limit happiness, but indicate how to find it.”
The Message to the youth concludes with an invitation not to become discouraged: “cultivate in your heart great desires of fraternity, justice and peace. The future is in your hands, because the gifts and riches that the Lord has enclosed in the heart of each one of you, molded by the encounter with Christ, can bring authentic hope to the world!” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 16/03/2010)
