From His Heart to Yours…
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! From his heart to yours… ! The!words!of!Pope!Benedict!XVI! World!Youth!Day!Madrid! August!18!A!21,!2011! ! ! ! INTERVIEW(OF(THE(HOLY(FATHER(BENEDICT(XVI(( integrity,!and!to!invite!them!to!celebrate!the!sacraments!by!which!he!gives!us!a! WITH(THE(JOURNALISTS(DURING(THE(FLIGHT(TO(MADRID! share!in!his!own!life.! ! Your!Majesty,!before!returning!to!Rome,!I!would!like!to!assure!the!people!of!Spain!of! Papal!Flight! my!constant!prayers,!especially!for!married!couples!and!families!who!are!facing! Thursday,!18!August!2011! various!kinds!of!difficulties,!the!needy!and!the!infirm,!the!elderly!and!children,!as! !!! well!as!those!who!have!no!work.!I!pray!in!particular!of!the!young!people!of!Spain.!I! Fr(Federico(Lombardi,(SJ:!Holy!Father,!we!have!come!to!the!26th!World!Youth!Day,! am!sure!that!they!will!contribute!the!best!they!have!to!offer!through!their!faith!in! the!12th!to!Be!celebrated!with!an!important!world!meeting.!John!Paul!II,!who! Christ,!so!that!this!great!country!can!face!the!challenges!of!the!present!hour!and!can! invented!the!Youth!Days,!is!now!Blessed!and!is!the!official!Patron!of!this!World!Youth! continue!along!the!paths!of!peace,!solidarity,!justice!and!freedom.!Along!with!these! Day!in!Madrid.!At!the!beginning!of!your!Pontificate!people!wondered!whether!you! intentions,!I!entrust!the!sons!and!daughters!of!this!noble!land!to!the!intercession!of! would!continue!along!the!same!lines!as!your!Predecessor.!This!is!now!your!third! the!Virgin!Mary,!our!heavenly!Mother,!and!to!them!all!I!willingly!impart!my!blessing.! World!Youth!Day,!after!Cologne!and!Sydney.!How!do!you!view!the!significance!of! May!the!joy!of!the!Lord!always!fill!your!hearts.!Thank!you.! these!events!in!the!pastoral!“strategy”!of!the!universal!Church!in!the!third! ! millennium?! ! ! The(Holy(Father:(Dear!friends,!good!morning!!I!am!glad!to!be!going!to!Spain!with!you! for!this!great!event.!After!personally!experiencing!two!WYDs,!I!can!only!say! that!Pope!John!Paul!II!was!truly!inspired!when!he!created!this!important!meeting!of! young!people!and!of!the!world!with!the!Lord.! I!would!say!that!these!World!Youth!Days!are!a!sign,!a!cascade!of!light;!they!give! visibility!to!the!faith!and!to!God’s!presence!in!the!world,!and!thus!create!the!courage! to!be!believers.!Believers!often!feel!isolated!in!this!world,!almost!lost.!Here!they!see! that!they!are!not!alone,!that!there!is!a!great!network!of!faith,!a!great!community!of! believers!in!the!world,!that!it!is!beautiful!to!live!in!this!universal!friendship.!And!thus,! it!seems!to!me,!friendships!are!born,!friendships!beyond!the!confines!of!different! cultures!and!different!countries.!And!this!birth!of!a!universal!network!of!friendship! that!links!the!world!and!God,!is!an!important!reality!for!the!future!of!humanity,!for! the!life!of!humanity!today.! Naturally,!the!WYD!cannot!be!an!isolated!event;!it!is!part!of!a!larger!process,!it! should!be!prepared!for!by!this!journey!of!the!Cross!that!transmigrates!to!different! countries!and!already!unites!young!people!in!the!sign!of!the!cross!and!in!the! marvellous!sign!of!Our!Lady.!So!it!is!that!the!preparation!for!the!World!Youth!Day!is! of!course!far!more!than!the!technical!plan!for!an!event!with!a!great!many!technical! hitches;!it!is!an!inner!preparation,!a!starting!out!towards!others,!together!towards! God.!Then,!later,!the!foundation!of!groups!of!friends!follows,!preserving!this! universal!contact!that!opens!the!boundaries!between!cultures,!between!human!and! religious!differences,!hence!it!is!a!continuous!journey!that!leads!subsequently!to!a! new!summit,!to!a!new!World!Youth!Day.!It!seems!to!me,!in!this!sense,!that!the!World! Youth!Day!should!be!seen!as!a!sign,!as!part!of!a!great!journey;!it!creates!friendships,! Coordinator,!Monsignor!César!Augusto!Franco!Martinez,!and!the!many!generous! opens!frontiers!and!makes!visible!the!beauty!of!our!being!with!God!and!of!God’s! members!of!his!staff.!The!Bishops!worked!generously!and!diligently!in!their!Dioceses! being!with!us.!In!this!regard,!let!us!continue!to!implement!Bl.!Pope!John!Paul!II's! to!prepare!for!the!celebrations,!together!with!their!priests,!consecrated!persons!and! important!idea.! the!lay!faithful.!To!all!I!express!my!gratitude!and!I!pray!that!the!Lord!will!bless!your! ! apostolic!labors.! Fr(Federico(Lombardi,(SJ:!Your!Holiness,!times!are!changing.!Europe!and!the!Western! Nor!can!I!fail!to!offer!heartfelt!thanks!to!the!young!people!for!having!come!to!the! world!in!general!are!going!through!a!profound!economic!crisis!which!is!also!showing! World!Youth!Day!and!for!their!joyful,!enthusiastic!and!intense!presence.!To!them!I! dimensions!of!serious!social!and!moral!hardship!and!great!uncertainty!for!the!future! say!thank!you,!and!I!congratulate!you!for!the!witness!which!you!gave!in!Madrid!and! which!is!Becoming!particularly!acute!for!young!people.!In!the!past!few!days!we!have! in!the!other!cities!of!Spain!in!which!you!stayed.!Now!I!ask!you!to!spread!throughout! seen,!for!example,!what!happened!in!Great!Britain!when!rebellion!and! the!world!the!profound!and!joyful!experience!of!faith!which!you!had!here!in!this! aggressiveness!were!unleashed.!At!the!same!time!there!are!signs!of!generous!and! noble!country.!Share!your!joy!especially!with!those!who!would!have!liked!to!come! enthusiastic!commitment,!of!voluntary!service!and!of!solidarity,!of!young!Believers! but!were!unable!to!do!so!for!various!reasons,!with!all!those!who!were!praying!for! and!nonRbelievers!alike.!In!Madrid!we!shall!meet!a!large!number!of!marvellous!young! you!and!with!all!those!whose!hearts!were!touched!by!these!celebrations.!By!your! people.!What!message!of!hope!can!the!Church!provide!to!encourage!youth! closeness!and!your!witness,!help!your!friends!to!discover!that!loving!Christ!means! throughout!the!world,!especially!those!who!feel!discouraged!today!and!are!tempted! living!life!to!the!full.! to!rebel?! I!leave!Spain!very!happy!and!grateful!to!everyone.!But!above!all!I!am!grateful!to!God,! ! our!Lord,!who!allowed!me!to!celebrate!these!days!so!filled!with!enthusiasm!and! The(Holy(Father:(It!is!this.!In!the!current!economic!crisis!what!formerly!appeared!in! grace,!so!charged!with!dynamism!and!hope.!The!feast!of!faith!which!we!have!shared! the!previous!great!crisis!has!been!confirmed:!namely,!that!the!ethical!dimension!is! enables!us!to!look!forward!with!great!confidence!in!Providence,!which!guides!the! not!alien!to!economic!problems!but!an!internal!and!fundamental!dimension!of!them.! Church!across!the!seas!of!history.!That!is!why!she!continues!to!be!young!and!full!of! The!economy!does!not!function!with!a!selfAregulation!of!the!market!alone,!but!it! life,!even!as!she!confronts!challenging!situations.!This!is!the!work!of!the!Holy!Spirit,! needs!an!ethical!reason!if!it!is!to!function!for!man.!And!once!again!Pope!John!II’s! who!makes!Jesus!Christ!present!in!the!hearts!of!young!people!in!every!age!and! words!in!his!first!social!Encyclical!become!apparent:!man!must!be!the!centre!of!the! shows!them!the!grandeur!of!the!divine!vocation!given!to!every!man!and!woman.!We! economy!and!the!economy!cannot!be!measured!according!to!the!maxim!of!profit!but! were!also!able!to!see!how!the!grace!of!Christ!tears!down!the!walls!and!overcomes! rather!according!to!the!common!good!of!all,!that!it!implies!responsibility!for!others! the!barriers!which!sin!erects!between!peoples!and!generations,!in!order!to!make!all! and!only!really!functions!well!if!it!functions!humanly,!with!respect!for!others.!And! mankind!a!single!family!which!acknowledges!its!one!Father!and!which!cultivates,!by! with!the!different!dimensions:!responsibility!for!one's!own!nation!and!not!only!for! work!and!respect,!all!that!he!has!given!us!in!creation.! oneself;!responsibility!for!the!world!—!even!a!nation!is!not!isolated,!even!Europe!is! Young!people!readily!respond!when!one!proposes!to!them,!in!sincerity!and!truth,!an! not!isolated!but!is!responsible!for!the!whole!of!humanity!and!must!always!think! encounter!with!Jesus!Christ,!the!one!Redeemer!of!humanity.!!Now!those!young! about!economic!problems!in!this!key!of!responsibility!for!the!other!parts!of!the!world! people!are!returning!home!as!missionaries!of!the!Gospel,!“rooted!and!built!up!in! too,!for!all!who!suffer,!who!thirst!and!hunger,!who!have!no!future.!And!so!—!a!third! Christ,!and!firm!in!the!faith”,!and!they!will!need!to!be!helped!on!their!way.!!So!I!urge! dimension!of!this!responsibility!—!is!responsibility!for!the!future.! Bishops,!priests,!Religious!and!Christian!educators!in!particular,!to!care!for!those! We!know!we!must!protect!our!planet!but,!all!things!considered,!we!must!protect!a! young!people!who!want!to!respond!enthusiastically!to!the!Lord’s!call.!!There!is!no! functional!service!of!employment!for!everyone!and!realize!that!tomorrow!is!also! reason!to!lose!heart!in!the!face!of!the!various!obstacles!we!encounter!in!some! today.!If!today’s!young!people!have!no!prospects!in!life!then!our!own!life!today!is! countries.!!The!yearning!for!God!which!the!Creator!has!placed!in!the!hearts!of!young! misguided!and!“wrong”.!Therefore!the!Church,!with!her!social!doctrine,!with!her! people!is!more!powerful!than!all!of!these,!as!is!the!power!from!on!high!which!gives! doctrine!on!responsibility!to!God,!proposes!the!readiness!to!give!up!the!maxim!of! divine!strength!to!those!who!follow!the!Master!and!who!seek!in!him!nourishment!for! profit!and!to!see!things!in!the!humanistic!and!religious!dimension:!in!other!words! life.!!Do!not!be!afraid!to!present!to!young!people!the!message!of!Jesus!Christ!in!all!its! existing!for!each!other.!Thus!new!ways!can!also!be!found.!The!throngs!of!volunteers!