ANGELUS: LENT, A JOURNEY TOWARDS THE CROSS OF CHRIST

VATICAN CITY, MAR 14, 1999 (VIS) - Pope John Paul, in remarks made prior to praying the angelus on this fourth Sunday of Lent, continued his meditations on "the Lenten journey towards Easter, a journey of conversion guided by the Word of God, which illuminates the steps of our lives."

Highlighting the "true value of the Cross, towards which we are journeying in this Lenten period," he affirmed that "it is not a sign of death, but of life; not of frustration but of hope, not of defeat, but of victory. In fact, as an ancient liturgical hymn says, the Cross of Christ is the 'only hope' because every other promise of salvation is false, given that it does not solve the basic problem of mankind: the problem of evil and death."

"For this reason Christians venerate the Cross and recognize in it the sign par excellence of love and hope. Even young people, who by nature embrace life, embrace the Cross of Christ - as did Francis of Assisi and all the saints - because they understand that, without it, the mystery of life would be a senseless puzzle."

He then pointed out that the World Youth Day Cross is travelling throughout Italy's dioceses. "Today it is in Turin, where ... young people have gathered. ... I send them a special greeting and say: Do not be afraid to receive the Cross of Christ in your lives!"

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