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The Holy Father Speaks to Youth
Upcoming Events:
June – August:
- The 2010-2011 Respect Life Program is now available to all Dioceses! Contact your local Diocesan Pro-Life Director for materials and more information on the wonderful resources available.
October:
- October is Respect Life Month! Support your local Diocese’s efforts to promote the Culture of Life. Pray for the dignity of all human life to be respected and defended from conception to natural death.
January:
- March for Life in Washington D.C.!
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishop’s Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities organizes a Prayer Vigil for Life held at the National Shrine, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. The mass begins at 6:30 PM EST.
- “I urge the young people present at this Forum to put their whole heart into seeking their vocation to love, as people and as baptized people. This is the key to their entire existence. They can therefore invest all their energy in drawing close to this goal, day after day, sustained by the Word of God and by the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.”
~ Pope Benedict XVI, 10th International Youth Forum, 20 March 2010 - "Strive for a pattern of life truly marked by charity, chastity and humility, in imitation of Christ, the Eternal High Priest, of whom you are to become living icons."
~ Address Of His Holiness Benedict XVI, Meeting with Young People And Seminarians, Saturday, 19 April 2008 - “Do not follow the path of pride, rather, follow the path of humility,” the Pope told an estimated 500,000 youth in his homily that concluded the ‘Youth Agorà’. “Go against the current trend: do not listen to the persuasive and biased chorus of voices that today form much of the propaganda of life, drenched in arrogance and violence, in dominance and success at all costs, where appearance and possession to the detriment of others is openly promoted.”
~ Pope Benedict XVI, Loreto homily and Angelus, Rome, Italy, Sep. 2, 2007 - “‘Dear young people’, the Pope continued, ‘it seems to me that for you to grasp the important message of God on humility has never been more important than now, that you want to follow Christ and be a part of the Church. The message is this: don’t follow the way of pride, but of humility’… ‘It’s not about defeat,’ the Pope said, ‘but it’s the result of love’s victory over selfishness, and of grace over sin. Following Christ and imitating Mary, we must have the courage of humility; we must entrust ourselves with humility to the Lord because only then can we become docile instruments in his hands, and have the permission to do great things’.”
~ Pope Benedict XVI, Loreto homily and Angelus, Rome, Italy, Sep. 2, 2007 - “The theme that I suggest to you is a verse from Psalm 119 [118]: ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path’ (v. 105). Our dearly loved John Paul II commented on that verse of the psalm as follows: ‘The one who prays pours out his thanks for the Law of God that he adopts as a lamp for his steps in the often dark path of Life’ (General Audience, Wednesday 14 November 2001). God reveals himself in history. He speaks to humankind, and the word he speaks has creative power. The Hebrew concept ‘dabar’, usually translated as ‘word’, really conveys both the meaning of word and act. God says what he does and does what he says. The Old Testament announces to the Children of Israel the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of a ‘new’ covenant; in the Word made flesh He fulfills his promise. This is clearly specified in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: ‘Christ, the Son of God made man, is the Father's one, perfect and unsurpassable Word. In him he has said everything; there will be no other word than this one’ (n. 65). The Holy Spirit who has led the chosen people by inspiring the authors of the Sacred Scriptures, opens the hearts of believers to understand their meaning. This same Spirit is actively present in the Eucharistic celebration when the priest, ‘in persona Christi’, says the words of consecration, changing the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, for the spiritual nourishment of the faithful. In order to progress on our earthly pilgrimage towards the heavenly Kingdom, we all need to be nourished by the word and the bread of eternal Life, and these are inseparable from one another!”
~ Message of the Holy Father Benedict XVI to the Youth of the World on the Occasion of the 21st World Youth Day, 9 April 2006 - “When God said to him: ‘Ask what I should give you’, the wise king replied: ‘Give your servant therefore an understanding heart’ (1 Kings 3:5,9). The secret of acquiring ‘an understanding heart’ is to train your heart to listen. This is obtained by persistently meditating on the word of God and by remaining firmly rooted in it through the commitment to persevere in getting to know it better.”
~ Message of the Holy Father Benedict XVI to the Youth of the World on the Occasion of the 21st World Youth Day, 9 April 2006 - “Be critical! Do not follow the trend produced by this powerfully persuasive media. Do not be afraid, my dear friends, to prefer the ‘alternative’ route indicated by true love: a sober style of life, a life of solidarity; an honest commitment to your studies and work; a cultivated interest in the common good. Do not be afraid to appear different, or the criticism that you are out of fashion or a loser. People your age, even adults, all of those who seem far from the mentality of the Gospel values, have a deep seated need to see someone who dares to live according to the fullness of humanity manifested by Jesus Christ”.
~ Pope Benedict XVI, Loreto homily and Angelus, Rome, Italy, Sep. 2, 2007