World
Youth Day Mass
Madrid's Cuatros Vientos
airbase
Sunday, 21st August 2011
Dear Young People,
In this celebration of the Eucharist we have reached the high point of this World Youth Day. Seeing you here, gathered in such great numbers from all parts of the world, fills my heart with joy. I think of the special love with which Jesus is looking upon you. Yes, the Lord loves you and calls you his friends (cf. Jn 15:15). He goes out to meet you and he wants to accompany you on your journey, to open the door to a life of fulfilment and to give you a share in his own closeness to the Father.
For our part, we have come to
know the immensity of his love and we want to respond generously to his
love by sharing with others the joy we have received. Certainly, there
are many people today who feel attracted by the figure of Christ and
want to know him better.
They realize that he is the answer to so many
of our deepest concerns. But who is he really? How can someone who
lived on this earth so long ago have anything in common with me today?
The Gospel we have just heard (cf. Mt 16:13-20) suggests two different
ways of knowing Christ. The first is an impersonal knowledge, one based
on current opinion. When Jesus asks: “Who do people say that the Son
of Man is?”, the disciples answer: “Some say John the Baptist, but
others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets”.
In
other words, Christ is seen as yet another religious figure, like those
who came before him. Then Jesus turns to the disciples and asks them:
“But who do you say that I am?” Peter responds with what is the first
confession of faith: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”.
Faith is more than just empirical or historical facts; it is an ability
to grasp the mystery of Christ’s person in all its depth.
Yet faith is not the result of human effort, of human reasoning, but rather a gift of God: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven”. Faith starts with God, who opens his heart to us and invites us to share in his own divine life. Faith does not simply provide information about who Christ is; rather, it entails a personal relationship with Christ, a surrender of our whole person, with all our understanding, will and feelings, to God’s self-revelation.
So Jesus’ question: “But who do you say that I
am?”, is ultimately a challenge to the disciples to make a personal
decision in his regard. Faith in Christ and discipleship are strictly
interconnected. And, since faith involves following the Master, it must
become constantly stronger, deeper and more mature, to the extent that
it leads to a closer and more intense relationship with Jesus. Peter
and the other disciples also had to grow in this way, until their
encounter with the Risen Lord opened their eyes to the fullness of
faith.
Dear young people, today Christ is asking you the same question which he asked the Apostles: “Who do you say that I am?” Respond to him with generosity and courage, as befits young hearts like your own. Say to him: “Jesus, I know that you are the Son of God, who have given your life for me. I want to follow you faithfully and to be led by your word. You know me and you love me. I place my trust in you and I put my whole life into your hands. I want you to be the power that strengthens me and the joy which never leaves me”.
Jesus’ responds
to Peter’s confession by speaking of the Church: “And I tell you, you
are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church”. What do these
words mean? Jesus builds the Church on the rock of the faith of Peter,
who confesses that Christ is God.
The Church, then, is not simply a human institution, like any other. Rather, she is closely joined to God. Christ himself speaks of her as “his” Church. Christ cannot be separated from the Church any more than the head can be separated from the body (cf. 1 Cor 12:12). The Church does not draw her life from herself, but from the Lord.
Dear young friends, as the Successor of
Peter, let me urge you to strengthen this faith which has been handed
down to us from the time of the Apostles. Make Christ, the Son of God,
the centre of your life. But let me also remind you that following
Jesus in faith means walking at his side in the communion of the Church.
We cannot follow Jesus on our own. Anyone who would be tempted to do
so “on his own”, or to approach the life of faith with kind of
individualism so prevalent today, will risk never truly encountering
Jesus, or will end up following a counterfeit Jesus.
Having faith means drawing support from the faith of your brothers and sisters, even as your own faith serves as a support for the faith of others. I ask you, dear friends, to love the Church which brought you to birth in the faith, which helped you to grow in the knowledge of Christ and which led you to discover the beauty of his love.
Growing in friendship with
Christ necessarily means recognizing the importance of joyful
participation in the life of your parishes, communities and movements,
as well as the celebration of Sunday Mass, frequent reception of the
sacrament of Reconciliation, and the cultivation of personal prayer and
meditation on God’s word.
Friendship with Jesus will also lead you to
bear witness to the faith wherever you are, even when it meets with
rejection or indifference. We cannot encounter Christ and not want to
make him known to others. So do not keep Christ to yourselves! Share
with others the joy of your faith.
The world needs the witness of your
faith, it surely needs God. I think that the presence here of so many
young people, coming from all over the world, is a wonderful proof of
the fruitfulness of Christ’s command to the Church: “Go into all the
world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15).
You
too have been given the extraordinary task of being disciples and
missionaries of Christ in other lands and countries filled with young
people who are looking for something greater and, because their heart
tells them that more authentic values do exist, they do not let
themselves be seduced by the empty promises of a lifestyle which has no
room for God.
Dear young people, I pray for you with heartfelt affection. I commend all of you to the Virgin Mary and I ask her to accompany you always by her maternal intercession and to teach you how to remain faithful to God’s word. I ask you to pray for the Pope, so that, as the Successor of Peter, he may always confirm his brothers and sisters in the faith. May all of us in the Church, pastors and faithful alike, draw closer to the Lord each day. May we grow in holiness of life and be effective witnesses to the truth that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God, the Saviour of all mankind and the living source of our hope.
Amen.