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本帖最后由 黑客酋长 于 2016-8-10 10:21 编辑
<BR>>"Your word is a lamp to my feet<BR>>and a light to my path" (Ps 119 [118]:105)<BR>>My dear young friends!<BR>>It is with great joy that I greet you as you prepare for the 21st World<BR>>Youth Day, and I relive the memory of those enriching experiences we had in<BR>>August last year in Germany. World Youth Day this year will be celebrated<BR>>in the local Churches, and it will be a good opportunity to rekindle the<BR>>flame of enthusiasm that was awakened in Cologne and which many of you have<BR>>brought to your families, parishes, associations and movements. At the same<BR>>time, it will be a wonderful chance to invite many of your friends to join<BR>>the young generation’s spiritual pilgrimage towards Christ.<BR>>The theme that I suggest to you is a verse from Psalm 119 [118]: "Your word<BR>>is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (v. 105). Our dearly loved<BR>>John Paul II commented on that verse of the psalm as follows: "The one who<BR>>prays pours out his thanks for the Law of God that he adopts as a lamp for<BR>>his steps in the often dark path of Life" (General Audience, Wednesday 14<BR>>November 2001). God reveals himself in history. He speaks to humankind, and<BR>>the word he speaks has creative power. The Hebrew concept "dabar", usually<BR>>translated as "word", really conveys both the meaning of word and act. God<BR>>says what he does and does what he says. The Old Testament announces to the<BR>>Children of Israel the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of a<BR>>"new" covenant; in the Word made flesh He fulfils his promise. This is<BR>>clearly<BR>>specified in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "Christ, the Son of God<BR>>made man, is the Father's one, perfect and unsurpassable Word. In him he<BR>>has said everything; there will be no other word than this one" (n. 65).<BR>>The Holy Spirit who has led the chosen people by inspiring the authors of<BR>>the Sacred Scriptures, opens the hearts of believers to understand their<BR>>meaning. This same Spirit is actively present in the Eucharistic<BR>>celebration when the priest, "in persona Christi", says the words of<BR>>consecration, changing the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of<BR>>Christ, for the spiritual nourishment of the faithful. In order to progress<BR>>on our earthly pilgrimage towards the heavenly Kingdom, we all need to be<BR>>nourished by the word and the bread of eternal Life, and these are<BR>>inseparable from one another!<BR>>The Apostles received the word of salvation and passed it on to their<BR>>successors as a precious gem kept safely in the jewel box of the Church:<BR>>without the Church, this pearl runs the risk of being lost or destroyed. My<BR>>dear young friends, love the word of God and love the Church, and this will<BR>>give you access to a treasure of very great value and will teach you how to<BR>>appreciate its richness. Love and follow the Church, for it has received<BR>>from its Founder the mission of showing people the way to true happiness.<BR>>It is not easy to recognise and find authentic happiness in this world in<BR>>which we live, where people are often held captive by the current ways of<BR>>thinking. They may think they are "free", but they are being led astray and<BR>>become lost amid the errors or illusions of aberrant ideologies. "Freedom<BR>>itself needs to be set free" (cf the<BR>>encyclical Veritatis Splendor, 86), and the darkness in which humankind is<BR>>groping needs to be illuminated. Jesus taught us how this can be done: "If<BR>>you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the<BR>>truth, and the truth will make you free" (Jn 8:31-32). The incarnate Word,<BR>>Word of Truth, makes us free and directs our freedom towards the good. My<BR>>dear young friends, meditate often on the word of God, and allow the Holy<BR>>Spirit to be your teacher. You will then discover that God’s way of<BR>>thinking is not the same as that of humankind’s. You will find yourselves<BR>>led to contemplate the real God and to read the events of history through<BR>>his eyes. You will savour in fullness the joy that is born of truth. On<BR>>life’s journey, which is<BR>>neither easy nor free of deceptions, you will meet difficulties and<BR>>suffering and at times you will be tempted to exclaim with the psalmist: "I<BR>>am severely afflicted" (Ps 119 [118]. v. 107). Do not forget to add as the<BR>>psalmist did: "give me life, O Lord, according to your word... I hold my<BR>>life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law" (ibid. vv. 107;<BR>>109). The loving presence of God, through his word, is the lamp that<BR>>dispels the darkness of fear and lights up the path even when times are<BR>>most difficult.<BR>>The author of the Letter to the Hebrews wrote: "Indeed, the word of God is<BR>>living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it<BR>>divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the<BR>>thoughts and intentions of the heart" (4:12). It is necessary to take<BR>>seriously the injunction to consider the word of God to be an indispensable<BR>>"weapon" in the spiritual struggle. This will be effective and show results<BR>>if we learn to listen to it and then to obey it. The Catechism of the<BR>>Catholic Church explains: "To obey (from the Latin ob-audire, to ‘hear or<BR>>listen to’) in faith is to submit freely to the word that has been heard,<BR>>because its truth is guaranteed by God, who<BR>>is Truth itself" (n. 144). While Abraham exemplifies this way of listening<BR>>which is obedience, Solomon in his turn shows himself to be a passionate<BR>>explorer of the wisdom contained in the Word. When God said to him: "Ask<BR>>what I should give you", the wise king replied: "Give your servant<BR>>therefore an understanding heart" (1 Kings 3:5,9). The secret of acquiring<BR>>"an understanding heart" is to train your heart to listen. This is obtained<BR>>by persistently meditating on the word of God and by remaining firmly<BR>>rooted in it through the commitment to persevere in getting to know it<BR>>better.<BR>>My dear young friends, I urge you to become familiar with the Bible, and to<BR>>have it at hand so that it can be your compass pointing out the road to<BR>>follow. By reading it, you will learn to know Christ. Note what Saint<BR>>Jerome said in this regard: "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of<BR>>Christ" (PL 24,17; cf Dei Verbum, 25). A time-honoured way to study and<BR>>savour the word of God is lectio divina which constitutes a real and<BR>>veritable spiritual journey marked out in stages. After the lectio, which<BR>>consists of reading and rereading a passage from Sacred Scripture and<BR>>taking in the main elements, we proceed to<BR>>meditatio. This is a moment of interior reflection in which the soul turns<BR>>to God and tries to understand what his word is saying to us today. Then<BR>>comes oratio in which we linger to talk with God directly. Finally we come<BR>>to contemplatio. This helps us to keep our hearts attentive to the presence<BR>>of Christ whose word is "a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day<BR>>dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 Pet 1:19). Reading,<BR>>study and meditation of the Word should then flow into a life of consistent<BR>>fidelity to Christ and his teachings.<BR>>Saint James tells us: "Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who<BR>>deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they<BR>>are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at<BR>>themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But<BR>>those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere,<BR>>being not hearers who forget but doers who act - they will be blessed in<BR>>their doing" (1:22-25). Those who listen to the word of God and refer to it<BR>>always, are constructing their existence on solid foundations. "Everyone<BR>>then who hears these words of mine and acts on them", Jesus said, "will be<BR>>like a wise man who built his house on rock" (Mt 7:24). It will not<BR>>collapse when bad weather comes.<BR>>To build your life on Christ, to accept the word with joy and put its<BR>>teachings into practice: this, young people of the third millennium, should<BR>>be your programme! There is an urgent need for the emergence of a new<BR>>generation of apostles anchored firmly in the word of Christ, capable of<BR>>responding to the challenges of our times and prepared to spread the Gospel<BR>>far and wide. It is this that the Lord asks of you, it is to this that the<BR>>Church invites you, and it is this that the world - even though it may not<BR>>be aware of it - expects of you! If Jesus calls you, do not be afraid to<BR>>respond to him with generosity, especially when he asks you to follow him<BR>>in the consecrated life or in the priesthood. Do not be afraid; trust in<BR>>him and you will not be disappointed.<BR>>Dear friends, at the 21st World Youth Day that we will celebrate on 9 April<BR>>next, Palm Sunday, we will set out, in our hearts, on a pilgrimage towards<BR>>the world encounter with young people that will take place in Sydney in<BR>>July 2008. We will prepare for that great appointment reflecting together<BR>>on the theme The Holy Spirit and the mission in successive stages. This<BR>>year our attention will focus on the Holy Spirit, Spirit of Truth, who<BR>>reveals Christ to us, the Word made flesh, opening the heart of each one to<BR>>the Word of salvation that leads to the fullness of Truth. Next year, 2007,<BR>>we will meditate on a verse from the Gospel of John: "Just as I have loved<BR>>you, you also should love one another" (13:34). We will discover more about<BR>>the Holy Spirit, Spirit of Love, who infuses divine charity within us and<BR>>makes us aware of the material and spiritual needs of our brothers and<BR>>sisters. We will finally reach the world meeting of 2008 and its theme will<BR>>be: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you<BR>>will be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8).<BR>>From this moment onwards, my dear young friends, in a climate of constant<BR>>listening to the word of God, call on the Holy Spirit, Spirit of fortitude<BR>>and witness, that you may be able to proclaim the Gospel without fear even<BR>>to the ends of the earth. Our Lady was present in the cenacle with the<BR>>Apostles as they waited for Pentecost. May she be your mother and guide.<BR>>May she teach you to receive the word of God, to treasure it and to ponder<BR>>on it in your heart (cf Lk 2:19) as she did throughout her life. May she<BR>>encourage you to declare your "yes" to the Lord as you live "the obedience<BR>>of faith". May she help you to remain strong in the faith, constant in<BR>>hope, persevering in charity, always attentive to the word of God. I am<BR>>together with you in prayer, and I bless each one of you with all my heart.<BR>
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发表于 2006-4-15 15:23
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