Speeches 1986 - 20 November 1986
To serve with joy and hope in our priestly ministry, we must regularly return to the Upper Room, the place where Jesus first gave us the Eucharist and where the priesthood was born. There we enter more deeply into the mystery of the “living bread” and the "cup of eternal salvation". In a spirit of adoration, we grow in gratitude for the blessed Eucharist which, as the Second Vatican Council said, "contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth, that is, Christ himself, our Passover and living bread".
It is good for us to go often to the Upper Room and listen as Jesus says to us, as he said to the Apostles at the Last Supper: "No longer do I call you servants... but I have called you friends". These words were spoken within the context of the institution of the Eucharist and the ministerial priesthood. Can there by any doubt, then, that Jesus wishes to be very close to each of his priests? To be a priest is to be a servant of others, a minister of the mysteries of God. But far more profoundly, to be a priest is to enjoy special friendship with the Redeemer of the world, the Lamb of Sacrifice.
3. We go back to the Upper Room in order to go forward to the New Jerusalem, to go forward in faithful service, rekindled in love for Christ, eager to build up God’s Kingdom through prayer and the proclamation of the Gospel. Through the Liturgy of the Hours the course of each day is sanctified. By preaching the word of God with deep conviction, we help the faithful to take their proper part in the mission of the Church. In the faithful administration of the Sacraments we fulfil our priesthood, particularly by encouraging the faithful to confess their sins in the Sacrament of Penance, so as to receive Christ’s mercy and strength. Our own example in this regard is very important. Above all. in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, we render glory and praise to God and hasten the coming of his Kingdom.
It is in the Upper Room that Jesus promised to send us the Holy Spirit, the Counsellor and Guide, the Spirit of truth and love. In the Holy Spirit, we find the strength to carry on "the work" which the Father first gave to Christ and which continues today in the Church.
How important it is, dear brothers, that we should never lose sight of the mystery of the Redemption. For our task is to help our people to lift their eyes above the pain and toil of earthly life, to look beyond the world’s alluring false promises, to the bright and authentic promises of the Redeemer of the world. Our lives as priests are caught up in the life of Christ and guided by God’s loving providence. If we stay close to the Lord Jesus, if we remain open to the voice of the Holy Spirit in the Church, we shall find the grace to be always faithful and always joyful in the Lord.
Dear brothers: I entrust you all to Mary, the Mother of Jesus the High Priest. May your lives and ministry be enriched by her protection and her love!
Your Excellency the Governor-General,
Mr Prime Minister,
Distinguished Members of the Government,
My venerable brother Bishops,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Dear People of Fiji,
1. I stand before you with sentiments of joy and profound gratitude to Almighty God for the privilege of being with you today in Fiji. To all of you I offer my heartfelt greetings of peace.
My purpose in coming is in the first place religious. I have come as Pastor of the Catholic Church to confirm my brothers and sisters in their faith, but I also wish my visit to serve the spiritual good and progress of all the people of your nation.
I am pleased to be able to admire the beauty of your homeland, and I thank you for your very hospitable welcome. As I see your faces, I acknowledge the greatness of our God who has created each one of you as a special reflection of his love. It is my earnest hope to speak to you about the mystery of God’s love, and to ask you to respond to your great vocation of loving your neighbour as yourself.
2. I thank you, Your Excellency the Governor-General, for your kind words of welcome. I cordially reciprocate the expression of respect and esteem with which, on behalf of your people, you have welcomed me. Your words are a fitting confirmation of the friendly cooperation, dialogue and mutual understanding which have characterized diplomatic relations between Fiji and the Holy See from their beginning.
I am also pleased to greet the Prime Minister and the members of the Government, the Diplomatic Corps represented here, and all the citizens of this country.
In particular I offer cordial greetings to the representatives of the Church in Fiji, especially to Archbishop Petero Mataca of Suva, who is also President of the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific. With him I also greet all my brother bishops of the Pacific. I wish to express my deep affection and esteem for you and all the clergy, religious and laity of the Church in Fiji and the other islands of the Pacific.
I wish to greet in the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ all the members of the other Christian Communions represented here today. As you are no doubt aware, one of the major aims of my Pontificate is to work for the realization of the unity for which Jesus prayed at the Last Supper: "that they may all be one". I am pleased to acknowledge the contributions to evangelization in the Pacific that have been made by different Christian Communions. It is my fervent hope that all the Christians of these islands will continue along the path towards full unity in faith in Christ.
I also acknowledge with respect the presence here of other world religions. To their representatives I offer my cordial greetings and I assure them of my friendship.
3. By coming to Fiji I hope to encourage all Christians here and throughout the Pacific to dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to the Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. At the heart of the Gospel is the Lord’s command of self-giving love. I trust that my visit will offer Christians an opportunity to dedicate themselves anew to obeying this commandment of love, especially through service and compassion for the less fortunate, the poor, the sick and all those in need. I shall speak about this again at the Mass later today.
4. I am happy to acknowledge in a particular way the statement of warm welcome that was prepared by the Methodist Church in Fiji. I am deeply touched, dear brethren, by your demonstration of brotherhood. May my visit help to promote even greater understanding between all fellow Christians. May my visit help to spread the message of the Gospel.
5. In a world of increasing challenges from secularization and materialism, I invite all my brothers and sisters in the Christian faith to respond with ever more intense love to the Lord’s call to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. It is also my prayer that people of all religions and all people of good will renew their human solidarity in the cause of peace. On my part I invoke upon all the people of Fiji the blessings of full and lasting peace.
Once more I thank you, Your Excellency, and all those who together with you have honoured me by their presence.
"May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all".
Dear brother Bishops of the Pacific,
1. It is a great joy for me to be with you here in the Pacific Regional Seminary of Saint Peter Chanel. You have received me in a most cordial spirit of fraternal love. With a grateful heart, I greet you in the grace and peace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
You have come from all the particular Churches of this immense territory of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia, to celebrate with me the unity and universality of the Church and to manifest your loyalty and love for the Successor of Peter. I am deeply grateful to each one of you.
As bishops, you represent in your own persons the People of God of the Archdioceses of Suva, Agaña, Papeete, Nouméa, and Samoa-Apia and Tokelau, and the Dioceses of Port-Vila, Tonga, Wallis and Futuna, Taiohae, Samoa-Pago Pago Chalan Kanoa, Rarotonga, Tarawa and Nauru, Carolines-Marshalls and the Mission Sui iuris of Funafuti. The name of each of these local Churches speaks of God’s providential love, incarnated in a particular culture and people, in the lives of the clergy, religious and laity to whom you give a shepherd’s care.
All of us remember the question that Nathanael put to Philip: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth"? Philip simply replied: "Come and see". Very soon after asking that question Nathanael would indeed begin to see what incredible good could come from Nazareth.
Each of the local Churches which you serve in Christ’s name represents in its own particular way the mystery of Nazareth. For the Risen Saviour is living today in your faithful people. By visiting Fiji I have been able to come and see what incredible good can come from the Body of Christ in Oceania. I rejoice in this opportunity of celebrating with you the marvels God has done and is doing in this part of the world.
I also wish to take this occasion to thank you for helping some of your own people to come here to Suva today or to be with me in the days ahead in New Zealand or Australia. I am sorry that I cannot visit each of your local communities on this occasion, but I assure you that you are all very dear to the heart of the Pope. I look forward, with the help of God, to coming and seeing the Holy Spirit at work in your midst at some time in the future.
2. Sixteen years ago, Pope Paul VI visited this part of the world. Some of you would have been present on that historic occasion when, in Western Samoa, he made a missionary appeal to the whole world. In honour of my beloved Predecessor and in view of the continued relevance of his words, may I remind you of the exhortation he made at that time to continue zealously the work of evangelization. He stated: "Missionary work, in the name of which I am among you, began on the day of Pentecost and is still being carried on in our own day. It is always necessary and always urgent".
The Church is by nature missionary. In every age, she feels herself urged on by the words of our Saviour: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations". The Church in Oceania eloquently shows the fruit of this evangelizing spirit. Evangelization is the task of everyone in the Church, although the bishops have the specific role of overseeing its broad range of activities and coordinating the efforts of all. The bishops have laboured long and hard in proclaiming the Gospel. The Good News of Christ has been accepted in faith and gratitude, and the Church has been firmly planted in your midst.
The next stage, which is no less urgent, is the consolidation and deepening of the faith. Ever more effective means must be sought to transmit to everyone, but especially to the young, the teachings of overseeing its broad range of activities and coordinating the efforts of all. The bishops have laboured long and hard in proclaiming the Gospel. The Good News of Christ has been accepted in faith and gratitude, and the Church has been firmly planted in your midst.
3. In this regard, I wish to congratulate you, as I have already done on other occasions, on the establishment of this Regional Seminary of the Pacific. It fills my heart with joy to hear that the number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life is growing year by year. I know that, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, this increase is due in no small part to your own zealous efforts as shepherds of the flock of Christ.
I am pleased, too, that the promotion of priestly vocations and the support of this Regional Seminary have been marked by true collaboration. Thus you have indeed borne witness to the collegial nature of the episcopal ministry in your work to ensure a more effective programme of priestly formation for all your particular Churches. I would ask you always to maintain this interest in the Seminary and particularly in the seminarians, through personal contact and fatherly concern. It is important that all aspects of seminary training should lead young men to a greater knowledge and love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I encourage you to continue in the vital task of promoting vocations to the priesthood and to religious life. The future of the Church depends in great part upon the evangelical witness and generous service of priests and religious. In particular, I encourage you in your pastoral solicitude to reach out to the young people of your parishes and communities. My prayer is that you will witness such a flowering of vocations in your midst that, in the not too distant future, the Churches which have been established by missionaries will in turn be sending forth missionaries to other nations.
4. As I meet with you this evening, I would like to reflect for a moment on the lives of two celebrated saints of the Church: Peter Chanel, the great Patron of Oceania, who in 1836 set sail from France to bring the Gospel to this part of the world; and Augustine, the bishop and theologian whose sixteenth centenary of conversion we commemorate this year. These two men, of very different temperaments and abilities, who served the Church in widely differing historical and geographical situations, were nonetheless motivated and sustained by the same love for Christ and zeal for the Gospel.
It is fitting that the universal Church should honour Augustine in this anniversary year of his conversion. He is truly one of the greatest bishops and teachers in the history of Christianity. In every way, he placed his intellectual gifts and spiritual energy at the service of the Church:
– in the particular Church of Hippo where he was renowned for his catechetical initiatives, his fraternal support of priests and religious, his rousing homilies and instructions, his loving care for the poor;
– in the Church throughout North Africa and in, the universal Church as she faced division and confusion due to heretical movements and paganism.
Even today, in the modern technological word so different from his own, Augustine remains an inspiring model of episcopal ministry. He described himself in these words: "Christ’s servant, and through him the servant of his servants". Surely we could find no better motto for our own lives as bishops of the Church.
But perhaps what is most memorable about Augustine and most worthy of our imitation is precisely his conversion. He was the great convert, not just at one dramatic moment but throughout his life. As he once said: "We must be always made by God, always perfected, we must cling to him and remain in the conversion that brings us to him... For we are his creation, not only in that we are human persons, but also in that we are good human persons".
As bishops, we too like Augustine must always go forward on the path of conversion, always eager to grow in the love of Christ our Saviour. At the same time, we must invite our people to take this same path and continue on it. Conversion will require reconciliation, and for this purpose the great gift of God at our disposal is the Sacrament of Penance. It is at one and the same time the Sacrament of forgiveness, reconciliation and mercy. For this reason, I urge you to foster regular reception of this Sacrament among your people, and I ask you to encourage your brother priests to give themselves generously to this pastoral service. The Sacrament of Penance is the first and fundamental step, through reconciliation, towards peace – peace in the heart of each person, in our communities and in the world.
5. It is truly fitting that this Regional Seminary has been placed under the patronage of Saint Peter Chanel. What better model of the priesthood could be offered to young men than this missionary who became the first martyr for the faith in Oceania Martyrdom, as the Second Vatican Council said, is "the highest gift and supreme test of love". It is good for us to recall, however, that the foundation for Peter Chanel’s heroic martyrdom was firmly laid long before his death.
Many years before the day he was put to death in his own hut, Peter Chanel had begun to live, in a most profound way, the Paschal Mystery of Christ. With Saint Paul he could say: "All I want is to know Christ and the power of his Resurrection and to share his suffering by reproducing the pattern of his death".
This is what sustained him, as it still sustains your priests in Oceania today. When he faced the physical privations and social obstacles of those first years in Futuna, and when he was weighed down by the feelings of isolation and discouragement that were part of those first missionary efforts, he took heart and found the strength to persevere by looking firmly to the Cross and Resurrection of our loving Redeemer.
With deep faith and remarkable patience, he was always gentle. He never lost hope in the transforming power of the Gospel. When we consider that within two years of his martyrdom the whole island of Futuna became Catholic, we realize that there was something remarkable about the daily witness of his life in Christ. His life confirms the truth of what Pope Paul VI said in his Apostolic Exhortation on Evangelization: "For the Church, the first means of evangelization is the witness of an authentically Christian life, given over to God in a communion that nothing should destroy and at the same time given to one’s neighbour with limitless zeal... It is primarily by her conduct and by her life that the Church will evangelize the world, in other words, by her living witness of fidelity to the Lord Jesus – the witness of poverty and detachment, of freedom in the face of the powers of this world, in short, the witness of sanctity".
6. My brother bishops: I leave with you these few thoughts, fully aware that there is much more that could be said. It is not possible now to speak of all that is in our minds and hearts, but I particularly want to assure you of my closeness to you and your people. Between the Successor of Peter and the successors of the other Apostles there is indeed a profound spiritual and pastoral bond; it is our collegialitas afectiva et effectiva.May we always find ways to support one another in our united efforts to build up the Church and to live out this communion in service and in faith.
At the altar each day and in my other prayers, I present you and your clergy, religious and laity to the Father in gratitude and in petition. The words of Saint Paul express well what is in my heart: "I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, ... making my prayer with joy, thankful for your partnership in the Gospel".
Dear brother bishops: in this hour of joy and ecclesial communion, I commend you to Mary the Mother of Jesus and Mother of his Church. I also entrust to her loving care the future of your local Churches, and especially all your generous efforts to make our Lord Jesus Christ ever more known and loved. I ask her to help the poor and the needy, and to protect all the People of God scattered throughout the Pacific. May she be for all of you a cause of joy and a source of strength!
Dear young Friends,
1. I am very pleased that, before leaving your beloved country, I have this opportunity of meeting the youth of Fiji. It is a great pleasure to be with you. I greet you all in the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
People sometimes ask me: "What do you enjoy most about young people? Why do you so often meet them? Why did you write an Apostolic Letter to Youth, and why did you establish the World Youth Day to be celebrated on Passion Sunday each year?". My answer is very simple: I have confidence in young people. I see in them the future of the world, the future of the Church. I believe that the youth of today want to build a world of justice, truth and love; and with God’s help they can do so. Yes, I believe in you the young people of Fiji.
2. Jesus Christ has a special love for young people. We can see this when we read the Gospel. For example, remember when Jesus rebuked his disciples for not letting children come to him saying: "it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs". And even more revealing is the example of his love for the rich young man. It is obvious that this young man was drawn to Jesus and felt at ease with him. He trusted Jesus enough to ask him a fundamental question: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?". Jesus took the question seriously and answered it just as seriously. Even more importantly, "Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him".
We know from the rest of the Gospel that Jesus does not reserve his love for young people alone. His loving gaze embraces everyone, the old as well as the young, the healthy as well as the sick. Jesus looks steadily at every one of us and loves us. This love of Jesus, in fact, is the heart of the Gospel. For his words and deeds, particularly his death on the Cross, can only be explained by love.
Saint John put it this way: "God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life". This is the message of salvation which the Church proclaims to the world. This is the message which I repeat to you today: "God loves you so much that he gave his only Son, and if you believe in his Son you will have eternal life".
3. To believe in Jesus is more than a matter of words. It is more than being attracted to Christ, as the rich young man was. Faith demands a generous response. It demands the commitment of your whole life to the person and message of Christ. But this must be done freely and deliberately, for you are able to accept or reject the gift Christ offers.
As for the rich young man, unfortunately he was not ready to make the sacrifice that faith demands. "Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him, and he said, ‘There is one thing you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me’. But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth".
The young man went away sad, but his sadness need not be the last word. In fact, the keynote of the Gospel message is joy. Joy is the hallmark of the saints. Joy is the result of faith and sacrifice. We see this in the message of the angel who, at the birth of Jesus, said to the shepherds: "Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people". This same joy floods every heart that lives in faithful union with Jesus.
But remember this: love also demands sacrifice. Do not underestimate the cost of remaining faithful to Christ. Too easily today love is misunderstood. It is reduced to mere sentimental feelings, or identified with selfish desires. But real love is always linked with the truth, and is expressed in generous service to others. Real love makes demands upon us and requires us to keep the Commandments. Thus it is that Jesus said: "If you love me you will keep my commandments".
Three times Jesus asked Peter: "Do you love me?". And each time Peter answered: "Yes, Lord, you know I love you". Peter was quick to affirm his love for Christ, and each time he was reminded how to put that love into practice. Jesus told him: "Feed my lambs, feel my sheep".
Peter never forgot that conversation, and the Successor of Peter cannot forget it either. Jesus’ words are meant in a particular way for me, but they also apply to you. Peter was asked to show his love for the Lord by serving the needs of his brothers and sisters, by exercising his ministry in the Church. The same Lord who spoke to Peter is speaking to you today. He is asking for your love.
I hope and pray, dear young people of Fiji, that you will never turn away from Christ like the rich young man, that you will never go away sad. If you believe in Christ, if you accept his words and also accept the sacrifices that he asks, you will be filled with joy, a joy that the world cannot give.
4. And now the time has come for me to say good-bye. My visit to this country has flown by all too quickly, and I must continue my pastoral journey to other people and other lands. But before I leave I want to express a word of admiration and also a word of gratitude.
The admiration which I feel for the people of Fiji existed before I come to your country. I admire the many values and special qualities which you have fostered and cherished over the years. Above all. I admire the way people of such diverse cultures and backgrounds live together here in harmony and peace. You differ widely among yourselves, yet you are one united nation. Through a common will and mutual effort, you have learned how to support one another in your diversity, to respect one another’s customs and to emphasize what you hold in common. In a very visible way, you are a symbol of hope in the world. You have something to teach the world about solidarity and loving respect for every person.
I am deeply grateful for the hospitality offered to me here in your country. You have received me as a brother and friend. You have made me feel at home. I shall not forget your goodness and kindness, and I promise to remember you in my prayers.
I wish to tell you also how much I share the sorrow of Fiji at the death of three soldiers who where killed in Lebanon during their peace mission. In their effort to serve the cause of peace they were called upon to give up their lives, and now you, dear young people, are called to live and work ever more so that peace may triumph on this earth. I wish to offer my sympathy to the families of the victims and pray that the Lord will give them strength.
And now I wish to entrust you to Mary, the Mother of Jesus and Mother of his Church. I entrust to Mary the future of this nation and the destiny of all its people. I pray that she will assist the young to remain steadfast in faith and to fulfil their mission of service to the world. I pray that she will comfort the suffering and obtain for the whole Church in Fiji the grace to be faithful to Jesus Christ and his saving and uplifting Gospel of love. And upon all the inhabitants of these islands I invoke the joy and peace of the Lord.
I am grateful for you presence. This is the greatest gift on your part. I thank you for your presence, for all that you have sung, for your introduction to the past, to the history of New Zealand and its people. I appreciate deeply the Maori tradition, this tradition which finds today a new expression and proves by this expression that it is still alive.
I thank you very much for your words, for your allocutions, for your songs, for your gifts, and now I want to offer you also a gift. Being the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of Peter, I am also a son of my people, and the Image of Our Lady of Czestochowa I offer you today expresses this fundamental attitude of myself and yourselves.
God our Father created all of us and situated everyone of us in a family, in a human family, in a small family of our own, and in a large family of our people, of our nations; and through the family, the small and the large, everyone of us is also introduced into the family of God, the Church, the People of God. Through our family, the small and the large, everyone of you, of us, is introduced to humanity, to be a human person, and to be as a human person, and to be as a human person a child of God.
I thank you from my heart for this first meeting of welcome. I greet the Maori people and also the guests of Thaiti, and I greet also all the people of Auckland and of New Zealand, gathered here largely in different groups, of different origins, altogether one people, citizens of the same State, of the same homeland. I greet everyone of you and all of you. I greet the whole New Zealand people and I thank you for your cordial welcome to me. Thank you very much.
Domain Park, 22 November 1986
Dear Young People,
1. Thank you for your warm welcome. After the great joy of celebrating the Eucharist for the first time in New Zealand I am grateful to have this opportunity of being with you, the youth of Aotearoa.
This period in your life, the time of youth, is a period of special importance. The decisions you make now, the friendships you form, the values you choose to live by, the goals you set for yourselves – these will shape your personal future and have an impact on the future of society. I am always happy to be with young people because I enjoy your enthusiasm and hope. As you face the challenges of youth, I am eager to assure you of the love of Christ and to remind you of the Gospel he preached, the Good News of truth, freedom and salvation.
2. The Gospel passage which we have heard describes a turning point in the life of Saint Peter. It was very shortly after the death of Jesus. Peter and the other disciples were still stunned by the experience of the Cross. How aware they were of their own shortcomings! In the hour of their Master’s Passion, when he needed them most, Judas betrayed him, Peter denied him, the rest of them fled in fear. Confused and saddened, the disciples seemed to think that the future was hopeless; they were uncertain what to do. So, they returned to what was familiar to them. Peter spontaneously says: "I’m going fishing". And the others say: "We’ll come with you". However, this plan of theirs also seems to end in failure. For the Gospel tells us: " They went out and got into the boat but caught nothing that night".
But then, at this low point in their lives, in their discouragement and failure, the dawn of hope begins to break. "It was light by now", we are told, and there stood Jesus on the shore". Precisely at the moment when Peter and the others would have felt uncomfortable in approaching Jesus – because of how they had behaved – he draws near to them in a simple gesture of friendship.
"Jesus called out, ‘Have you caught anything, friends?’ And when they answered ‘No’, he said ‘Throw the net out to starboard and you’ll find something’. So they dropped their net, and there were so many fish that they could not haul it in". They did indeed "find something", and it was much more than a big catch of fish. They found renewed hope and joy in the presence of the Risen Lord.
3. This turning point in the life of Peter came about at the initiative of Jesus, not at the initiative of Peter. Peter’s attempt ends in failure; but when he fishes at Jesus’ command, the nets are filled to the breaking point.
The same thing happens in the life of each of us. While it is true that we ourselves decide what paths we will take, our decisions will lead us to true joy and fulfilment only if they are in accordance with God’s will. As Saint Paul says: "It is God, for his own loving purpose, who puts both the will and the action into you .
The secret of the successful catch of fish is the obedience of Peter and his companions. As soon as Jesus spoke – even though they had been fishing all night and had caught nothing – they dropped the nets and tried again. Their obedience produced an amazing catch of fish. More importantly, it opened their eyes; it enabled them to recognize Jesus by faith. "The disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord’ ". And Peter immediately responds in joy; he jumps out of the boat and makes his way to the shore, eager to be with Jesus.
4. But the desire of Jesus to be with Peter is even greater than Peter’s desire to be with Jesus. Jesus not only acknowledges Peter but also invites him and his friends to share a meal that he has prepared. "Come and have breakfast", he says. The warmth of Jesus’ friendship has overcome the Apostles’ fears. The weight of guilt and sadness has given way to the light and peace of the Risen Lord.
At this point, Jesus looks directly at Peter and asks him: "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?" Peter answers: "Yes, Lord, you know I love you".
Jesus clearly wants Peter to love him; and he wants Peter to express his love in words, and to prove it by deeds. Jesus desires it so much that he repeats his question twice more. And each time he tells Peter to look after his lambs and sheep – to look after the Church which is being left in Peter’s care. And, as we know, the rest of Peter’s life was spent in providing food for God’s people, food for the soul, the food of eternal life, that food which is both the word of God – the Good News of salvation – and the Body and Blood of Christ.
5. Dear young friends: you too are at a turning point in your lives, and by Christ’s grace and his love it may happen today. Some of you may have known doubt and confusion; you may have experienced sadness and failure and serious sin. For all of you, however, this is an important time in your lives. It is a time of decision. It is a time to accept Christ: to accept his friendship and love, to accept the truth of his word and to believe in his promises; to acknowledge that his teaching will lead you to happiness and finally to eternal life. It is a time to accept Christ as he lives in his Body, the Church.
You have already been united with Christ in Baptism and the Eucharist, and now he is seeking you out in a particular way in these years of your youth. However great your love for Jesus may be, his love for you is far greater. He knows each of you by name. He knows when you need forgiveness and he knows your desire to forgive. He knows you better than you know yourself. Jesus loves you immensely, for he laid down his life for you.
All of us can get lost at times, lost within ourselves or lost in the world about us. Allow Christ to find you, to speak to you, to ask of you whatever he wants. Be sure of this: obedience to God’s will is the way to a fruitful life, the way to loving union with Christ.
6. On one occasion in the Gospel, a rich young man approached Jesus with the question: "Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?". Jesus told him to keep the commandments, for there can be no genuine love of God or neighbour without obedience to God’s will. That is why Jesus says: "If you love me you will keep my commandments". And again he says: "You are my friends if you do what I command you".
If you want to attain the fullness of joy, your obedience must be the full obedience of love. For although the rich young man in the Gospel had kept all the commandments, "Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him, and he said, ‘There is one thing you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me’".
Dear young people of New Zealand: Is Jesus perhaps repeating to some of you today: "There is one thing you lack"? Is he perhaps asking for even more love, more generosity, more sacrifice? Yes, the love of Christ involves generosity and sacrifice. It takes personal discipline to obey the commandments of God; it takes effort to reach out in loving service to a brother or sister in need. To follow Christ and to serve the world in his name requires courage and strength. There is no place for selfishness – and no place for fear!
I noted your questions concerning the different evils of our contemporary world. It is good that you have this preoccupation, but the answers that can be given, you will find in the Gospel. And the Gospel, the whole Gospel, is waiting for you. You must realize that you must make real the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Only in this way is it possible to change the world. Your aspiration is that the world should be changed. I say: you should change the world!
Perhaps some of you are meant to follow Christ in the chastity, poverty and obedience of the religious life, or to serve in the priesthood. These special vocations are a gift of the Lord to his Church They are also a gift of Christ to the person he calls. If Christ is speaking to you in this way, be ready for service, ready for sacrifice, ready for love.
And to those of you whom Christ is calling to the vocation of married life I say this: be assured of the Church’s love for you and for your vital role in the Church. Christian family life and lifelong fidelity in marriage are so needed in the world today, where the sacredness of human life is often ignored and even opposed, where the mystery of human sexuality is easily distorted and confused, where the beauty of human love is forgotten in a mad rush to satisfy selfish desires. Do not let yourselves be misled or discouraged. In Christ and in his Church, you will find the light and grace you need to live in fidelity and joy.
7. Dear young people of New Zealand: Jesus looks with love on each of you, as he did on Peter, on the faithful Apostles, and on the rich young man. Only one of these went away sad: the one who was afraid of sacrifice, the one who said no. Since the Cross of Christ is the sign of love and salvation, we should not be surprised that all true love requires sacrifice.
Do not be afraid, then, when love makes demands.
Do not be afraid when love requires sacrifice. Do not be afraid of the Cross of Christ. The Cross is the Tree of Life. It is the source of all joy and peace. It was the only way for Jesus to reach resurrection and triumph. It is the only way for us to share in his life, now and for ever.
Young people of New Zealand: Jesus is with you. Do not be afraid!
Speeches 1986 - 20 November 1986