POPE CELEBRATES ANNUAL MASS FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

VATICAN CITY, DEC 12, 2001 (VIS) - Pope John Paul presided at a Eucharistic celebration last evening in St. Peter's Basilica for the rectors, teachers and students of various Roman, Italian and European universities. Choirs from 16 nations, including one from the United States, sang at the papal Mass, which is an annual event.

The Pope urged the young people "to go forth, filled with trust, and meet Jesus, because in Him you will be free and safe, even when the paths of life become threatening and insidious. Have trust in Him. ... Shout out, young university students, with the witness of your faith! Do not be content with a mediocre life, without an ideal impetus, aiming only at pursuing immediate personal advantage."

"Europe needs a new intellectual vitality," noted the Holy Father, "a vitality that proposes projects of austere life, capable of commitment and sacrifice, simple in their legitimate aspirations. straightforward in their realization, transparent in their behavior. We need a new boldness of thought, free and creative, ready to accept, in the perspective of faith, the questions and challenges that arise from life, to make the final truths about man emerge with clarity."

The Pope then quoted Isaiah: "'All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flowers of the field'. The liturgy of Advent aims our glance towards the eternal truths that illuminate with wise realism the events of daily life. In this light, the words of the prophet ring out as an invitation not to give in to the illusions of a progress that is not in conformity with the divine plan. In fact, no matter how amazing is modern scientific and technological development, and no matter how promising the future of mankind appears, it brings with it, however, terrifying shadows of destruction and death. It is necessary to respect the impassable limits that moral references pose. When man loses the sense of limits and raises himself up as legislator of the universe, he forgets that he is like grass and the flowers of the field, whose life is brief."

"May scholars and scientists," the Pope concluded, "always be aware of the high mission that Providence has entrusted to them. You too, brothers and sisters, must cooperate in this exalted mission."

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