VATICAN CITY, 26 APR 2008 (VIS) - Made public today was a Letter from the Pope addressed to Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris, France, to mark the hundredth anniversary of an annual pilgrimage by young people from the province of Paris. This year's pilgrimage, which takes them to Lourdes, is being held from 22 to 27 April.
In his Letter to the cardinal, who is also president of the Conference of Bishops of France, the Holy Father mentions the fact that 2008 marks the 150th anniversary of the apparition of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous in the grotto of Massabielle.
Benedict XVI calls on young people to imitate Mary's response when she was "invited to follow an amazing yet disconcerting journey. Her readiness led her to experience a joy of which all previous generations had sung", he writes.
"Our 'yes' to God", the Pope continues, "makes the font of true happiness gush forth. It frees the 'I' from everything that closes it in on itself. It brings the poverty of our lives into the richness and power of God's plan, without restricting our freedom and our responsibility. ... It conforms our lives to Christ's own life".
The Holy Father then encourages the young "enthusiastically to celebrate the joy of loving Christ and of believing and hoping in Him, and trustingly to follow the path of initiation you have before you. I particularly invite you", he writes, "to take up the witness of your ancestors in the faith, and to learn to welcome the Word of God - in silence and meditation - so that it can mould your hearts and produce generous fruits in you".
This pilgrimage, Pope Benedict concludes, "is also a good time to allow yourselves to be asked by Christ: 'What do you want to do with your lives?' May those among you who feel the call to follow Him in the priesthood or in consecrated life - as have so many young participants in these pilgrimages - reply to the Lord's call and put yourselves totally at the service of the Church, with a life completely dedicated to the Kingdom of heaven. You will never be disappointed".
BXVI-LETTER/YOUTH PILGRIMAGE/VINGT-TROIS VIS 20080428 (380)
In his Letter to the cardinal, who is also president of the Conference of Bishops of France, the Holy Father mentions the fact that 2008 marks the 150th anniversary of the apparition of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous in the grotto of Massabielle.
Benedict XVI calls on young people to imitate Mary's response when she was "invited to follow an amazing yet disconcerting journey. Her readiness led her to experience a joy of which all previous generations had sung", he writes.
"Our 'yes' to God", the Pope continues, "makes the font of true happiness gush forth. It frees the 'I' from everything that closes it in on itself. It brings the poverty of our lives into the richness and power of God's plan, without restricting our freedom and our responsibility. ... It conforms our lives to Christ's own life".
The Holy Father then encourages the young "enthusiastically to celebrate the joy of loving Christ and of believing and hoping in Him, and trustingly to follow the path of initiation you have before you. I particularly invite you", he writes, "to take up the witness of your ancestors in the faith, and to learn to welcome the Word of God - in silence and meditation - so that it can mould your hearts and produce generous fruits in you".
This pilgrimage, Pope Benedict concludes, "is also a good time to allow yourselves to be asked by Christ: 'What do you want to do with your lives?' May those among you who feel the call to follow Him in the priesthood or in consecrated life - as have so many young participants in these pilgrimages - reply to the Lord's call and put yourselves totally at the service of the Church, with a life completely dedicated to the Kingdom of heaven. You will never be disappointed".
BXVI-LETTER/YOUTH PILGRIMAGE/VINGT-TROIS VIS 20080428 (380)
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