VATICAN CITY, 24 MAR 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father has written a Message to Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, the Vatican dicastery responsible for organising the International Youth Forum currently being attended by around three hundred young people in the Italian town of Rocca di Papa.
In his Message the Pope highlights how the theme chosen for the forum - "Learning to Love" - is "central to faith and Christian life" because, he writes, "the starting point for any kind of reflection about love is the mystery of God Himself. ... The heart of Christian revelation is this: 'Deus caritas est'. In His Passion, in His total gift of Self, He revealed the face of God which is Love".
"From the very fact that God is love, and that man is His image, we understand the profound identity of the person and his vocation to love. Man is made to love, and his life is completely fulfilled only if it is lived in love", the Pope writes.
He then goes on to observe that love takes on different forms in different states of life. In this context, with reference to the priesthood, he quotes words of St. John Mary Vianney to the effect that "the priesthood is love of the heart of Jesus". And he continues: "People consecrated in celibacy are also an eloquent sign of God's love for the world and of the vocation to love God above all things".
Benedict XVI exhorts the young people to "discover the greatness and beauty of marriage. ... Through the Sacrament of Marriage spouses are united to God, and with their relationship they express the love of Christ Who gave His life for the salvation of the world. In a cultural context in which many people consider matrimony as a temporary contract that can be broken, it is vitally important to understand that true love is faithful, a definitive gift of self. Because Christ consecrates the love of Christian spouses and commits Himself with them, such faithfulness is not only possible but is the way to enter into ever greater charity".
In closing his Message, Pope Benedict expresses the hope that the forum may stimulate young people "to become witnesses to their peers of what they have seen and heard. This", he concludes, "is a vital responsibility for which the Church is relying on them. They have an important role to play in evangelising the young in their own countries, that they may joyfully and faithfully respond to Christ's commandment to 'love one another as I have loved you'".
MESS/INTERNATIONAL YOUTH FORUM/RYLKO VIS 20100324 (450)
In his Message the Pope highlights how the theme chosen for the forum - "Learning to Love" - is "central to faith and Christian life" because, he writes, "the starting point for any kind of reflection about love is the mystery of God Himself. ... The heart of Christian revelation is this: 'Deus caritas est'. In His Passion, in His total gift of Self, He revealed the face of God which is Love".
"From the very fact that God is love, and that man is His image, we understand the profound identity of the person and his vocation to love. Man is made to love, and his life is completely fulfilled only if it is lived in love", the Pope writes.
He then goes on to observe that love takes on different forms in different states of life. In this context, with reference to the priesthood, he quotes words of St. John Mary Vianney to the effect that "the priesthood is love of the heart of Jesus". And he continues: "People consecrated in celibacy are also an eloquent sign of God's love for the world and of the vocation to love God above all things".
Benedict XVI exhorts the young people to "discover the greatness and beauty of marriage. ... Through the Sacrament of Marriage spouses are united to God, and with their relationship they express the love of Christ Who gave His life for the salvation of the world. In a cultural context in which many people consider matrimony as a temporary contract that can be broken, it is vitally important to understand that true love is faithful, a definitive gift of self. Because Christ consecrates the love of Christian spouses and commits Himself with them, such faithfulness is not only possible but is the way to enter into ever greater charity".
In closing his Message, Pope Benedict expresses the hope that the forum may stimulate young people "to become witnesses to their peers of what they have seen and heard. This", he concludes, "is a vital responsibility for which the Church is relying on them. They have an important role to play in evangelising the young in their own countries, that they may joyfully and faithfully respond to Christ's commandment to 'love one another as I have loved you'".
MESS/INTERNATIONAL YOUTH FORUM/RYLKO VIS 20100324 (450)
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