The St. Michael Center for Blessed Virgin Mary - Sept. 2000 Volume 2, Number 1

  YOUTH

page [1][2][3][4][5]

POPE JOHN PAUL II SPEAKS TO THE YOUTH!

VATICAN CITY, APR 14, 2000 (Vatican Information Service)

The Pope this morning welcomed to the Vatican 200 young people from Rouen, France who are in Rome on a Jubilee pilgrimage, telling them that this is a special "time of retreat, reflection and prayer."

In Rome, "as you receive the witness of the first Christian communities," observed the Holy Father, "you in turn are called to be witnesses and to fully take your place in the heart of the people of God. The Church is counting on you; she needs your youth, your generosity and your dynamism, so as to further become the people whom God loves and who raise a new hope for the world."

"May you be the witnesses that this new century so needs!" exclaimed John Paul II. "Certainly, you will need courage and audacity to sometimes go counter-current to the seductive propositions of today’s world, and to behave in conformity to the Gospel demands of true love. But you will discover that life with Christ, the search for Truth, practicing basic human and moral values, respect for yourself and others, are the paths of authentic freedom and true happiness."

In concluding words, the Pope told the young people that "Christ calls you to place your hope in Him and to follow Him on the path to marriage, priesthood or the consecrated life. In the silence of your hearts, don’t be afraid to listen as the Lord speaks to you!"

VATICAN CITY, APR 2, 2000 (ZENIT.org)

Yesterday afternoon the traditional meeting of the Pope with students from the various Roman Universities took place in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. Thanks to satellite connections, thousands of youths around the world were able to follow the event, which served, at the same time, as preparation for the

World Youth Day, to be held in August in Rome, and the Jubilee of University Students, to be held in September.

The meeting began with a procession of students from the nearby LUMSA University of Rome down Via Della Conciliazione. They sang, and carried candles and the pilgrim cross of the World Youth Days, which they placed in front of the Vatican Basilica. From their dress, it was evident that the students came from a variety of places. There were several girls from East Timor, who danced and sang the typical songs of their Island. "Here in Rome we feel very united to our people," they said to ZENIT. "We wanted to pray for peace, reconciliation, and forgiveness for Timor," a country convalescing from horrendous massacres.

While waiting for the Pope’s arrival, the youth listened to meditations from various parts of the world, though time did not permit all the scheduled meditations to take place. There was a direct video feed from Fatima, Portugal, and audio from Washington, D.C.; Our Lady of Aparecida, Brazil; Czestochowa, Poland; and Manila, Philippines. Various songs and dances were interspersed between the meditations. The Interuniversity Choir of Rome performed several original pieces and led the singing of the Jubilee Hymn to greet the Holy Father.

When the white-clad figure arrived in his black Mercedes, which drove up the ramp in front of the Basilica to the stage, the students all rose spontaneously. The students prayed the Rosary with the Pope in Latin. Each decade was directed by the youth in a different country, with the Litany of Loreto at the end sung by Polish youth in Czestochowa.

At the end of the Rosary, the Holy Father thanked them all for coming and asked them to "be witnesses to faith in Christ in the realm of study and in life," in order to "defend and promote respect for the dignity of each human being. " He insisted to all the groups that hoped for their participation in World Youth Day and the University Jubilee.

"ON THE ROSARY"

- from Our Lady’s Rosary Makers' newsletter

Over a hundred years ago, a University student found himself in a train by the side of a person who seemed to be a well-to-do peasant. He was praying the Rosary and moving the beads with his fingers. "Sir, do you still believe in such outdated things?" asked the student of the old man. "Yes, I do. Do you not?" asked the man. The student burst out into laughter and said, "I do not believe in such silly things. Take my advice, throw the Rosary out through this window, and learn what science has to say about it." "Science? I do not understand this science. Perhaps you can explain it to me," the man said humbly with some tears in his eyes. The student saw the man was deeply moved. So, to avoid further hurting the feelings of the man, he said: "Please give me your address and I will send you some literature to help you on the matter." The man fumbled in the inside pocket of his coat and gave the boy his visiting card. On glancing at the card, the student bowed his head in shame and became silent.

On the card read:

LOUIS PASTEUR, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, PARIS.

back to top

God's Infinite Mercy

A missionary on one of the islands was sitting in his cool seaside hut one day when one of the village women came in, carrying a handful of dripping sand she had just picked up off the beach.

"Do you know what this is?" she asked. "It looks like sand," said the missionary. "Do you know why I brought it here?" she asked. "No. I can’t imagine why," the padre answered.

"Well, these are my sins," the women explained. "My sins are as countless as the sands of the sea. How can I ever obtain forgiveness for all of them?"

"You got that sand down by the shore, didn’t you?" said the missionary. "Well, take it back there, and pile it up into a heaping mound of sand at the water’s edge. Then you sit back and watch the tide come in and slowly wash away the pile altogether. That is how God’s forgiveness works."

In Isaiah 1:18 God says to the people: "Now, let’s settle this matter. You are stained red with sin, but I will wash you as clean as snow. Although your stains are deep red, you will be as white as wool."