ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS
BENEDICT XVI
Dear young people who are the hope of the Church in Italy! I am happy to
meet you in this remarkable place, on this special evening, rich in prayer, song,
periods of silence, full of hope and profound emotion. This valley, where in the
past also my beloved Predecessor John Paul II met many of you, has henceforth
become your
agora, your square without walls and barriers, where a thousand
streets converge and from which they branch out.
I listened with attention to those who have spoken on behalf of you all. You
have come to this peaceful, authentic and joyful place of encounter for
thousands of different reasons: some of you because you belong to a group or
were invited by some friend, some by deep conviction, some with several doubts
in your heart and some merely out of curiosity... Whatever the reason that drew
you here, I can tell you, although it requires courage to say it, that it was the
Holy Spirit who has brought us together. Yes, that is exactly the case; the Spirit
has led you here; you have come here with your doubts and certainties, with
your joys and your anxieties. It is now up to all of us, to all of you, to open your
hearts and offer everything to Jesus.
Say to him: here I am; of course, I am not yet as you would like me to be, I
cannot even manage to understand myself fully but with your help I am ready to
follow you. Lord Jesus, this evening I would like to speak to you, making my
own the inner attitude and trusting abandonment of that young woman who,
2,000
years ago, said her “yes” to the Father who chose her to be your Mother.
The Father chose her because she was docile and obedient to his will. Like
her, like little Mary, each one of you, dear young friends, should say to God with
faith: “Here I am; let it be done to me according to your word”.
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MESSAGES
OF
THE POPE
MESSAGES
OF THE POPE