MESSAGE FOR WORLD YOUTH DAY: WE WANT TO SEE JESUS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 1, 2004 (VIS) – Made public today was the Pope’s Message for the 19th World Youth Day on the theme chosen by the Holy Father, “We want to see Jesus,” the request of some Greeks to the Apostles in the Gospel of John.

In the Message dated February 22, Feast of the Chair of Peter, the Holy Father writes: “The desire to see God lives in the heart of every man and woman. Dear young people, let yourselves look into Jesus’ eyes, so that the desire to see the light, to enjoy the splendor of Truth may grow in you.”

“Do you, dear young people, want to contemplate the beauty of this face? This is the question that I ask you on this World Youth Day, 2004” which will be celebrated on April 4, Palm Sunday. “Do not answer in a hurry,” he continues. “Before anything, think about it in silence. Let this ardent desire to see God, a desire sometimes suffocated by the noise of the world and the seductions of pleasure, emerge from the depths of your heart. Allow this desire to emerge and you will have the marvelous experience of encountering Jesus.”

John Paul II reminds young people that “only encountering Jesus will give full meaning to your life. … Do not let yourselves be distracted in this search. Persevere in it because your full realization and happiness are at stake.”

“If you learn how to discover Jesus in the Eucharist, you will know how to discover Him also in your brothers and sisters, especially in the poor. The Eucharist, received with love and adored with fervor, becomes a school of freedom and charity to carry out the commandment of love.”

After recalling that at the end of the Holy Year of the Redemption in 1984 he presented young people with a large wooden cross that “has traveled to different countries since then in preparation for World Youth Days,” the Pope affirmed that “this year, on the 20th anniversary of this event, the cross will be solemnly welcomed in Berlin, and from there it will make a pilgrimage all over Germany, reaching Cologne next year” where World Youth Day will be celebrated.

“Your peers expect you to be witnesses to the One Whom you have found and who gives you life. In the reality of daily life, become fearless witnesses to a love that is stronger than death. It is up to you to accept this challenge! Put your talents and your youthful ardor at the service of announcing the Good News. Be enthusiastic friends of Jesus who present the Lord to everyone who wants to see Him, especially to those who are far from Him. … You should feel responsible for evangelizing your friends and all your peers.”

-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@hotmail.com), March 03, 2004

Answers

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-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@hotmail.com), March 03, 2004.

I went to WYD in Toronto with 130 youth & adults from our Baker Diocese in Oregon, what an awesome trip and celebration of the joy of the Lord and experience of the worldwide church! I can't wait for the trip next summer to Germany, my 13 yr old son wants to go, too! So exciting to read the Pope's message, especially timely with The Passion movie out these days.

-- Cindy Brown (cindybrown@gorge.net), March 03, 2004.

I would not set foot close to World Youth Day, and my children would have to climb over my dead body before they would be able to go. Are you not aware of the sacrileges that take place there? Of all the indecency? Of the rock concerts?

Over my dead body!!

-- Isabel (joejoe1REMOVE@msn.com), March 03, 2004.

help me to remember, isabel, wasnt it you who called the mass an abomination? or was that regina?

because you have now called an event which the pope both attends and endorses sacrilagious and indecent.

at what point do you realize that the world has changed. that sugar- pop christian music ISNT going to reach children today? we're talking a difference in music style and you label it sacrilage. dont be ridiculous!

now, if you were to complain about the clothes that kids wear today, then sure, why not? but i hope you keep your kid locked in the house, because the clothing kids wear today is a social problem, not a world youth day issue. Maybe you should get active, as opposed to boycotting. boycotting only says, "I dont care about the morality of catholic children in mass, only my own." where is the christian spirit in merely looking out for yourself?

-- paul h (dontSendMeMail@notAnAddress.com), March 03, 2004.

Isabel, Jake-MSN, and Regina ALL referred to the rite of Holy Mass approved by Pope Paul VI as an "abomination." That's why all three of these de facto schismatics were banned from the forum in 2002. (Due to a terrible blunder, their banning was later lifted.)

Isabel (not her real name) sez, "I would not set foot close to World Youth Day, and my children would have to climb over my dead body before they would be able to go."

Since she left the Catholic Church and went into de facto schism, it is only natural that she would not want her kids to go to Catholic World Youth Day.

-- Soumynona (Not@Giving.It), March 04, 2004.

"Since she left the Catholic Church and went into de facto schism, it is only natural that she would not want her kids to go to Catholic World Youth Day."

The first part of this one's easy. Isabel didn't leave the Catholic Church.

The second part is pretty easy as well: determining whether World Youth day is Catholic or not.

There's a third part to this... I'm not going to sit idly by while a person's good faith, good name and character are trashed, and that goes for the well intentioned nonCatholics that come here to visit as well.

-- Emerald (emerald1@cox.net), March 04, 2004.

World Youth Day is an event that for me brings mixed emotions. On the one hand, the Holy Father's message in Bill's opening post is inspiring, and I think it is great that there is such a large crowd, and that young Catholics from around the world congregate. My wife and I took our kids and her mother to Lourdes recently (in November, not a large crowd) and we were very, very moved to attend Mass in the Grotto, where the Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette, with people from all over the world, Africans, Indians, Asians, Europeans, and North Americans. It looked like the United Nations. And to witness their reverence and devotion was something I'll never forget. But I'm sorry to say I don't think I would feel that way at WYD. I know the idea may be to evangelize those who may have little faith, but it does seem like a rock concert to me. I would like to go with my family just to see firsthand, but I would not let my kids wear shorts, tank tops, flip-flops etc. in the presence of the Holy Father, nor during mass, nor inside a church. Do the kids attending find a greater faith, a greater longing for Christ in their lives, a greater sense of Catholicism. I have my doubts. Cindy had a great experience, so my angst could be misguided. I hope so.

-- Brian Crane (brian.crane@cranemills.com), March 04, 2004.

I'm afraid that some folks are relegating WYD to the giant crowd the TV shows them. Yes, there are many large events at WYD, but that is not the entirety of it. The only thing we saw on Canadian TV during Toronto WYD was the big crowds with cuts to interviews with dissenters. It did not in the least show what WYD is. First, it is not a day. It spans several days. Second, there are all sorts of smaller events taking place. There were non-stop catichetical classes. There was non-stop confession. There was Eucharistic Adoration. The list goes on and on. WYD is dripping in the things that make us Catholic. The 'rock concert' events, though important and moving, are really just a tiny portion of WYD as far as the amount of time you spend at them. Most of your time is spent in smaller groups, immersed in the Faith.

Don't let the TV fool you.

Dano

-- Dan Garon (boethius61@yahoo.com), March 04, 2004.