| Message to the People of Australia |
Pope Benedict XVI
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To the beloved people of Australia
and to the young pilgrims taking part in
World Youth Day 2008
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you: and you
will be my witnesses" (Act 1:8)
The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with
all of you! In a few days from now, I shall begin my Apostolic Visit to
your country, in order to celebrate the Twenty-Third World Youth Day in
Sydney. I very much look forward to the days that I shall spend with
you, and especially to the opportunities for prayer and reflection with
young people from all over the world.
First of all, I want to express my appreciation to all those who have
offered so much of their time, their resources and their prayers in
support of this celebration. The Australian Government and the
Provincial Government of New South Wales, the organizers of all the
events, and members of the business community who have provided
sponsorship – all of you have willingly supported this event, and on
behalf of the young people taking part in the World Youth Day, I thank
you most sincerely. Many of the young people have made great sacrifices
in order to undertake the journey to Australia, and I pray that they
will be rewarded abundantly. The parishes, schools and host families
have been most generous in welcoming these young visitors, and they too
deserve our thanks and our appreciation.
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you: and you
will be my witnesses" (Act 1:8). This is the theme of the Twenty-Third
World Youth Day. How much our world needs a renewed outpouring of the
Holy Spirit! There are still many who have not heard the Good News of
Jesus Christ, while many others, for whatever reason, have not
recognized in this Good News the saving truth that alone can satisfy the
deepest longings of their hearts. The Psalmist prays: "when you send
forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the
earth" (Ps 104:30). It is my firm belief that young people are called to
be instruments of that renewal, communicating to their peers the joy
they have experienced through knowing and following Christ, and sharing
with others the love that the Spirit pours into their hearts, so that
they too will be filled with hope and with thanksgiving for all the good
things they have received from our heavenly Father.
Many young people today lack hope. They are perplexed by the questions
that present themselves ever more urgently in a confusing world, and
they are often uncertain which way to turn for answers. They see poverty
and injustice and they long to find solutions. They are challenged by
the arguments of those who deny the existence of God and they wonder how
to respond. They see great damage done to the natural environment
through human greed and they struggle to find ways to live in greater
harmony with nature and with one another.
Where can we look for answers? The Spirit points us towards the way that
leads to life, to love and to truth. The Spirit points us towards Jesus
Christ. There is a saying attributed to Saint Augustine: "If you wish to
remain young, seek Christ". In him we find the answers that we are
seeking, we find the goals that are truly worth living for, we find the
strength to pursue the path that will bring about a better world. Our
hearts find no rest until they rest in the Lord, as Saint Augustine says
at the beginning of the Confessions, the famous account of his own
youth. My prayer is that the hearts of the young people who gather in
Sydney for the celebration of World Youth Day will truly find rest in
the Lord, and that they will be filled with joy and fervour for
spreading the Good News among their friends, their families, and all
whom they meet.
Dear Australian friends, although I will only be able to spend a few
days in your country, and I will not be able to travel outside Sydney,
my heart reaches out to all of you, including those who are sick or in
difficulties of any kind. On behalf of all the young people, I thank you
again for your support of my mission and I ask you to continue praying
for them especially. It remains only for me to renew my invitation to
the young people from all over the world to join me in Australia, the
great "southern land of the Holy Spirit". I look forward to seeing you
there! May God bless you all.
From the Vatican, 4 July 2008
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
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Taken from:
L'Osservatore Romano
Weekly Edition in English
date, page
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