POPE BENEDICT XVI AT WORLD YOUTH DAY - 18 Aug 2011 Address at the Airport of Barajas
on arrival in Madrid Address at the Welcome Ceremony with Young People Homily
at the Welcome Ceremony with Young People
Your Majesties, Your Eminence the Archbishop of Madrid, Your Eminences, Dear Brother
Bishops and Priests, Distinguished National, Autonomous Regional and Local Authorities,
Dear Brothers and Sisters of Madrid and of all Spain,
I am grateful to Your
Majesty for your presence together with the Queen, and for the kind and deferential
words with which you welcomed me, reviving in me the unforgettable gestures of kindness
which I received during my previous Apostolic Journeys to Spain, and most particularly
during my recent Visit to Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona. I greet very cordially
those of you gathered here at Barajas and those of you following this event on radio
and television. A very grateful greeting also goes to those who, with such commitment
and dedication, from the ecclesiastical and civil spheres, have contributed with their
efforts and work so that this World Youth Day in Madrid might unfold well and bring
forth abundant fruits. With all my heart I also wish to recognize the hospitality
so many families, parishes, schools and other institutions which have welcomed young
people from all over the world, firstly in various regions and cities of Spain, and
now in the great cosmopolitan and welcoming city of Madrid. I have come here
to meet thousands of young people from all over the world, Catholics committed to
Christ searching for the truth that will give real meaning to their existence. I
come as the Successor of Peter, to confirm them all in the faith, with days of intense
pastoral activity, proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life;
to motivate the commitment to build up the Kingdom of God in the world among us; to
exhort young people to know Christ personally as a friend and so, rooted in his person,
to become faithful followers and valiant witnesses. Why has this multitude of young
people come to Madrid? While they themselves should give the reply, it may be supposed
that they wish to hear the word of God, as the motto for this World Youth Day proposed
to them, in such a way that, rooted and built upon Christ, they may manifest the strength
of their faith. Many of them have heard the voice of God, perhaps only as a little
whisper, which has led them to search for him more diligently and to share with others
the experience of the force which he has in their lives. The discovery of the living
God inspires young people and opens their eyes to the challenges of the world in which
they live, with its possibilities and limitations. They see the prevailing superficiality,
consumerism and hedonism, the widespread banalization of sexuality, the lack of solidarity,
the corruption. They know that, without God, it would be hard to confront these challenges
and to be truly happy, and thus pouring out their enthusiasm in the attainment of
an authentic life. But, with God beside them, they will possess light to walk by
and reasons to hope, unrestrained before their highest ideals, which will motivate
their generous commitment to build a society where human dignity and true brotherhood
are respected. Here on this Day, they have a special opportunity to gather together
their aspirations, to share the richness of their cultures and experiences, motivate
each other along a journey of faith and life, in which some think they are alone or
ignored in their daily existence. But they are not alone. Many people of the same
age have the same aspirations and, entrusting themselves completely to Christ, know
that they really have a future before them and are not afraid of the decisive commitments
which fulfill their entire lives. That is why it gives me great joy to listen to
them, pray with them and celebrate the Eucharist with them. World Youth Day brings
us a message of hope like a pure and youthful breeze, with rejuvenating scents which
fill us with confidence before the future of the Church and the world. Of course,
there is no lack of difficulties. There are tensions and ongoing conflicts all over
the world, even to the shedding of blood. Justice and the unique value of the human
person are easily surrendered to selfish, material and ideological interests. Nature
and the environment, created by God with so much love, are not respected. Moreover,
many young people look worriedly to the future, as they search for work, or because
they have lost their job or because the one they have is precarious or uncertain.
There are others who need help either to avoid drugs or to recover from their use.
There are even some who, because of their faith in Christ, suffer discrimination which
leads to contempt and persecution, open or hidden, which they endure in various regions
and countries. They are harassed to give him up, depriving them of the signs of his
presence in public life, not allowing even the mention of his holy name. But, with
all my heart, I say again to you young people: let nothing and no one take away your
peace; do not be ashamed of the Lord. He did not spare himself in becoming one like
us and in experiencing our anguish so as to lift it up to God, and in this way he
saved us. In this regard, the young followers of Jesus must be aided to remain
firm in the faith and to embrace the beautiful adventure of proclaiming it and witnessing
to it openly with their lives. A witness that is courageous and full of love for
their brothers and sisters, resolute and at the same time prudent, without hiding
its Christian identity, living together with other legitimate choices in a spirit
of respect while at the same time demanding due respect for one’s own choices. Your
Majesty, as I reiterate my thanks for the kind welcome which you gave to me, I in
turn wish to express my esteem for and nearness to all the peoples of Spain, as well
as my admiration for a country so rich in history and in culture through the vitality
of its faith, which has borne fruit in so many saints over the centuries, in numerous
men and women who, leaving their native land, brought the Gospel to every corner of
the globe, and in people through all this land who act with rectitude, solidarity
and goodness. It is a great treasure which should be cared for constructively, for
the common good of today and in order to offer a bright horizon to future generations.
Although there are currently some reasons for concern, the greatest one is the desire
for the betterment of all Spaniards with that dynamism which characterizes them and
to which their deep and very fruitful Christian roots have contributed so much down
through the centuries. From this place I send very cordial greetings to you all,
dear friends of Spain and Madrid, and those of you from other lands. During these
days I will be with you, thinking of all young people in the world, in particular
those who are going through various kinds of trial. Entrusting this Meeting to the
most holy Virgin Mary, and to the patron saints of this Day, I ask God always to bless
and protect the sons and daughters of Spain. Thank you very much.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAPOSTOLIC
JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI TO MADRID 26th
WORLD YOUTH DAY Welcome Ceremony with Young People, Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid Initial
address of the Holy Father , Thursday, 18 August 2011 Dear Young
Friends, It is a great joy for me to meet you here in the heart of this lovely
city of Madrid, whose keys the Lord Mayor has kindly presented me. Today Madrid is
also the capital of the world’s young people, and the gaze of the whole Church is
fixed here. The Lord has brought us together here so that during these days we can
experience the beauty of World Youth Day. Through your presence and your participation
in these celebrations, the name of Christ will echo throughout this great City. Let
us pray that his message of hope and love will also resound in the hearts of those
who are not believers or who have grown distant from the Church. Many thanks for the
splendid welcome which you gave me as I entered the City, as a sign of your love and
closeness to the Successor of Peter. I greet Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko, President
of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and his staff in that Council, with gratitude
for all the work which they have done. I also thank Cardinal Antonio María Rouco
Varela, the Archbishop of Madrid, for his kind words and for the efforts made by his
Archdiocese, along with the other Dioceses of Spain, in preparing this World Youth
Day; my thanks also go to all those in so many other Particular Churches throughout
the world who have generously contributed to its preparation. I express appreciation
to the national, the autonomous regional and the local authorities for their presence
and for their generous help in ensuring the good organization of this great event.
My thanks go also to my brother Bishops, the priests and seminarians, the consecrated
men and women and all the faithful present here today, who have helped to prepare
the young people to experience these intense days of pilgrimage towards an encounter
with Christ. I offer all of you a heartfelt greeting in the Lord and I repeat that
it is a great blessing for me to be here with you. May the flame of Christ’s love
burn always bright in your hearts. [French] Dear young French-speaking
people, you have responded in great numbers to the Lord’s call to come and meet him
in Madrid. I congratulate you for this! Welcome to World Youth Day! You have brought
with you profound questions, and you are seeking answers. It is always a good thing
to keep seeking. Above all, seek the Truth, which is not an idea or an ideology or
a slogan, but a person: Christ, God himself, who has come into our midst! You rightly
wish to plant your faith in him, to ground your life in Christ. He has always loved
you and he knows you better than anyone else. May these days so rich in prayer, teaching
and encounters help you to rediscover this, so that you may love him all the more.
May Christ accompany you during this special time when, all together, we shall sing
his praises and offer him our prayers! [English] I extend an affectionate
greeting to the many English-speaking young people who have come to Madrid. May these
days of prayer, friendship and celebration bring us closer to each other and to the
Lord Jesus. Make trust in Christ’s word the foundation of your lives! Planted and
built up in him, firm in the faith and open to the power of the Spirit, you will find
your place in God’s plan and enrich the Church with your gifts. Let us pray for one
another, so that we may be joyful witnesses to Christ, today and always. God bless
you all! [German] Dear German-speaking friends! I greet all of you with
great affection. I am happy that you have come in such great numbers. During these
days we want together to confess our faith in Jesus Christ, to deepen that faith and
to pass it on. Let us realize ever anew that Jesus is the one who gives true meaning
to our lives. Let us open our hearts to Christ. May he grant all of us a joyful
and blessed time here in Madrid. [Italian] Dear young Italians! I greet
you with great affection and I am delighted that so many of you have come here, filled
with the joy of faith. Experience these days in a spirit of intense prayer and fraternity,
and testify to the vitality of the Church in Italy, its parishes, associations and
movements. Share this wealth with everyone. Thank you! [Portuguese] Dear
young people of the different countries whose official language is Portuguese, and
all those who accompany you, welcome to Madrid! I greet all of you with friendship
and affection and I invite you to draw close to the eternal source of your youth and
to know the absolute protagonist of this World Youth Day and – I hope – of your own
lives: Christ the Lord. In these days you will personally hear his word resound.
Let this word into your hearts, let it take root, and make it the foundation of your
lives. Firm in the faith, you will be a link in the great chain of believers. No
one can believe without being supported by the faith of others, and by my faith I
also help to support others in the faith. The Church needs you, and you need the
Church. [Polish] I greet the young people who have come from Poland, countrymen
of Blessed John Paul II, the founder of World Youth Day. I am delighted by your presence
here in Madrid! I pray that these will be good days, days of prayer, in which you
will strengthen your relationship with Jesus. May God’s Spirit guide you.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAPOSTOLIC
JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI TO MADRID 26th
WORLD YOUTH DAY 2 B. Welcome Ceremony with Young People, Plaza de Cibeles,
Madrid Homily of the Holy Father, Thursday, 18 August 2011Dear
Friends, Thank you for the kind words addressed to me by the young people representing
the five continents. And I salute with affection all of you gathered here, young
people from Oceania, Africa, America, Asia and Europe; and also those unable to be
here. I always keep you very much in my heart and pray for you. God has given me
the grace to see and hear you for myself and, as we gather together, to listen to
his word. In the reading which has just been proclaimed, we heard a passage from
the Gospel which talks of welcoming the words of Jesus and putting them into practice.
There are words which serve only to amuse, as fleeting as an empty breeze; others,
to an extent, inform us; those of Jesus, on the other hand, must reach our hearts,
take root and bloom there all our lives. If not, they remain empty and become ephemeral.
They do not bring us to him and, as a result, Christ stays remote, just one voice
among the many others around us which are so familiar. Furthermore, the Master who
speaks teaches, not something learned from others, but that which he himself is, the
only one who truly knows the path of man towards God, because he is the one who opened
it up for us, he made it so that we might have authentic lives, lives which are always
worth living, in every circumstance, and which not even death can destroy. The Gospel
continues, explaining these things with the evocative image of someone who builds
on solid rock, resistant to the onslaught of adversity, and in contrast to someone
who builds on sand - we would say today in what appears a paradise - but which collapses
with the first gust of wind and falls into ruins. Dear young people, listen closely
to the words of the Lord, that they may be for you “spirit and life” (Jn 6:63),
roots which nourish your being, a rule of life which likens us - poor in spirit, thirsting
for justice, merciful, pure in heart, lovers of peace - to the person of Christ.
Listen regularly every day as if he were the one friend who does not deceive, the
one with whom we wish to share the path of life. Of course, you know that when we
do not walk beside Christ our guide, we get lost on other paths, like the path of
our blind and selfish impulses, or the path of flattering but self-serving suggestions,
deceiving and fickle, which leave emptiness and frustration in their wake. Use
these days to know Christ better and to make sure that, rooted in him, your enthusiasm
and happiness, your desire to go further, to reach the heights, even God himself,
always hold a sure future, because the fullness of life has already been placed within
you. Let that life grow with divine grace, generously and without half-measures,
as you remain steadfast in your aim for holiness. And, in the face of our weaknesses
which sometimes overwhelm us, we can rely on the mercy of the Lord who is always ready
to help us again and who offers us pardon in the sacrament of Penance. If you build
on solid rock, not only your life will be solid and stable, but it will also help
project the light of Christ shining upon those of your own age and upon the whole
of humanity, presenting a valid alternative to all those who have fallen short, because
the essentials in their lives were inconsistent; to all those who are content to follow
fashionable ideas, they take shelter in the here and now, forgetting true justice,
or they take refuge in their own opinions instead of seeking the simple truth. Indeed,
there are many who, creating their own gods, believe they need no roots or foundations
other than themselves. They take it upon themselves to decide what is true or not,
what is good and evil, what is just and unjust; who should live and who can be sacrificed
in the interests of other preferences; leaving each step to chance, with no clear
path, letting themselves be led by the whim of each moment. These temptations are
always lying in wait. It is important not to give in to them because, in reality,
they lead to something so evanescent, like an existence with no horizons, a liberty
without God. We, on the other hand, know well that we have been created free, in
the image of God, precisely so that we might be in the forefront of the search for
truth and goodness, responsible for our actions, not mere blind executives, but creative
co-workers in the task of cultivating and beautifying the work of creation. God is
looking for a responsible interlocutor, someone who can dialogue with him and love
him. Through Christ we can truly succeed and, established in him, we give wings to
our freedom. Is this not the great reason for our joy? Isn’t this the firm ground
upon which to build the civilization of love and life, capable of humanizing all of
us? Dear friends: be prudent and wise, build your lives upon the firm foundation
which is Christ. This wisdom and prudence will guide your steps, nothing will make
you fear and peace will reign in your hearts. Then you will be blessed and happy
and your happiness will influence others. They will wonder what the secret of your
life is and they will discover that the rock which underpins the entire building and
upon which rests your whole existence is the very person of Christ, your friend, brother
and Lord, the Son of God incarnate, who gives meaning to all the universe. He
died for us all, rising that we might have life, and now, from the throne of the Father,
he accompanies all men and women, watching continually over each one of us. I
commend the fruits of this World Youth Day to the most holy Virgin Mary, who said
“Yes” to the will of God, and teaches us a unique example of fidelity to her divine
son, whom she followed to his death upon the Cross. Let us meditate upon this more
deeply in the Stations of the Cross. And let us pray that, like her, our “Yes”
to Christ today may also be an unconditional “Yes” to his friendship, both at the
end of this Day and throughout our entire lives. Thank you very much.