Pope Benedict XVI’s Address to the Youth at Prague
(September 28, 2009) (Text of the Discourse by Holy Father to the Youth given at
Prague in the Church of St Wenceslaus at the end of the Holy mass)
Dear Young
Friends, At the conclusion of this celebration I turn to you directly and I greet
you warmly. You have come here in great numbers from all over the country and from
neighbouring countries; you camped here yesterday evening and you spent the night
in tents, sharing an experience of faith and companionship. Thank you for your presence
here, which gives me a sense of the enthusiasm and generosity so characteristic of
youth. Being with you makes the Pope feel young! I extend a particular word of thanks
to your representative for his words. Dear friends, it is not hard to see that
in every young person there is an aspiration towards happiness, sometimes tinged with
anxiety: an aspiration that is often exploited, however, by present-day consumerist
society in false and alienating ways. Instead, that longing for happiness must be
taken seriously, it demands a true and comprehensive response. At your age, the first
major choices are made, choices that can set your lives on a particular course, for
better or worse. Unfortunately, many of your contemporaries allow themselves to be
led astray by illusory visions of spurious happiness, and then they find themselves
sad and alone. Yet there are also many young men and women who seek to transform
doctrine into action, as your representative said, so as to give the fullness of meaning
to their lives. I invite you all to consider the experience of Saint Augustine, who
said that the heart of every person is restless until it finds what it truly seeks.
And he discovered that Jesus Christ alone is the answer that can satisfy his and every
person’s desire for a life of happiness, filled with meaning and value (cf. Confessions,
I.1.1). As he did with Augustine, so the Lord comes to meet each one of you.
He knocks at the door of your freedom and asks to be welcomed as a friend. He wants
to make you happy, to fill you with humanity and dignity. The Christian faith is
this: encounter with Christ, the living Person who gives life a new horizon and thereby
a definitive direction. And when the heart of a young person opens up to his divine
plans, it is not difficult to recognize and follow his voice. The Lord calls each
of us by name, and entrusts to us a specific mission in the Church and in society.
Dear young people, be aware that by Baptism you have become children of God and members
of his Body, the Church. Jesus constantly renews his invitation to you to be his
disciples and his witnesses. Many of you he calls to marriage, and the preparation
for this Sacrament constitutes a real vocational journey. Consider seriously the
divine call to raise a Christian family, and let your youth be the time in which to
build your future with a sense of responsibility. Society needs Christian families,
saintly families! And if the Lord is calling you to follow him in the ministerial
priesthood or in the consecrated life, do not hesitate to respond to his invitation.
In particular, in this Year of Priests, I appeal to you, young men: be attentive and
open to Jesus’s call to offer your lives in the service of God and his people. The
Church in every country, including this one, needs many holy priests and also persons
fully consecrated to the service of Christ, Hope of the world. Hope! This word,
to which I often return, sits well with youth. You, my dear young people, are the
hope of the Church! She expects you to become messengers of hope, as happened last
year in Australia, during World Youth Day, that great manifestation of youthful faith
that I was able to experience personally, and in which some of you took part. Many
more of you will be able to come to Madrid in August 2011. I invite you here and
now to participate in this great gathering of young people with Christ in the Church. Dear
friends, thank you again for being here and thank you for your gift: the book of
photographs recounting the lives of young people in your dioceses. Thank you also
for the sign of your solidarity towards the young people of Africa, which you have
presented to me. The Pope asks you to live your faith with joy and enthusiasm; to
grow in unity among yourselves and with Christ; to pray and to be diligent in frequenting
the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Confession; to take seriously your Christian
formation, remaining ever obedient to the teachings of your Pastors. May Saint Wenceslaus
guide you along this path through his example and his intercession, and may you always
enjoy the protection of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus and our Mother. I bless
all of you with affection!
Pope Benedict XVI greeting all the Youth: Discourse
9B
I extend a warm welcome to the pilgrims who have come from Slovakia, especially
the young people. Dear young people, dear brothers and sisters, I thank you for your
presence at today’s celebration. Do not forget: let the love of God be your strength!
I gladly bless you and your loved ones. May Jesus Christ be praised!
I
address a word of greeting to the Poles here present, and especially to the young
who have come to join their Czech brothers and sisters in a spirit of warm friendship.
Support one another by a joyful testimony of faith, growing in Christ’s love and in
the power of the Holy Spirit, so as to reach the fullness of humanity and holiness.
May God bless you!
I offer warm greetings to the young people and to all the
pilgrims who have come from neighbouring German-speaking countries. Thank you for
your presence! Your participation in this feast of faith and hope is a sign that
you are seeking answers to your questions and inner desires in Jesus Christ and in
the community of the Church. Christ himself is the way, the truth and the life (cf.
Jn 14:6). He is the foundation that truly supports our life. On this firm basis,
Christian families can be raised and young people can respond to their vocation to
the priesthood and the consecrated life. Personal friendship with Christ fills us
with genuine, lasting joy and makes us ready to put into effect God’s plan for our
life. To this end, I invoke upon all of you the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
Dear
young friends, your enthusiasm for the Christian faith is a sign of hope for the Church
that is present and active in these lands. In order to give a fuller meaning to your
youth, follow the Lord Jesus with courage and generosity as he knocks on the door
of your hearts. Christ asks you to welcome him as a friend. May the Lord bless you
and bring to fulfilment every good plan that you make for your lives!