Time of promises, critical, alternative and solidary

1. Time of promises
Critics, alternatives and supportives
Benedict XVI seems to be 'magnet' for the university spirit. He likes the college, university likes. There is a
person who over time has been away from youth. Often, speeches or words that targets youth of questions,
and it is surprising that these questions are precisely the formula that the student now enrolled at any
university in the western world. Youth is full of promise, and the response of the young is to discern the
deception or truth that they hold, and then meet those promises. Yes, youth is time to choose. So it is
endowed with a particular boost to the generosity and grandeur. Give us some suggestive considerations
for youth. Each is taken from a different context. We have tried to group them thematically, we separate
the different texts with asterisks.

2. It's beautiful to be young. Today everyone wants to be young, stay young, and young people dress up, although the time of youth has
1.13 Time to choose
passed so visible. I wonder, I thought, "why is it beautiful to be young? Why is the dream of eternal youth? I think that there are two
decisive factors. Youth is the future still ahead, all is future, a time of hope. The future is full of promise. To be honest, we must say that
for many the future also appears dark, littered with threats. Uncertainties: find a job?, "Find a home?, I find love?, What is my real
future? And to these threats, the future may also present as a high vacuum. That is why today many want to stop time, for fear of a future
in a vacuum. They want to make the most immediate and all the beauties of life. And so the oil in the lamp is consumed when life should
begin. It is therefore important to choose the real promises that open to the future, even with disclaimers. Whom God has chosen, even
in old age is facing a future without end and without threats. It is therefore important to choose well, do not ruin the future. And the first
fundamental choice must be God, God revealed in His Son Jesus Christ. In light of this option, which offers both a company the way, a
reliable company, which never abandons us, are the criteria for other options required. Being young means being kind and generous.
And goodness in person is Jesus Christ, the Jesus that you know or you are looking for your heart. He is the friend that never betrays,
faithful to the delivery of his life on the cross. Surrender to his love.
Genoa. Sunday May 18, 2008
1.13.a
Dear friends, life is not governed by chance, not accidental. Your very existence has been willed by God, blessed by him and a goal that
has been given (cf. Gen 1:28). Life is not just a succession of events and experiences, however useful they might be. It is a search for the
true, good and beautiful. Precisely to achieve this we make our choices, we exercise our freedom and in this, that is, in truth, goodness
and beauty, find happiness and joy. Do not be fooled by those who see you as just another consumer in a market of undifferentiated
possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty posing as beauty and subjective experience supersedes the truth.
Christ offers more. Moreover, it offers everything. Only he who is the Truth can be the Way and hence also the Life. Thus the "way"
which the Apostles brought to the ends of the earth is life in Christ. It is the life of the Church. And the income in this life, in the Christian
way, is Baptism.
WYD. Barangaroo Wharf, Sydney. Thursday July 17, 2008
1.13.b
Do not follow the way of pride but of humility. Go against the tide: do not listen to stakeholders and persuasive voices that today, many
2.13. Time to be critical and alternative
sides proposed ways of life marked by arrogance and violence, arrogance and success at all costs, by having to appear and to the
detriment of be.
You are the recipient of numerous messages, which come to you mainly through the media. Be vigilant. Be critical. Do not follow the
wave produced by the powerful action of persuasion. Do not be afraid, dear friends, to prefer the road "alternative" indicated by true
love: a sober lifestyle and supportive, sincere and pure emotional relationships; an honest effort in the study and at work, a deep
interest in the common good.
Rome. Monday, June 6, 2005
2.13.a
Do not be afraid to be considered different and be criticized for what may seem old fashioned or loser: your peers, and adults, especially
those who seem further away from the mentality and values of the Gospel, have deep need see someone who dares to live according to
the fullness of humanity manifested by Jesus Christ. So, dear young people, the way of humility is not a path of renunciation but of
courage. Not the result of a defeat but a victory of love over selfishness and of grace over sin. Following Christ and imitating Mary, we
have the courage of humility, we humbly entrust to God, because only then can we become docile instruments in its hands, and let us do
great things.
Rome. Monday, June 6, 2005
2.13.b
Another value I want to emphasize: the serious intellectual and moral imperative to design and build your fututo and society. That in
these things makes you "discounts" do not want your good. Indeed, how seriously we could project the future, if neglected natural desire
to know and find themselves confronted with that is in you? The crisis begins when a society no longer knows how to transmit to future
generations their heritage and their fundamental values.
And I do not mean just the school system. The issue is broader. As we know, there is an educational emergency, and to confront it, it
takes parents and educators can share all the good and true that they have personally experienced and deepened. We need youthful
within open, eager to learn and carry all the requirements and evidence originating from the heart. Be truly free, that is, a passion for the
truth. The Lord Jesus said: "The truth shall make you free" (Jn 8, 32).
In contrast, modern nihilism preaches the opposite, namely that makes you true freedom. Moreover, some argue that there is no truth,
thus opening the way to emptying of the concepts of good and evil, even making them interchangeable. I have said that in the Sardinian
culture there is this proverb: "Better not miss the bread and justice." Indeed, a man can endure and overcome hunger, but can not live
where justice is outlawed and truth.
Yenne. Sunday September 7, 2008
2.13.c
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3. We have many major challenges you must face. But the former always remains fully follow Christ, without reservation or compromise.
3.13 The challenge of choosing Christ
And following Christ means being a living part of his body, which is the Church. We can not call his disciples if we love and His Church.
The Church is our family, that love the Lord and our brothers, especially the participation in the Eucharist, makes us experience the joy
of love and future life now, which will be fully illuminated by Love Our daily commitment must be to live down here like we were up
there. Therefore, church is for everyone to feel a vocation to holiness is a daily commitment to build communion and unity, overcoming
all resistance and overcome any misunderstanding. In the Church we learn to love educating ourselves on the free host of others, both in
care who are experiencing difficulties, the poor and the past.
3.13.a
Dear friends, I invite you to cultivate the spiritual life. Jesus said: "I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him
will bear much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" (Jn 15, 5). Jesus does not make puns, is straightforward. They all understand
and take position. The life of the soul is meeting with him, namely God's Face. It is quiet and persevering prayer, it is sacramental life, is
thought Gospel is spiritual guidance, is friendly to the church membership, to your church communities. But how can love, enter into
friendship with someone who does not know? Knowledge drives the love and love stimulates knowledge. So also with Christ. To find
love with Christ, to find it really as a companion of our lives, we must first know. As the two disciples who followed him after hearing the
words of the Baptist and say shyly, "Rabbi, where do you live?" (Jn 1, 38), want to know him closely. It is Jesus himself, speaking to the
disciples, differs: "Who do people say that I am?" (Cf. Mt 16, 13), referring to those who know him from afar, as it were "second-hand."
"And who do you say I am?" Referring to those who know "first hand", having lived with him, having entered his life really very personal
to become witnesses of his prayer, his dialogue with the Father . Thus, it is important that we not limit ourselves to the superficiality of
so many who heard something about it: it was a great personality, etc ... but we are in a relationship to really know him. And this
requires knowledge of Scripture, especially the Gospels, where the Lord speaks to us. These words are not always easy, but going into
them, entering into dialogue, knocking on the door of words, telling the Lord: "Open" are actually words of eternal life, words, live for
today, as current as they were in that time and as they will in the future. This conversation with the Lord in Scripture must never be an
individual conference, must be in communion, in the great communion of the Church, where Christ is always present in the communion
of the liturgy, the very personal encounter of the Holy Eucharist and the sacrament of Reconciliation, where the Lord says, "I forgive
you."
3.13.b
You are at the age of generosity. It is urgent to speak of Christ to all around you, your families and friends, in your places of study, work
or leisure. Do not be afraid. Have "the courage to live the Gospel and the boldness to proclaim it" (Message to the youth of the world, July
20, 2007). I encourage you therefore have the right words to proclaim God around you, supporting your testimony to the power of the
Spirit pleading prayer. Bring the Good News to the young people of your age and also to the other. They know the turmoil of emotions,
concern and uncertainty about the work and study. Have faced suffering and joys unique experience. Bear witness of God, because, as
young people, you are part of the Catholic community fully under your Baptism and our common profession of faith (cf. Eph 4,5). I want
to say that the Church has confidence in you.
Cathedral of Notre-Dame (Paris)
3.13.c
Unfortunately, today, often, many young people believe that a full and happy existence is a dream difficult, we have heard many
testimonies, sometimes almost impossible. Many of your contemporaries who believe in the future with fear and not a few questions
arise. They wonder, worried: How integrate into a society marked by so many grave injustices and sufferings? How to react to the
selfishness and violence, which often seem to prevail? How to give full meaning to life?
With love and conviction, I repeat to you young people here, and through you to your peers from around the world: Be not afraid! Christ
can fulfill the deepest aspirations of your heart. Perhaps dreams are unattainable when the Spirit of God who raised and nurtured in the
heart? Is there anything I can curb our enthusiasm when we are united to Christ? Nothing and no one would say the Apostle Paul, can
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (cf. Rom 8: 35-39).
3.13.d
In all the Gospels, we see that Jesus loved in a special way those who had made bad decisions, because once recognized his mistake, it
4.13 Welcome wrong!
was the best opened his message of salvation. In fact, Jesus was often criticized by those members of society, that they were righteous,
because he spent too much time with people in that class. They asked, "How is your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?". He
replied: "They need not a physician, but the sick ... I came not to call the righteous, but sinners "(Mt 9, 11-13). Those who wanted to
rebuild their lives were more available to listen to Jesus and become his disciples. You can follow in their footsteps, you too, so
particular, you can get close to Jesus precisely because particularly have chosen to return. Rest assured that, like the father in the story
of the prodigal son, Jesus welcomes you with open arms. We offer unconditional love: the fullness of life lies precisely in the deep
friendship with him.
4.13.a
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4. Let me repeat this afternoon, every one of you, if you remain united to Christ, can do great things. Therefore, dear friends, you must not
be afraid to dream, eyes open, in large projects as well and must not desalentaros face of difficulties. Christ has confidence in you and
want you to realize all your lofty dreams of true happiness. Nothing is impossible for those who trust God and surrender to God. Look at
the young Mary. The angel proposed something truly inconceivable: to participate in the most compromising possible in the greatest of
God's plan, the salvation of mankind. As we heard in the Gospel, to this suggestion Mary was troubled, he was aware of the smallness of
his being against the omnipotence of God, and wondered: How is it possible? Why just me? However, ready to fulfill God's will, promptly
gave her "yes", that changed his life and the history of mankind. Thanks to her "yes" today we too are meeting this afternoon.
Esplanade Montorso of Loreto. Saturday September 1, 2007
4.13.b
Friends who listen to me, the future is God. As we have heard recently, he "will wipe every tear from their eyes. No more death or
5.13 The future is God!
mourning or crying or pain. Because the first world has gone "(Rev 21:4). But in the meantime, I see now are some young Angolans, but
they are thousands, maimed as a result of war and mines, so many tears that I think many of you have shed for the loss of your family,
and it is difficult to imagine the dark clouds still cover the sky of your best dreams ... Leo in your hearts a doubt that you raise me, "This
is what we have. What we say, not see it. The divine promise is guaranteed, and we believe in her, but when God will arise to renew all
things? ". Jesus answers the same thing to his disciples: "Do not miss the calm, believe in God and believe also in me. In my Father's
house are many rooms, and I go to prepare a place "(Jn 14.1-2). But you, dear young people, insist: "Okay. But when will this happen? ".
In a similar question of the Apostles, Jesus replied: "Not for you to know the times or dates the Father has established its authority.
When the Holy Spirit comes on you will receive power to be my witnesses ... to the ends of the earth "(Acts 1.7 to 8). Notice that Jesus
does not leave us with no answer, clearly tells us one thing: the renovation begins within, it will be given a power from on high. The
dynamic force of the future is within you.
It is within ... but how? Because life is hidden in the seed: Jesus said so in a critical moment in his ministry. He began with great
enthusiasm, as people saw that he went about healing the sick, cast out demons and proclaiming the Gospel, but otherwise, the world
was like before the Romans ruled still, life was difficult in daily, despite these signs and these beautiful words. The excitement died
down, to the point that many disciples deserted the Master (cf. Jn 6:66), he preached, but not transformed the world. And everyone was
wondering: At bottom, what value is this message? What does this Prophet of God? Then Jesus spoke of a sower, who scatters his seed in
the field of the world, then explain that the seed is the Word (cf. Mk 4.3 to 20) and their cures are: certainly not enough, when compared
with the huge needs and difficulties of everyday life. And yet, in the seed is present the future, because the seed carries the bread of
tomorrow, tomorrow's life. The seed seems to almost nothing, but it is the presence of the future is the promise that it is present today,
when it falls on good ground gives a harvest of thirty, sixty or even a hundredfold.
My friends, you are a seed that God has planted in the ground, which encloses a force from above, the power of the Holy Spirit. However,
for the promise of life to become fruit, the only possible way is to give his life for love, is to die for love. Jesus said himself: "Unless a
grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves himself, lost, and he who
hates himself in this world will keep it for eternal life "(Jn 12.24-25). So he spoke and so did Jesus, his crucifixion seems to be a total
failure, but it is not. Jesus, under "the eternal Spirit offered to God as a sacrifice without blemish" (Heb 9:14). In this way, falling on the
ground, could bear fruit at all times and throughout all time. In the midst of you have the new bread, the bread of life to come, the Holy
Eucharist that nourishes us and brings out the Trinitarian life in the hearts of men.
5.13.a
Do not waste your youth. Do not try to escape it. Live it intensely. Consecrate it to the high ideals of faith and human solidarity.
6.13 Live hard!
6.13.a
Dear boys and girls, the world awaits your contribution to the building of the "civilization of love." "The horizon of love is truly
boundless: it is the world"
6.13.b
This is your mission, dear young friends. Work for justice, peace, solidarity, for true freedom. May the Risen Christ be with you, and
together with him, the Virgin Mary, his Mother and ours. By his example and his constant intercession, the Virgin desalentaros not help
you in times of failure and trust in the Lord always.
6.13.c
I come to you this afternoon to renew an ad forever young, a message to inform you that, when it is accepted, change the life, renewal
7.13 . God makes the difference
and fills. The Church proclaims this message with particular joy in this Easter season: the risen Christ is alive among us, even today. How
many of your contemporaries in the course of history, dear young people, have met him and have become friends of yours! I have
faithfully followed and have borne witness to his love with life. So, do not be afraid to give your life to Christ. He never disappoints our
expectations, because he knows what is in our hearts. I do not faithfully following it difficult to find the answer to the questions that
seized your soul: "What should I do? What task awaits me in life?". The Church needs your commitment to carry, especially to young, the
proclamation of the Gospel, I hold in the way of knowledge of faith and love God and neighbor.
7.13.a
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5. Dear friends, God certainly makes a difference ... Moreover, God makes us different, we are renewed. This is the promise that made us
himself: "Now does the world again" (Rev 21:5). And it's true. The Apostle Paul says: "He who is of Christ is a new creature: the old has
gone, the new has begun. All this comes from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself "(2 Cor 5.17 to 18). Going up to the sky
and into eternity, Jesus Christ has been made Lord of all time. Therefore, He becomes our partner in this and take today's book in his
hand firmly secures her past, with the origin and basis of our being in it carefully the future custody, leaving us to glimpse the alba most
beautiful of all our lives that he radiates, ie, the resurrection in God. The future of the new humanity is God, a first advance of this is
precisely the Church. Where possible you, read carefully the story: you can you tell that the Church, with the passing of time, not age, but
rather is becoming younger, because she walks to meet the Lord, closer every day the only real source from which the issues of youth,
regeneration and life force.
7.13.b
The predominant social culture does not help you live the Word of Jesus, nor the gift to yourselves, to which he invites you as the
Father's plan. My dear friends, the power is within you, as was Jesus who said, "The Father who dwells in me, He does the works ...
Whoever believes in me, he too will do the works that I do, and even greater. Because I go unto my Father "(Jn 14,10.12). So do not be
afraid to make final decisions. Generosity is not your need, I know. But against the risk of life-long commitment, in marriage as in a
consecrated life, you feel fear: "The world is in continuous movement and life is full of possibilities. Can I have at this time of my life
completely unaware that I expect the unexpected? Could it be that I, with a final decision, I play my freedom and I ate with my hands?
"These are the doubts that assail you and that the current individualistic and hedonistic culture exasperating. But when the young can
not decide, it is likely to remain forever a child. I say: Cheer up! Dare to make final decisions because, in truth, these are the only ones
that do not destroy freedom, but also create the correct orientation, thus further and achieve something great in life. No doubt, life has a
value only if you have the courage of the adventure, confident that God will never leave you alone. Angolan Youth, freeing up within you
the Holy Spirit, the force from on high. Relying on this power, like Jesus, take a chance to make this leap, so to speak, into the final and
with it gives a possibility to life. So you will create an island, an oasis and then large areas of Christian culture, which will be visible this
"holy city, coming down out of heaven from God, arranged as a bride." This is the life worth living and that of heart I wish. Viva Angola's
youth.
7.13.c
"How to build this house?". It's a question you probably already have raised many times in your hearts and your return will face many
8.13 How to build life
times. It's a question that must ask themselves not just once. Every day should be in the eyes of the heart: how to build the house called
life? Jesus, whose words we heard in the passage from the Gospel according to Matthew, encourages us to build on rock. In fact, the only
way the house will not collapse.
But what does it mean to build a house on the rock? Building on the rock means, first of all, to build on Christ and with Christ. Jesus says:
"So, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock" (Mt 7, 24). This is
not about empty words, spoken by just anyone, but the words of Jesus. It is not listening to anyone, but to listen to Jesus. It is not meet
anything, but to the words of Jesus. Building on Christ and with Christ means to build on a foundation that is called love crucified. Means
to build with Someone who, knowing better than we do, he says: "You are precious in my eyes ... are honored and I love you" (Is 43, 4).
Means to build with Someone who is always faithful, even though we are lacking in faith, because he can not deny himself (cf. 2 Tm 2,
13). Means to build with Someone who constantly looks down on the wounded heart of man, and says: "I do not condemn you. Go, and
do not sin again" (cf. Jn 8, 11). Means to build with Someone from the top of the cross extend your arms and repeats for all eternity: "I
give my life for you, man, because I love you."
Finally, building on Christ means of their wish to found our desires, hopes, dreams, ambitions, and all our projects. It means saying to
oneself, one's family, friends and the whole world, and above all to Christ: "Lord, in life I want to do anything against you, because you
know what is best for me. Only You have the words of eternal life "(cf. Jn 6, 68). My friends, do not be afraid to bet on Christ. Long for
Christ, as the foundation of life. Ignite in you the desire to build your life with him and for him. Because you can not lose who bets
everything on the crucified love of the Incarnate Word.
8.13.a
City and catechetical spiritual formation, a formation "substantial" more necessary than ever to live well the Christian vocation in the
world today. I say to adults and young people: cultivate a faith thought, able to talk in depth with all the non-Catholic brethren, with
non-Christians and nonbelievers. Generously helped the poor and weak, according to the original practice of the Church, inspiring you
always and drawing strength from the Eucharist, the perennial source of charity.
With special affection I encourage seminarians and young people involved in a vocational way: do not be afraid, indeed, feel the
attraction of the final choices, a serious and demanding training schedule. Only the high level of discipleship and love gives joy. I urge
everyone to grow in the missionary dimension, which is co-essential to the communion, because Trinidad is at the same time, unity and
mission: the more intense the love, the stronger the impetus to expand, to dilate to communicate.
8.13.b
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6. ... I know that your youth is tempted to make money easily, to escape to artificial paradises of being attracted by deviant forms of
9.13 What really matters
material satisfaction. Do not be entangled by the snares of evil. But seek a life rich in values, to build a more just and open to the future.
Do fruition the gifts that God has given to youth: strength, intelligence, courage, enthusiasm and the desire to live. With this background,
always with God's help, you can nourish hope in you and in your environment. Of you and make your heart depends on progress to
become a greater good for everyone. And as you know the right path has a name: that of love. In love, only true love, is the key to any
hope, because love is rooted in God. In the Bible we read: "We have met the love God has for us and we believed in it. God is love" (1 Jn 4,
16).
And God's love is sweet and compassionate face of Jesus Christ.
So we have reached the heart of the Christian message: Christ is the answer to your questions and problems, it is valued every honest
aspiration of human beings. However, Christ is demanding and does not like compromises. He knows he can count on your generosity
and consistency. So expect much from you. Follow him faithfully and to meet him, love his Church, feel responsible for it, sed courageous
protagonists, each in its field. The bread is not enough material is not enough to live humanely so full, there's another food that need to
be always hungry, the food is necessary for personal growth and for the family and society.
9.13.a
This is the third food-great value "is a sincere and profound faith, which becomes a substance of your life. When you lose the sense of
presence and reality of God, everything is "flattening" and reduced to a single dimension. Everything is "crushed" in the material plane.
When everything is considered only for their utility, no longer captures the essence of what surrounds us and, above all, the people we
are. If you lose the mystery of God, the mystery disappears all there: the things and people interest me as far as they satisfy my needs,
not for themselves. This is a cultural fact that is breathed from birth and permanent interior effects. In this sense, faith, before being a
religious belief is a way of seeing reality, a way of thinking, an interior sensibility which enriches human beings as such.
Well, dear friends, Christ is here too, the Master, for all our shared humanity and a contemporary of the man of all time. This situation
typically wonderful Christian is a grace. Being with Jesus, often as a friend in the Gospel and the sacraments, you can learn, so again,
what society is often no longer able to give, that is, the religious sense. And precisely because it is something new, discover it is
wonderful.
9.13.b
A road is also very important to help the poor, the needy, take time for others. There are many dimensions to enter the knowledge of
Jesus. Naturally there are also the lives of the saints. You have numerous saints here in Liguria, in Genoa, to help us find the true face of
Jesus. Only then, knowing Jesus personally, we can also communicate this to others our friendship, we can overcome indifference.
Because, although it may seem invincible, in fact, sometimes, indifference gives the impression of not needing to God in reality, everyone
knows what they lack in their lives.
Only when they find Jesus they realize: "This was what I expected." And we, the more we are friends of Jesus, the more we open our
hearts to others so that they too are really young, that is to have a great future before it.
9.13.c
But the Gospel tells us that this young man, hearing the invitation, was saddened. He walked away dejected and sad. This episode makes
10.13 Experience the rich young man
us think again about the wealth of youth. It is not, first, of material goods, but of life itself, with the values inherent in youth. Inheritance
from two sources: life, transmitted from generation to generation, whose origin is God first, full of wisdom and love and education that
we inserted in the culture, to the extent that, in a sense, we say we are more children of culture, and therefore of the faith that nature.
Life springs from freedom, especially at this stage is expressed as a liability. It is the great moment of decision, in a double choice: the life
and status of the profession. Answer the question: what to do in one's life?
In other words, youth is presented as a wealth because it leads to the rediscovery of life as a gift and a task. The young man in the Gospel
understood the richness of his youth. He came to Jesus, the Good Master, seeking guidance. But when the great option had no courage to
wager everything on Jesus Christ. Accordingly, it went away sad and downcast. This is what happens whenever our decisions waver and
become cowardly and interested. He felt he lacked generosity, and that did not allow a full realization. It retreated to his riches, making
selfish.
Jesus was hurt much sadness and meanness of the girl who had come to him. The Apostles, like all of you today, filled the void left by
that young man went away sad and downcast. They and we are happy because we know who to believe (cf. 2 Tim 1, 12). We know and
testify to our lives that only he has words of eternal life (cf. Jn 6, 68). Therefore, as St. Paul, we can exclaim: "Rejoice always in the Lord"
(Phil 4, 4).
10.13.a
As in the Gospel, you have an important question to ask. It's the same the young man who came out to meet Jesus: "What should I do to
inherit eternal life?". I would further with you on this question. This is life, life in you, is lush and beautiful. What to do about it? How can
you live with? Already in the wording of the question we understand immediately that not enough "here" and "now", ie we do not we
limit our lives to space and time, however much we might try to broaden their horizons. Life transcends them. In other words, we want
to live and not die. We feel that something telling us that life is eternal and that we must commit ourselves to make this happen. In other
words, is in our hands and depends, somehow, of our decision.
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7. The question of the Gospel does not only concern the future. Concerns not only what happens after death. On the contrary, we have a
commitment to the present, here and now, which must guarantee authenticity and consequently the future. In short, the question raises
the question of the meaning of life. Therefore, it can be stated as: what must I do to make my life meaningful? That is: how should I live
to reap the full fruits of life? Or: what do I get my life is not wasted?
Jesus alone can give us an answer, because he alone can guarantee us eternal life. So also is the only one who is able to portray the
meaning of the present life and give it fullness.
10.13.b
Jesus raised the young man a very important question: "Why call me good." This question is the key to the answer. This young man
perceives that Jesus is good and who is a teacher. A teacher who does not cheat. We are here because we have this conviction: Jesus is
good. Maybe we do not know fully explain the reason for this perception, but certainly gets us closer to him and opens us up to his
teaching: a good teacher. To recognize the good means to love and who loves, in the felicitous phrase of John, known to God (cf. 1 Jn 4,
7). The young man acknowledged God Gospel in Jesus Christ.
Jesus assures us that only God is good. Be open to goodness means to receive God. This invites us to see God in all things and in all
events, even where most only see the absence of God. Seeing the beauty of creation and to confirm the goodness that exists in all, it is
impossible not to believe in God and experience his saving and reassuring presence. If we can see all the good that exists in the world
and, indeed, experience the good that comes from God himself, would never cease to approach him, praise him and thank him. He
continually fills us with joy and good things. His joy is our strength.
But we know only in part. To understand what is good, we need aid, which the Church offers us on many occasions, especially in
catechesis. Jesus himself shows what is good for us, giving us his first catechesis: "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments"
(Mt 19, 17). Part of the knowledge that the young man and was certainly due to his family and the Synagogue: in fact, know the
commandments, which led to life, which is to say that they guarantee authenticity. These are great signs that tell us the right path.
Whoever keeps the commandments is God's way.
However, it is not enough. The testimony is worth more than science, or science is applied. We are not imposed from outside, nor
diminish our freedom. On the contrary, are strong inner impulses that lead us to act in a certain direction. At its base are the grace and
nature, that keep us immobile. We must walk. We are motivated to do something to fulfill our potential. In fact, the action is done by
becoming real. Since our youth are, in large part, we want to be. So to speak, we are the work of our hands.
10.13.c
At this point, I turn back to you, young people, because I also hear from your lips the response of the young of the Gospel: "All these I
have kept from my youth." The young of the Gospel was good kept the commandments, walking in the way of God. So Jesus looked at
him with love. By recognizing that Jesus was good, he showed that he too was good. She had experience of goodness and therefore of
God. You young people of Brazil and Latin America have you already discovered what is good? "Seize the commandments of the Lord?
Have you discovered that this is the one true path to happiness?
These years of your life are the years that prepare your future. The "tomorrow" depends much on how you are living the "today" of
youth. My dear young friends, you have past lives that we want to be long, but is one, is unique: do not let it pass in vain, do not
squander it. Live it with enthusiasm and with joy, but above all a sense of responsibility.
10.13.d
San Francisco speaks to everyone, but I know that you young people, has a special attraction. His conversion happened when I was at
11.13. ... And San Francisco
the peak of their vitality, their experiences, their dreams. There were twenty-five years without finding the meaning of life. A few
months before his death recalled that period as the time that "lived in sin" (cf. 2 Test 1: FF 110). What was he thinking San Francisco to
talk about "sin"? With the data that give us biographies, all with different nuances, it is not easy to determine. A good portrait of your
lifestyle is in the Legend of the Three Companions, which reads: "Francis was very happy and generous, dedicated to games and songs,
wandering through the town of Assisi day and night with friends the same style, was so generous in spending it on food and other things
squandered all that could have or gain "(3 Comp 1, 2: FF 1396).
How many young men of our time no one could say such a thing? Moreover, today there is a chance to have fun away from the city itself.
In the initiatives of fun during the weekend involved many young people. You can "wander" also virtually "surfing" the Internet, seeking
information or contacts of all kinds. Unfortunately, there are plenty-indeed, many, too young-looking mental landscapes as fatuous as
destroyers in the artificial paradise of drugs. How can we deny that there are many young and not young people who are tempted to
follow closely the life of young Francis before his conversion? In this lifestyle lies the desire for happiness that exists in the human heart.
But, that life could I give true joy? Certainly, Francisco did not find it. You yourselves, dear friends, you can check on their own
experience. The truth is that finite things can give bits of joy, but only the Infinite can fill the heart. He said another great convert,
Augustine. "We did, Lord, for you, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee" (Confessions I, 1).
11.13.a
The same biographical text tells us that Francisco was rather vain. He liked to dress elegantly and looked for originality (cf. 3 Comp 1, 2:
FF 1396). In a way, we are all attracted to the vanity, to the search for originality. Today we often speak of "caring image" or "try to give
good image." To succeed, however minimal, we need to earn credit in the eyes of others with something unique, original. In some
respects, this may reveal an innocent desire to be well received. But often infiltrates pride, excessive search of ourselves, selfishness and
the desire to dominate. In fact, focus on ourselves life is a death trap: we can only be ourselves if we open ourselves in love, loving God
and our brothers.
11.13.b
7

8. One aspect that impressed the contemporaries of Francis was also his ambition, his thirst for glory and adventure. This was what led
him to the battlefield, killing prisoner for a year in Perugia. Once free, the same thirst for glory would have been to Puglia, a new military
expedition, but precisely in that circumstance, in Spoleto, the Lord was present in his heart caused him to retrace his steps, and be
seriously listening to His Word. It is interesting to note how the Lord conquered Francisco taking his turns, his desire to claim, to point
the way to a holy ambition, projected to infinity: "Who can tell you the most useful, the master or the servant?" (3 Comp 2, 6: FF 1401),
was the question he was echoing in his heart. Is to say: why content to rely on men, when there is a God ready to welcome you in your
home, your royal service?
11.13.c
Dear young people, I have spoken to some problems of the youth condition, how hard it is I will build a future, and especially that you
find difficult to discern the truth. In the story of the Passion of Christ we find Pilate's question: "What is truth?" (Jn 18, 38). It is a
question from a skeptic who says, "You say you are the truth, but what is truth?". Thus, assuming that the truth can not be recognized,
Pilate suggests: "do whatever is practical, what more successful, instead of seeking the truth." After Jesus death sentence, because it acts
pragmatically, looking for success, his own fortune.
Also today, many say, "What is truth?" We can find its fragments, but how can we find the truth? ". It's really hard to believe that Jesus
Christ is the truth, the true Life, the compass of our lives. And yet, if we fall into the great temptation to begin to live only according to
the occasion, without the truth, I really miss the view and also the foundation of the common peace, which can only be the truth. And
this truth is Christ. The truth of Christ has been verified in the lives of the saints of all ages. The saints are the great stream of light that in
the history known to us: this is life, this is the way, this is the truth. Therefore, we have the courage to say yes to Jesus Christ: "Your truth
is verified in the lives of many saints. We still."
11.13.d
The song has reminded us that St. Francis heard the voice of Christ in his heart. And what happens? It happens that he understands that
should serve the brethren, especially those who suffer most. This is the result of his first encounter with the voice of Christ. This
morning, passing Rivotorto, looked at the place where, according to tradition, were segregated lepers-the past, the marginalized, "with
respect to which Francis felt an irresistible disgust. Touched by grace, he opened his heart. And not only did it with a pious gesture of
charity, it would have been too little, but kissing them and serving them. He himself admits that what once seemed bitter to him, became
for him "sweetness of soul and body" (2 Test 3: FF 110).
11.13.e
Thus, grace begins modeling at Francisco. It was increasingly able to fix your gaze on the face of Christ and hear his voice. That's when
the San Damiano Crucifix spoke, inviting him to a bold mission: "Go, Francis, repair my house, you see, is completely in ruins" (2 Cel I, 6,
10: FF 593). By visiting this morning San Damiano, and then the Basilica of Santa Clara, which preserves the original crucifix spoke to St.
Francis, I also noticed my look in the eyes of Christ. It is the image of Christ crucified and risen life of the Church, that if we pay attention,
also speaks to us, as two thousand years ago spoke to his apostles and eight hundred years ago St. Francis. The Church constantly draws
her life from this meeting. Yes, dear young people: let Christ is with us. Fiémonos him, hear his word. He is not only a fascinating human
being. Of course, fully man, in everything like us, but sin (cf. Heb 4, 15). But much more: God became man in it and, therefore, is the only
Savior, as its very name Jesus, or "God saves."
11.13.f
I would draw your attention to this point: getting to know the Church, to understand, to love, being attentive to the voice of their
12.13 Help the Church
pastors. It is composed of men, but Christ is her Head, and His Spirit guide safely. You are the young face of the Church. So do not fail to
give your contribution, so that the Gospel which proclaims may spread everywhere. Be apostles of your peers.
12.13.a
Dear young people, surround with love and gratitude to your priests. If the Lord called to some of you to this great ministry, or some
form of consecrated life, do not hesitate to say "yes." It is not easy, but it is beautiful to be ministers of God, is beautiful to spend your life
for him.
12.13.b
Precisely because of Christ, St. Francis is also a churchman. The San Damiano Crucifix had asked him to repair the house of Christ, ie the
Church. Between Christ and the Church there is an intimate and indissoluble. Certainly, in the mission of Francis, to be called to repair it
meant something unique and original.
At the same time, deep down, that task was not that the responsibility that Christ gives to all baptized. Also each of us says, "Go and
repair my house." All are called to repair, in each generation, the house of Christ, the Church. Only in so doing, the Church lives and
embellished. As we know, there are many ways to repair, build, build the house of God, the Church. It builds with different vocations,
from the familiar to the lay and consecrated life and the priestly vocation.
12.13.c
8

9. Always remember that you are "temples of the Spirit." Let dwell in you and follow obediently at their direction, to contribute to the
13.13 Make visible to Christ!
building of the Church (cf. 1 Cor 12, 7) and find out what is the vocation to which the Lord calls. Also today the world needs priests,
consecrated men and women, Christian married couples. To respond to the call through one of these roads, be generous, trying to be
consistent Christians seek help with the sacrament of confession and practice of spiritual direction. In a special way, open your heart
sincerely to Jesus, Lord, to give your "yes" unconditionally.
Dear young people, the city of Rome is in your hands. To you to embellish also spiritually with your witness of life lived in the grace of
God and away from sin, doing everything that the Holy Spirit calls you to be in the Church and the world. So you will make visible the
grace of Christ's superabundant mercy that flowed from his side pierced for us on the cross. The Lord Jesus washes us from our sins,
heals us of our sins and strengthens us not to succumb in the struggle against sin and the testimony of his love.
13.13 a
On that occasion, John Paul II said: "The bridge that is left of this love-the love of God can no longer deny their guilt. The loss of the sense
of sin leads to another loss last examination of more radical and secretive, the sense of God "(Homily at the inauguration of the San
Lorenzo International Youth Centre, March 13, 1983, n. 5: L'Osservatore Romano , Spanish-language edition, April 10, 1983, p. 9). He
added: "Where to go in this world with sin and guilt, without the cross? The cross is loaded with all the misery of the world born of sin.
And it manifests as a sign of grace. Welcomes our solidarity and encourages us to sacrifice for others "(ibid.).
Dear young people, that this experience be renewed for you today: look at this time the cross and receive the love of God, given to us on
the cross, by the Holy Spirit, as flows from the pierced side of the Lord. As Pope John Paul II, "you also transformed in redeeming the
world's youth" (ibid.).
Divine Heart of Jesus, which flowed blood and water as a source of mercy for us, trust in you. Amen.
13.13.b
Be united among yourselves, Ayudaa to live and grow in faith and Christian life, so you can be bold witnesses of the Lord. Be united, but
not closed. Be humble but not timid. Be simple but not naive. Be sensible, but not complicated. Enter into dialogue with everyone, but be
yourselves. Remain in communion with your leaders: they are ministers of the Gospel, the divine Eucharist, God's forgiveness. For you
are parents and friends, fellow travelers. All you need and they will need, all you need.
Each one of you, dear young people, if it remains united to Christ and the Church, can do great things. This is the wish that I express to
you, and I leave as a slogan.
13.13.c
All of you you experience the importance of the family, as sons and brothers, but the ability to form a new not be taken for granted. It is
necessary to prepare for it. In the past, more traditional society helped to form and maintain a family. Today is no longer true, or is it in
theory but in reality dominated by a different mentality. Pets other forms of cohabitation, sometimes uses the term "family" for unions
that really are not family. Especially in our context has greatly reduced the ability of spouses to defend the unity of the family even at the
cost of great sacrifice.
Dear young people, to recover the value of family, love it, not only by tradition, but by a mature and conscious choice: Love your family
of origin and also get ready to love, with the help of God, you yourselves will form. I say "get ready", because true love can not be
improvised. Love consists not only of feeling, but also of responsibility, perseverance and sense of duty. All this is learned through the
prolonged exercise of Christian virtues of trust, purity, self-abandonment to providence and prayer.
This commitment to growth into a mature love you always hold the Christian community, because in her family has its highest dignity.
The Second Vatican Council calls it "little church" because marriage is a sacrament, that is, a holy and effective sign of the love that God
gives us in Christ through the Church.
13.13.d
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