THE "DOOR OF LIFE" MAKES MANY DEMANDS

VATICAN CITY, SEP 18, 2000 (VIS) - At midday today in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope received 650 participants in a jubilee pilgrimage from the archdiocese of Cologne, Germany, led by their archbishop, Cardinal Joachim Meisner.

After recalling that this morning they had passed through the Holy Door of the Vatican Basilica, John Paul II said: "Today, people open so many doors. Among the many open doors, it is the young who find it difficult which door to chose, (the one that) gives truth and meaning to life. For some, it is not easy to reject apparent enjoyment and accustom themselves to deep and silent interior joy. Thus, the Door of Life makes many demands. Who wishes to pass through it ... must leave behind superfluous and secondary things so that their place can be taken by Christ."

"May the Holy Spirit," he concluded, "grant you imagination, strength and courage to choose the right path that leads to the Door."

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