The Pope, presiding over Wednesday’s public audience for the first time since the summer break, talks about his trip to Portugal for the World Youth Day: young men and women wave their flags and call for peace, “do the great men of the world listen to them”?
(Vatican News Network) “While Ukraine and the rest of the world are fighting, while wars are being planned in some hidden room, World Youth Day shows to all that another world is possible: a world where everyone A world of brothers and sisters, a world where peoples wave their flags shoulder to shoulder, a world where there is no hatred, no fear, no closure, no weapons!” Pope Francis pointed out in his public audience on Wednesday, August 9, that this is A clear message from the young people who attended the WYD in Lisbon the previous week. Will the great men of the world listen to “this fervent desire of young people for peace”?
The Pope Paul VI hall where Wednesday’s public audience was held that day was full of people. This is the first public audience of Pope Francis after the suspension of the summer vacation this year. His catechesis revolves around the just-concluded 42nd international pastoral visit. The pope, who is in Portugal for the 37th World Youth Day, said he has benefited a lot from the joyful atmosphere of the “wave of youth”. This joyful atmosphere also spread to the Pope Paul VI Hall, where many young people were waving their national flags.
The Pope pointed out that many young people on the World Youth Day pilgrimage passed through Rome when they returned home. “Look, those people! Where there are young people, there is noise, and they can make a lot of noise!” Then, the Pope thanked the Church in Lisbon for its “organization and reception” work, and praised the “vitality” of Portuguese youth for being in harmony with the world. Live out experiences with other peers around you and become more alive. The whole society will benefit from this.
The World Youth Day 2023 will be the first global gathering after the pandemic, and “everyone feels that this is a gift from God”. The pope noted that the global pandemic “has had a heavy impact on social behaviour”, with younger generations being hit particularly hard. Months of isolation, often reduced to “closed”, while in Lisbon the “God gave the opposite ‘motivation'”, with “new beginnings”. The Holy Spirit, the Pope explained, “renews the hearts and feet of young people around the world on the path of the Gospel”, leading them to the Portuguese capital, “the emblematic city of the great expedition by sea”. This is no accident!
In addition, on this World Youth Day, “the Gospel presents the example of Our Lady to young people”, she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth at the most critical moment. The Gospel records that the Blessed Virgin Mary “rose up and hastened to the mountains” (cf. Luke 1:39). Our Lady, the Pope emphasized, “hurries to do things for us and never keeps us waiting. She is the mother of all”. Therefore, the Mother in heaven today “leads the youth on the journey to follow Jesus, as she said a century ago in Fatima, Portugal, when she appeared to three children and gave the message of faith and hope for the Church on earth. The message was entrusted to them”.
“Therefore, on World Youth Day,” said the Pope, “I return to Fatima, the place of the apparitions of Our Lady. Together with several sick young people, I beseech the Lord to heal the soul diseases of the world, such as: arrogance, Lies, hostility and violence. These are diseases of the heart and the world suffers from them. We once again dedicate ourselves, Europe and the world to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I pray for peace because there are many war.”
This World Youth Day, many young people from all over the world came to Lisbon excitedly. At the same time, there are also some small groups and some young people who are facing difficulties, such as the “Ukrainian Youth Group with Painful Experience”.
World Youth Day, the pope said, “is neither a holiday nor a tourist attraction, nor even a spiritual event for one’s own benefit”. “The World Youth Day is an encounter with the living Christ through the Church. Young people go to meet Christ. Indeed, where there are young people, there is joy.”
The Pope finally thought of all those who contributed to the success of this World Youth Day, and once again thanked the President of Portugal, the country’s civil authorities, all collaborators and volunteers. The Pope entreats the intercession of the Virgin Mary, asking the Lord to “bless the youth of the world”.
The catechesis of the public audience on Wednesday ended with the prayers of the Hail Mary being recited by all.
Link URL: www.vaticannews.cn
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2023-08-09 12:11:00
