WIR SIND GEKOMMEN, UM IHN ANZUBETEN (MT 2,2)

Viemos para O adorar, (Mt 2,2).

"My dear young people!

This is the theme of the next World Youth Day. It is a theme that enables young people from every continent to follow in spirit the path taken by the Magi whose relics, according to a pious tradition, are venerated in this very city, and to meet, as they did, the Messiah of all nations.

My dear young people, do not yield to false illusions and passing fads which so frequently leave behind a tragic spiritual vacuum! Reject the seduction of wealth, consumerism and the subtle violence sometimes used by the mass media.

Worshipping the true God is an authentic act of resistance to all forms of idolatry. Worship Christ: He is the Rock on which to build your future and a world of greater justice and solidarity. Jesus is the Prince of peace: the source of forgiveness and reconciliation, who can make brothers and sisters of all the members of the human family.

There are so many of our contemporaries who do not yet know the love of God or who are seeking to fill their hearts with trifling substitutes. It is therefore urgently necessary for us to be witnesses to love contemplated in Christ. The invitation to take part in World Youth Day is also extended to you, dear friends, who are not baptised or who do not identify with the Church.

My dear young people as you move forward in spirit towards Cologne, the pope will accompany you with his prayers. May Mary, "Eucharistic woman" and Mother of Wisdom, support you along the way, enlighten your decisions, and teach you to love what is true, good and beautiful. May she lead you all to her Son, who alone can satisfy the innermost yearnings of the human mind and heart.

Go with my blessing!

Castel Gandolfo, 6 August 2004

John Paul II"

Retirado da mensagem do Santo Padre aos Jovens de todo o Mundo, por ocasião do 20º dia Mundial da Juventude 2005 em Colónia, na Alemanha.

Possa João Paulo II permanecer eterno interpelador dos Jovens, e ilumine o Santo Padre Bento XVI, nessa missão de guiar a Juventude ao Pai.

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