Speeches 2002 - TO THE CONGREGATION OF THE HOLY GHOST

JOHN PAUL II



APOSTOLIC VISIT OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II

TO AZERBAIJAN AND BULGARIA

MEETING WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THE WORLD OF

CULTURE, SCIENCE AND ART

ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER

Sofia - Palace of Culture

Friday, 24 May 2002




Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. I am pleased to meet you, representatives of the various expressions of culture and art. With your respective specializations, you in some way make present here all the beloved Bulgarian people. I address you with respect and admiration, conscious of the delicate and important contribution which you make to the noble enterprise of building a society which encourages "mutual understanding and readiness to cooperate through the generous exchange of cultural and spiritual resources" (Slavorum Apostoli, 27).

I am deeply grateful for the noble words of welcome which have expressed the sentiments of those present and of all those who in different ways have made possible my visit to your beautiful country. I warmly greet the promoters of the campaign "Bells for Peace", and I gladly offer this "bell of the Pope", in the hope that its peals will call the children and youth of Bulgaria to the duty and task of building friendship and understanding among the nations of the world.

2. This meeting is taking place on a particularly significant day, for Bulgaria today celebrates the feast of the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius, intrepid heralds of the Gospel of Christ and founders of the literary language and culture of the Slav peoples. Their liturgical memorial has a particular significance, since it is also the "feast of Bulgarian letters". This is not something which concerns the Orthodox and Catholic faithful alone, but is an opportunity for all to reflect on the cultural patrimony which originated with the activity of the two Holy Brothers of Thessalonica.

The proto-Bulgar Khan Omurtag wrote on the column preserved at Veliko Trnovo, in the Church of the Forty Holy Martyrs: "Even if a man lives well, he dies and another is born. May those born later, when they see this writing, remember him who composed it". I would like this meeting to serve as a solemn common act of veneration and gratitude towards Saints Cyril and Methodius, whom in 1980 I proclaimed Patrons of Europe, together with Saint Benedict of Norcia. Today they still have much to teach all of us, both in the East and in the West.

3. y introducing the Gospel to the culture of the peoples whom they evangelized, the Holy Brothers – with their brilliant creation of a new alphabet – achieved special merit. In order to respond to the needs of their apostolic ministry, they translated the Sacred Books into the local language for liturgical and catechetical purposes, and thus laid the foundations of literature in the languages of the Slav peoples. They are therefore rightly considered not only the Apostles of the Slavs, but also the fathers of Slav culture. Culture is the expression, incarnate in history, of a people’s identity; it forges the soul of a nation, which identifies itself with specific values, expresses itself in precise symbols, and communicates by its own proper signs.

Through their disciples, the mission of Cyril and Methodius was marvellously consolidated in Bulgaria. Here, thanks to Saint Clement of Ohrid, dynamic centres of monastic life were founded, and here the Cyrillic alphabet greatly developed. From here also Christianity spread to other lands, until it reached, via nearby Romania, the ancient Kievan Rus’, and then spread towards Moscow and other regions eastward.

The work of Cyril and Methodius made an outstanding contribution to forming the common Christian roots of Europe, those roots which by their depth and vitality have created a solid cultural reference-point which cannot be ignored in any serious attempt to rebuild in a new and contemporary way the unity of the Continent.

4.The guiding inspiration of the massive work carried out by Cyril and Methodius was the Christian faith. Culture and faith are not only not incompatible, but are related to each other as the fruit is to the tree. It is an undeniable historic fact that down the centuries the Christian Churches of East and West have promoted and spread among the peoples a love of their own culture and respect for the cultures of others. This explains the building of magnificent Churches and places of worship marked by architectural splendour and filled with sacred images, such as the icons, the fruit of prayer and penance, as much as of good taste and refined artistic skill. This is also the reason for the creation of countless documents and writings of a religious and cultural character, which expressed and perfected the genius of peoples growing towards an increasingly mature national identity.

The cultural heritage that the Saints of Thessalonica left to the Slav peoples was the fruit of the tree of their faith, profoundly rooted in their soul. Thereafter new branches grew on that tree and new fruits were produced, for the further enrichment of that remarkable patrimony of thought and art which the world owes to the Slav nations.

5. Historical experience shows that the proclamation of the Christian faith has not stifled but rather integrated and exalted the authentic human and cultural values proper to the genius of the countries where it has been preached. It has also contributed to their openness to one another and helped them to overcome enmities and to create a common spiritual and cultural heritage, necessary for stable and constructive relations of peace.

Those committed to working effectively for the building of authentic European unity cannot ignore these historical data, which have an indisputable eloquence all their own. As I have said on another occasion, "the marginalization of religions which have contributed and continue to contribute to the culture and humanism of which Europe is legitimately proud, strikes me as both an injustice and an error of perspective" (Address to the Diplomatic Corps Accredited to the Holy See, 10 January 2002, No. 2). The Gospel does not impoverish or destroy those things which every individual, people or nation acknowledges and expresses as goodness, truth and beauty (cf. Slavorum Apostoli, 18).

6. Looking back, we must recognize that, together with a Europe of culture marked by its outstanding and distinctive philosophical, artistic and religious movements, together with a Europe of labour marked by the technological and communications achievements of the twentieth century, there is unfortunately a Europe of dictatorships and wars, a Europe of blood, tears and acts of horrific cruelty. Perhaps it is also because of these bitter experiences of the past that today’s Europe seems prone to a growing temptation to scepticism and indifference in the face of the gradual erosion of fundamental moral reference-points of personal and social life.

We need to respond. In these troubling times there is an urgent need to affirm that, Europe, if it is to rediscover its own deepest identity, must necessarily return to its Christian roots, and in particular to the work of men like Benedict, Cyril and Methodius, whose witness offers an essential contribution for the spiritual and moral restoration of the Continent.

This then is the message of the Patrons of Europe and of all the Christian Saints and mystics who have borne witness to the Gospel among the peoples of Europe: the ultimate "why" of human life and history has been given to us in the Word of God , who took flesh in order to redeem man from the evil of sin and from the abyss of anguish.

7. This being the case, I greet with lively appreciation the project of the Catholic Bishops to translate into Bulgarian the Catechism of the Catholic Church: the Catechism "aims at presenting an organic synthesis of the essential and fundamental contents of Catholic doctrine, as regards both faith and morals, in the light of the Second Vatican Council and the whole of the Church’s Tradition. Its principal sources are the Sacred Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, the Liturgy and the Church’s Magisterium" (Prologue, 11).

I would also like to present symbolically the Catechism to those among you who, although not Catholic, share with us the one Baptism, so that they may know what the Catholic Church believes and preaches.

The monk Paisij, of the Monastery of Chiliandar, rightly observed that a Nation with a glorious past has a right to a splendid future (cf. Istoriya slavyanobolgarskaya, 1722-1773).

8. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, the Pope of Rome looks to you with confidence and repeats before you his conviction concerning the great task entrusted to the men and women of culture in preserving and handing on the knowledge and wisdom which have historically inspired the life of their peoples.

I pray that Bulgaria, the beautiful Land of Roses, will have a "splendid future", so that, by continuing to be a meeting point between East and West, it can, with the blessing of Almighty God, prosper in liberty, progress and peace!



APOSTOLIC VISIT OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II

TO AZERBAIJAN AND BULGARIA

PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY MONASTERY OF RILA

ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER

Saturday, 25 May 2002




Venerable Metropolitans and Bishops,
Beloved Monks and Nuns of Bulgaria
and of all the Holy Orthodox Churches!

1. Peace be with you! I greet you with affection in the Lord. In particular I greet the Hegumen of this Monastery, Bishop Ioan, who, as an Observer sent by His Holiness Patriarch Cyril, took part with me in the sessions of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council.

In the course of my visit to Bulgaria, I wanted to make this pilgrimage to Rila to venerate the relics of the holy monk John and to express gratitude and affection to all of you: "We give thanks to God always for you all, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ" (1Th 1,2-3).

Yes, dear Brothers and Sisters, Eastern monasticism, together with that of the West, constitutes a great gift for the whole Church.

2. Many times I have emphasized the precious contribution that you make to the ecclesial community through the example of your lives. In my Apostolic Letter Orientale Lumen I wrote how I would like "to look at the vast panorama of Eastern Christianity from a specific vantage point which affords a view of many of its features: monasticism" (No. 9). I am in fact convinced that the monastic experience constitutes the heart of Christian life, so much so that it can it can be proposed as a point of reference for all the baptized.

A great Western monk and mystic, William of Saint-Thierry, calls your experience, which nourished and enriched the monastic life of the Catholic West, a "light which comes from the East" (cf. Epistula ad fratres de Monte Dei I, Sources Chrétiennes 223, p. 145). With him, many other spiritual men of the West expressed praise-filled recognition of the richness of Eastern monastic spirituality. I am pleased today to join my voice to this chorus of appreciation, and to acknowledge the authenticity of the path of sanctification traced out in the writings and lives of so many of your monks, who have offered eloquent examples of radical discipleship of the Lord Jesus Christ.

3. Monastic life, in virtue of the uninterrupted tradition of holiness on which it is based, preserves with love and fidelity certain elements of Christian life that are important also for modern men and women: monks and nuns are the Gospel memory for Christians and the world.

As Saint Basil the Great teaches (cf. Regulae Fusius Tractatae VIII, ), Christian life is above all apotaghé, "renunciation" of sin, of worldliness, of idols, in order to hold fast to the one true God and Lord, Jesus Christ (cf. 1Th 1,9-10). In monasticism, this renunciation becomes radical: it is the renunciation of home, family, profession (cf. Lk Lc 18,28-29); the renunciation, therefore, of earthly goods in the unending quest for those that are eternal (cf. Col Col 3,1-2); the renunciation of philautía, as Saint Maximus Confessor calls it (cf. Capita de Charitate II, 8; III, 8; III, 57 and passim , PG ), that is, selfish love, in order to gain knowledge of the infinite love of God and to become capable of loving the brethren. Monastic mysticism is above all a path of renunciation in order to be able to hold ever faster to the Lord Jesus and to be transfigured by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Blessed John of Rila — whom I arranged to have depicted along with other holy men and women of East and West in the mosaic of the Redemptoris Mater Chapel in the Apostolic Palace, and to whom this Monastery bears enduring witness — when he heard Jesus’ words calling him to renounce all his possessions and give them to the poor (cf. Mk Mc 10,21), left everything for the precious pearl of the Gospel, and placed himself under the tutelage of holy ascetics in order to learn the art of spiritual combat.

4. "Spiritual combat" is another element of monastic life which needs to be taught anew and proposed once more to all Christians today. It is a secret and interior art, an invisible struggle in which monks engage every day against the temptations, the evil suggestions that the demon tries to plant in their hearts; it is a combat that becomes crucifixion in the arena of solitude in the quest for the purity of heart that makes it possible to see God (cf. Mt Mt 5,8) and of the charity that makes it possible to share in the life of God who is love (cf. 1Jn 4,16).

More than ever in the lives of Christians today, idols are seductive and temptations unrelenting: the art of spiritual combat, the discernment of spirits, the sharing of one’s thoughts with one’s spiritual director, the invocation of the Holy Name of Jesus and of his mercy must once more become a part of the inner life of the disciple of the Lord. This battle is necessary in order not to be distracted (aperíspastoi)or worried (amérimnoi) (cf. 1Co 7,32), and to live in constant recollection with the Lord (cf. Saint Basil the Great, Regulae Fusius Tractatae VIII, 3; XXXII, 1; XXXVIII).

5. Through the spiritual combat, Blessed John of Rila also lived his "submission" in the obedience and mutual service required by life in common. The monastery is the place where the "new commandment" is daily fulfilled, it is the house and school of communion, the place where we become servants of the brethren, just as Jesus chose to be a servant in the midst of his disciples (cf. Lk Lc 22,27). What a powerful Christian witness is given by a monastic community when it lives in authentic charity! Before such witness, non-Christians too are led to recognize that the Lord is ever living and active in his people.

Blessed John experienced, then, the hermit’s life in "compunction" and penance, but above all in uninterrupted listening to the Word and in unceasing prayer, to the point of becoming — as Saint Nilus says — a "theologian" (cf. De Oratione LX, , 1180B), that is, a man endowed with wisdom that is not of this world, but which comes from the Holy Spirit. John’s testament, which he wrote out of love for his disciples who wished to have his last words, is an extraordinary teaching on the quest for and experience of God for those desirous of leading an authentic Christian and monastic life.

6. Monks and nuns, in obedience to the Lord’s call, undertake the journey which, starting with self-denial, leads to perfect charity, by virtue of which they experience the very sentiments of Christ (cf. Phil Ph 2,5): they become meek and humble of heart (cf. Mt Mt 11,29), they share in God’s love for all creatures, and they love — as Isaac the Syrian says — the very enemies of truth (cf. Sermones Ascetici, Collatio Prima, LXXXI).

Having been enabled to see the world through God’s eyes, and become ever more configured to Christ, religious men and women move towards the ultimate end for which man was created: divinization, sharing in the life of the Trinity. Grace makes this possible only to those who — through prayer, tears of compunction and charity — open themselves to the Holy Spirit, as we are reminded by another great monk of these beloved Slav lands, Seraphim of Sarov (cf. Colloquio con Motovilov III, in P. Evdokimov, Serafim di Sarov, Uomo dello Spirito, Bose 1996, PP 67-81).

7. How many witnesses of the path of holiness have shone brightly in this Monastery of Rila during its many centuries of history, and in so many other Orthodox monasteries! How great is the universal Church’s debt of gratitude to all the ascetics who have kept in mind the "one necessary thing" (cf. Lk Lc 10,42), man’s ultimate destiny!

We gratefully admire the precious tradition that Eastern monks and nuns live faithfully and continue to hand on from generation to generation as an authentic sign of the éschaton, that future to which God continues to call every person through the hidden power of the Spirit. They are a sign, through their adoration of the Most Holy Trinity in the liturgy, through their communion in the agape, through the hope which in their intercession encompasses every person and every creature, to the very threshold of hell, as Saint Silvanus of Athos recalls (cf. Ieromonach Sofronij, Starec Siluan, Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist, Tolleshunt Knights by Maldon 1952 [1990], PP 91-93).

8. Dearest Brothers and Sisters, all the Orthodox Churches know how much the monasteries are a priceless heritage of their faith and culture. What would Bulgaria be without the Monastery of Rila, which in the darkest periods of your national history kept the flame of faith burning? What would Greece be without the Holy Mountain of Athos? Or Russia without that myriad of dwelling places of the Holy Spirit which enabled it to overcome the inferno of Soviet persecution? And so, the Bishop of Rome is here today to tell you that the Latin Church also and the religious of the West are grateful to you for your life and witness!

Dearly beloved Monks and Nuns, God bless you! May he confirm you in your faith and in your vocation, and may he make you instruments of communion in his holy Church and witnesses of his love in the world.



APOSTOLIC VISIT OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II

TO AZERBAIJAN AND BULGARIA

VISIT TO THE LATIN CO-CATHEDRAL

ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER

Sofia, Saturday, 25 May 2002


Dear Brothers and Sisters!

1. "May the God of peace [...] equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in you that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen" (He 13,20-21).

With this wish, taken from the Letter to the Hebrews, I greet you with affection in your Co-Cathedral dedicated to Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Patron of the Universal Church.

My thoughts turn in the first place to Bishop Gheorghi Jovcev, to the priests and to the men and women religious, and from here I wish to extend my greeting to all the Catholic faithful of the Latin Rite in the different localities of Bulgaria, especially to the children, to those who are sick, and to the elderly.

2. I am pleased to learn that work on the new Cathedral will soon begin not far from here, on the very site where there stood the ancient church destroyed by the war. My prayer is that the variety of stones needed for building will be images of the "living stones" that each of you is called to be, by virtue of your Baptism, "built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1P 2,5).

May the intercession and example of Blessed John XXIII, whose paternal figure stands at the entrance of this church to welcome you, accompany and sustain you on the road of life. With my Apostolic Blessing!



APOSTOLIC VISIT OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II

TO AZERBAIJAN AND BULGARIA

VISIT TO THE BYZANTINE-SLAVONIC CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL

ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER

Sofia

Saturday, 25 May 2002


Dear Brothers and Sisters!

1. "Peace be with you. Bless God for ever" (Tb 12,17). I am pleased to meet you in this Cathedral dedicated to the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I affectionately greet your Apostolic Exarch Christo Proykov, and I thank him for his kind words to me. I fraternally embrace the Exarch Emeritus Metodi Stratiev, who endured persecution and prison together with the three Assumptionist priests whom I shall proclaim Blessed tomorrow in Plovdiv. I extend cordial greetings also to all the priests of the Exarchate and to the faithful entrusted to their pastoral care and represented here.

With special affection I greet the Carmelite Nuns and the Sisters of the Eucharist, remembering particularly those among them — alive here on earth or already in heaven — who during the period of Communist domination experienced long confinement in the choir of the Church of Saint Francis, keeping alive the ideals of their consecration and supporting through prayer and penance the fidelity of Christians to their Lord.

Together with you, I remember with admiration and gratitude the figure and work of the Apostolic Delegate Archbishop Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, Blessed Pope John XXIII, who prayed in this Cathedral and did so much for the life of the Byzantine-Slavonic Rite Catholic Church in Bulgaria. May the relic of him, which I have brought as a gift from Rome, be kept and venerated in the soon-to-be-built church which, in accordance with your desire, will be dedicated to his name.

The same courageous faith of those who have preceded you in the Catholic Church in Bulgaria calls you to a fervent renewal of your witness to Christ the Lord today. Strengthened by the command given to Peter by Jesus himself, I for my part wish to support you and confirm you in this commitment of yours. May the Lord accompany you and assist you in the generous intentions of your Christian life and, through the intercession of his Most Blessed Mother, venerated under the title of Patroness of Christian Unity in the Shrine of the Most Holy Trinity at Malko Tyrnovo, may he grant you the abundance of his blessings.



MESSAGE OF JOHN PAUL II

TO THE MEMBERS

OF FOCOLARI MOVEMENT'S "GEN 3"




Dear Boys and Girls of "GEN 3",

1. I greet you with joy and affection on the occasion of your Supercongress that every five years gathers thousands of young people from many countries of the world around a great ideal: the ideal of unity. In fact, you are called "youth for unity".

I greet each one of you personally, and I would like my Message to reach each one's mind and heart. I thank Cardinal Francis Arinze who is bringing it to you, along with his precious witness as a Pastor of the Church who for years has worked with me for dialogue with the non-Christian religions. I address a cordial greeting to dear Chiara Lubich, Foundress and President of the Focolari Movement, as well as to the priests and leaders who have accompanied her.

Dear young friends, you were longing to involve the Pope in this event that is so dear to your hearts. As you know, precisely at the time of your Congress, I will be away from Rome on my Pastoral Visit to Azerbaijan and Bulgaria. This keeps me from meeting you, but not from being spiritually close to you! I am sure that with your prayer and affection, you too will accompany and support me on my Apostolic Visit.

2. You, "Young people for unity", understand well why every now and then I leave my See to visit distant Churches and countries. This is part of my service as the Successor of the Apostle Peter mandated by Christ to preserve and encourage the unity of the entire People of God. All Bishops must serve unity, but the Bishop of Rome serves it with a special and greater responsibility. Similarly, all young Christians are "for unity", but you, members of the Focolari Movement, are for unity in a special way!

Dear friends, the Spirit moves us spiritually; the Spirit unites us. It is the Holy Spirit of God who in a mysterious way impels the Church towards deeper communion with God. He does so not as an Absolute who subdues and dominates everything, but as Love who gives, makes live and sanctifies everything.

3. Where does this marvellous "theo-logia" come from, this teaching on God? It comes from Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God made man and born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus reveals the Father, the image of the invisible mystery, the "face" of God in a man like us, the faithful "witness" of his love. That is why he came down to earth, devoted himself to preaching the Kingdom of Heaven and inaugurated it with signs and miracles, healing those who were prisoners of evil (cf. Acts Ac 10,38). That is why he chose to give himself up to death, leaving us in the Last Supper the testament of his Sacrifice. This is why the Father raised him from the dead and placed him at his right hand, making him Lord of the world and of history. In Jesus' name, salvation is offered and proclaimed to men and women of every tongue, people and nation.

Yes, Jesus is the Saviour of the whole world. He is the Prince of Peace. Indeed, as the Apostle Paul said, "he is our peace" (Ep 2,14) because he has pulled down the wall of the hostility that separates persons and peoples. Jesus is our hope, the hope of all human kind who in every generation are called to build peace in justice, truth and freedom.

4. Dear young men and women, Christ is calling you to be heralds and witnesses of this splendid truth. He calls you to be apostles of his peace. Build peace in all the situations where you live your daily life: in your family, at school, with friends, in sports and in free time. Always be ready to listen, to dialogue, to understand. Be able to combine courage and gentleness, humility and tenacity in doing good. Learn from the divine Teacher that truth is not proclaimed with violence, but with the force of truth. At the school of the Gospel, keep justice and forgiveness together because true peace is the fruit of both. Moved by the Spirit of Jesus, love those who do not love you, and do good to those who do not love the good, so that the Kingdom of God that "is justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rm 14,17) may grow in the world. In this way, dear friends, you will be true builders of unity and peace.

5. Dear young men and women, be apostles of peace! I would like to repeat to you what I said in Assisi on 24 January last, on the occasion of the World Day of Prayer for Peace: "Young people of the third millennium, young Christians, young people of every religion, I ask you to be, like Francis of Assisi, gentle and courageous "guardians' of true peace, based on justice and forgiveness, truth and mercy! Go forward into the future holding high the lamp of peace. The world has need of its light!" (n. 7). This is how the Pope wants you, because this is how Jesus wants you. Do not be afraid to give yourselves totally to the Lord.

May Blessed Mary help you; she loves every individual disciple of Jesus as a child of her own. Love her, dear young people, as your own Mother, and always let her guide you on your journey through life. I gladly accompany you with great affection and send you a special heartfelt Blessing.

From the Vatican, 18 May 2002.

JOHN PAUL II



APOSTOLIC VISIT OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II

TO AZERBAIJAN AND BULGARIA

MEETING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE

ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER

Plovdiv Catholic Cathedral

Sunday, 26 May 2002




Dear Young Friends!

1. It is a special joy to meet with you this evening. I greet all of you with affection, and I thank those who have just welcomed me warmly on your behalf. At the end of my visit to the Land of Roses, this meeting of ours – because of your youthfulness and the enthusiasm of your welcome – is a sign of Springtime, opening us to the future. The beauty of the communion which binds us together in the love of Christ (cf. Acts Ac 2,42) impels us all to put out confidently into the deep (cf. Lk Lc 5,4), renewing our commitment to respond day by day to the gifts and tasks we have received from the Lord.

From the beginning of my service as the Successor of Peter, I have looked to you young people with great care and affection, because I am convinced that youth is not just a time of transition between adolescence and adulthood but a time of life given by God to each person as a gift and a task. It is a time to seek the answer to fundamental questions, like the young man in the Gospel (cf. Mt Mt 16,20), and to discover not only the meaning of life but also a specific plan of life. Your personal, professional and social future will depend, dear young people, upon the choices you make in these years: youth is the time to lay foundations; an opportunity not to be missed, because it will never come again!

2. In this moment of your life, the Pope is happy to be with you in order to listen respectfully to your anxieties and cares, your expectations and hopes. He is here among you to share with you the certainty which is Christ, the truth which is Christ, the love which is Christ. The Church looks to you with the greatest care, because she sees in you her own future and she puts her hope in you.

I imagine that you may be wondering what the Pope wants to say to you this evening before departing. It is this: I want to entrust to you two messages, two "words" spoken by Jesus who is the Word of the Father, and I hope that you will guard them as a treasure for the rest of your life (cf. Mt Mt 6,21).

The first word is that "Come and see", spoken by Jesus to the two disciples who had asked him where he lived (cf. Jn Jn 1,38-39). It is an invitation which has sustained and inspired the Church on her journey through the centuries. I repeat it to you today, dear friends. Draw near to Jesus and strive to "see" what he is able to offer you.Do not be afraid to cross the threshold of his dwelling, to speak with him face to face, as friends speak to each other (cf. Ex Ex 33,11). Do not be afraid of the "new life" which he offers. In your parishes, in your groups and movements, place yourselves at the feet of the Master in order to make your life a response to the "vocation" which, in his love, he has always had in mind for you.

True, Jesus is a demanding friend who sets high goals and asks us to go out of ourselves in order to come to meet him: "Whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel’s will save it" (Mc 8,35). This statement can seem difficult, and in some cases can even be frightening. But I ask you: is it better to resign yourself to a life without ideals, to a society marked by inequality, oppression and selfishness, or rather to seek with a generous heart what is true, good and just, working to build a world which shows forth the beauty of God, even at the price of having to face the many difficulties which this brings?

3. Knock down the barriers of superficiality and fear! Talk to Jesus in prayer and listen to his word. Taste the joy of reconciliation in the Sacrament of Penance. Receive his Body and Blood in the Eucharist, so that you can then welcome him and serve him in your brothers and sisters. Do not yield to the deceits and easy illusions of the world, which very often turn into tragic delusions.


Speeches 2002 - TO THE CONGREGATION OF THE HOLY GHOST