VATICAN CITY, MAR 14, 1999 (VIS) - During Mass celebrated this morning in the Roman parish of St. Matthias, the Pope said that in this Fourth Sunday of Lent, "Laetare" Sunday, "we rejoice because Easter is very close and shortly we will celebrate our freedom from evil and sin."
The Holy Father then referred to parish initiatives for children and young people, and encouraged the faithful to continue "generously spending time and energy" on these projects. "May all this work of formation allow them to better know Jesus, the only Savior of the world, in letting them experience divine mercy." He asked that the meeting on Thursday March 25, in preparation for World Youth Day, "be an important stage on your spiritual search."
"Is it not true," he asked, "that young generations have more than ever today the burning desire for truth and are ever more tired of following vain illusions? It is essential to present the Gospel to them with strength and love, and to help them unite faith with life to resist the multiple temptations of the modern world. For this reason, like the man blind from birth about whom today's Gospel tells us, the personal encounter with Jesus is necessary."
The Holy Father said that the architecture of the parish encourages prayer around the place where the Eucharistic mystery is celebrated. "A community will be true and a Church authentic if it learns to grow in the school of the Eucharist and is nourished at the table of the Word and the Bread of Eternal Life. We must all learn to let ourselves be molded by the Eucharistic mystery. Thus, I think particularly of the International Eucharistic Congress which will be held in Rome June 18-25, 2000."
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