Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Fides Service) - “Your word is a lamp to my feet a light to my path" (Ps 118[119], 105): is the theme of the Message which Pope Benedict XVI has addressed to young Catholics all over the world on the occasion of the 21st World Youth Day (diocesan celebrations the world over) on Palm Sunday 9 April 2006. Recalling the “enriching experience in Germany in August last year”, the Pope tells young people that Youth Day this year presents a “good opportunity to rekindle the flame of enthusiasm that was awakened in Cologne and which many of you have brought to your families, parishes, associations and movements” and a “wonderful chance to invite many of your friends to join the young generation’s spiritual pilgrimage towards Christ”.
Presenting the theme the Pope says “In order to progress on our earthly pilgrimage towards the heavenly Kingdom, we all need to be nourished by the word and the bread of eternal Life, and these are inseparable from one another! The Apostles received the word of salvation and passed it on to their successors as a precious gem kept safely in the jewel box of the Church: without the Church, this pearl runs the risk of being lost or destroyed. My dear young friends, love the word of God and love the Church, and this will give you access to a treasure of very great value and will teach you how to appreciate its richness. Love and follow the Church, for it has received from its Founder the mission of showing people the way to true happiness.”.
The Pope urges young people to meditate on the Word of God and let themselves be guided by the Holy Spirit so they many contemplate the true God and read the events of history with his eyes savouring the joy which is born of the truth. “The loving presence of God, through his word, is the lamp that dispels the darkness of fear and lights up the path even when times are most difficult.”. the word of God to be an indispensable "weapon" in the spiritual struggle. This will be effective and show results if we learn to listen to it and then to obey it.”. “My dear young friends, I urge you to become familiar with the Bible, and to have it at hand so that it can be your compass pointing out the road to follow. By reading it, you will learn to know Christ.… Reading, study and meditation of the Word should then flow into a life of consistent fidelity to Christ and his teachings.”.
“To build your life on Christ, to accept the word with joy and put its teachings into practice: this, young people of the third millennium, should be your programme!” the Holy Father says in the message. “There is an urgent need for the emergence of a new generation of apostles anchored firmly in the word of Christ, capable of responding to the challenges of our times and prepared to spread the Gospel far and wide. It is this that the Lord asks of you, it is to this that the Church invites you, and it is this that the world - even though it may not be aware of it - expects of you!”
Lastly the Pope says “Dear friends, at the 21st World Youth Day that we will celebrate on 9 April next, Palm Sunday, we will set out, in our hearts, on a pilgrimage towards the world encounter with young people that will take place in Sydney in July 2008. We will prepare for that great appointment reflecting together on the theme The Holy Spirit and the mission in successive stages... We will finally reach the world meeting of 2008 and its theme will be: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8). (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 28/2/2006 righe 37, parole 541)
