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Ärende: Vatican Information Service - Press Release
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                               VIS-Press releases

MESSAGE FOR TWENTY-SECOND WORLD YOUTH DAY

VATICAN CITY, FEB 5, 2007 (VIS) - Made public today was the Message of the Holy
Father to the Youth of the World for the Occasion of the 22nd World Youth Day,
which is to be celebrated in all dioceses on Palm Sunday, April 1, and has as
its theme this year Jesus' words from the Gospel of John: "Just as I have loved
you, you also should love one another." The Message is dated January 27, 2007.
Ample extracts from the English-language version are given below:

"Love is possible, and the purpose of my message is to help reawaken in each
one of you - you who are the future and hope of humanity-, trust in a love that
is true, faithful and strong; a love that generates peace and joy; a love that
binds people together and allows them to feel free in respect for one another."

"How is God-Love revealed to us? ... In Christ, true God and true Man, we have
come to know love in all its magnitude. ... The manifestation of divine love is
total and perfect in the Cross. ... Redeemed by His blood, no human life is
useless or of little value, because each of us is loved personally by Him with
a passionate and faithful love, a love without limits."

"Moreover, the Crucifix, which after the Resurrection would carry forever the
marks of His passion, exposes the 'distortions' and lies about God that
underlie violence, vengeance and exclusion. Christ is the Lamb of God Who takes
upon Himself the sins of the world and eradicates hatred from the heart of
humankind. This is the true 'revolution' that He brings about: love."

"Christ cried out from the Cross: 'I am thirsty.' This shows us His burning
thirst to love and to be loved by each one of us. It is only by coming to
perceive the depth and intensity of such a mystery that we can realize the need
and urgency to love Him as He has loved us. ... To love as He loves us means
loving everyone without distinction, even our enemies, 'to the end'."

"I would like to linger for a moment on three areas of daily life where you, my
dear young friends, are particularly called to demonstrate the love of God. The
first area is the Church, our spiritual family. ... You should stimulate, with
your enthusiasm and charity, the activities of the parishes, the communities,
the ecclesial movements and the youth groups to which you belong. Be attentive
in your concern for the welfare of others, faithful to the commitments you have
made. Do not hesitate to joyfully abstain from some of your entertainments;
cheerfully accept the necessary sacrifices; testify to your faithful love for
Jesus by proclaiming His Gospel, especially among young people of your age."

"The second area ... is your preparation for the future that awaits you. If you
are engaged to be married, God has a project of love for your future as a
couple and as a family. Therefore, it is essential that you discover it with
the help of the Church, free from the common prejudice that says that
Christianity with its commandments and prohibitions places obstacles to the joy
of love and impedes you from fully enjoying the happiness that a man and woman
seek in their reciprocal love."

"The period of engagement, very necessary in order to form a couple, is a time
of expectation and preparation that needs to be lived in purity of gesture and
words. It allows you to mature in love, in concern and in attention for each
other; it helps you to practise self-control and to develop your respect for
each other. These are the characteristics of true love that does not place
emphasis on seeking its own satisfaction or its own welfare. In your prayer
together, ask the Lord to watch over and increase your love and to purify it of
all selfishness.

"Do not hesitate to respond generously to the Lord's call, for Christian
matrimony is truly and wholly a vocation in the Church. Likewise, dear young
men and women, be ready to say 'yes' if God should call you to follow the path
of ministerial priesthood or the consecrated life. Your example will be one of
encouragement for many of your peers who are seeking true happiness."

"The third area of commitment that comes with love is that of daily life with
its multiple relationships. I am particularly referring to family, studies,
work and free time. ... Develop your capacities, not only in order to become
more 'competitive' and 'productive,' but to be 'witnesses of charity.' In
addition to your professional training, also make an effort to acquire
religious knowledge that will help you to carry out your mission in a
responsible way. In particular, I invite you to carefully study the social
doctrine of the Church so that its principles may inspire and guide your action
in the world."

"My dear young friends, I want to invite you to 'dare to love.' Do not desire
anything less for your life than a love that is strong and beautiful and that
is capable of making the whole of your existence a joyful undertaking of giving
yourselves as a gift to God and your brothers and sisters. ... Love is the only
force capable of changing the heart of the human person and of all humanity, by
making fruitful the relations between men and women, between rich and poor,
between cultures and civilizations. This is shown to us in the lives of the
saints. ... Try to know them better, entrust yourselves to their intercession,
and strive to live as they did. I shall just mention Mother Teresa. ... The
only desire of her life was to quench the thirst of love felt by Jesus, not
with words, but with concrete action by recognizing His disfigured countenance
thirsting for love in the faces of the poorest of the poor."

"Only the Lord's help will allow us to keep away from resignation when faced
with the enormity of the task to be undertaken. It instills in us the courage
to accomplish that which is humanly inconceivable. Contact with the Lord in
prayer grounds us in humility."

"Above all, the Eucharist is the great school of love. When we participate
regularly and with devotion in Holy Mass, when we spend a sustained time of
adoration in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, it is easier to understand
the length, breadth, height and depth of His love that goes beyond all
knowledge. By sharing the Eucharistic Bread with our brothers and sisters of
the Church community, we feel compelled, like Our Lady with Elizabeth, to
render 'in haste' the love of Christ into generous service towards our brothers
and sisters."

"The next World Youth Day ... will be an important stage on the way to the
meeting in Sydney where the theme will be: 'You will receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.' May Mary, the
Mother of Christ and of the Church, help you to let that cry ring out
everywhere, the cry that has changed the world: 'God is love!' I am together
with you all in prayer and extend to you my heartfelt blessing."
MESS/WORLD YOUTH DAY/...VIS 070205 (1240)

SUMMARY

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