Cardinal O'Malley Encourages Youth To Bring Friends To Jesus

19-August-2011 -- Catholic News Agency

MADRID, SPAIN, August 18 (CNA/EWTN News) - Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston has encouraged young people faithfully attend Sunday Mass and to bring their friends to Jesus Christ.

"We live in a culture that is addicted to entertainment but we don't come to Mass to be entertained," he told World Youth Day pilgrims at a morning catechesis session in central Madrid August 17.

"Our presence there, gathered as a family, is of crucial importance. It is at the Sunday Eucharist that we learn our identity as Christ's family, where we witness to each other that we are believers and that we want to live as Jesus' disciples."

Cardinal O'Malley was addressing over 1,000 young English-speaking pilgrims who were crammed into the church of San Antonio. With pews at a premium, most of the young people had to make do with the marble floor.

Throughout his catechesis, the Archbishop of Boston likened the Church to a family - with the Eucharist at its heart.

"The Eucharist is Christ's saving presence in our community. It's our spiritual food. It's the most precious possession which the Church has in her journey through history. It is God's love taken to the extreme," he said.

Cardinal O'Malley also emphasized how Sunday Mass is the "family meal" for Catholics which we should make sure to attend.

"The shortest book in the world is the Irish cookbook," he joked, but his mother always insisted on family meals when he was growing up.

This morning's catechesis session was only one of 220 being offered in 27 languages all over Madrid during a three-day stretch. The sessions are allowing young Catholics to be personally taught by some of the most senior bishops in the Church.

And it is through the Catholic Church, said Cardinal O'Malley, that young people "have the same opportunity to be with Jesus as they did 2,000 years ago."

"Jesus established his Church and gave us the sacraments so that he will be able to touch our lives and not just the lives of those living 2,000 years ago in the Holy Land - so that he could be present everywhere in the world and for all times," he said.

Cardinal O'Malley concluded by suggesting to the pilgrims that "there's nothing more tragic than going through life without knowing how much we are loved by our family, our friends, by our God." In order to prevent that from happening, he urged each of the youth to help bring their friends to Jesus Christ.

The example he gave was of the paralytic man in the Gospel of Matthew who was lowered through the roof by his friends in order to receive healing from Jesus.

"Isn't that fantastic? Wouldn't you like to have friends like that? Tell me?" the cardinal asked the young people, who responded with cheers and applause. "Well you have to be friends like that first!" he replied.

"Cardinal O'Malley's words really made me proud to be a young Catholic and a member of the Catholic Church despite the persecutions you go through," said 17-year-old Matthew McConnell form Kingston-upon-Thames, England to CNA afterward.

His friend, 16-year-old Caitriona Lowry also from Kingston-upon-Thames, nodded in agreement. "I thought it really interesting the way he related it all to family. It made it seem like the Church is a big community we're all part of."

Cardinal George Issues 'Challenge Of Mission' To Young People

18-August-2011 -- Catholic News Agency

MADRID, SPAIN, August 18 (CNA) - Cardinal Francis George of Chicago has challenged World Youth Day pilgrims to respond to the initiative that God has already taken in their life.

"I want to tell young people that faith is a response to God's initiative and that his initiative in creation and in history culminates in Jesus Christ who give us a name that enables us to enter into friendship with God," Cardinal George told CNA during a morning catechesis session for English-speaking pilgrims on Aug. 17.

"And I want to tell them they should figure out their response in their own life - a response to evil, a response to the challenge of mission," he added.

Cardinal George addressed over 1,000 youngsters at the Church of St. Teresa and St. Joseph in central Madrid's Plaza de Espana. With all the pews taken, pilgrims found whatever space they could on the church floor, balcony or even the street outside.

"I thought Cardinal George did a really great job. He was very inspiring," said 24-year-old Carlie Collins from Melbourne, Australia, "talking about the use of a name in someone's life and how important that is and the connection you get from it just because of their name was really interesting."

"I think Cardinal George was very impressive," said Fr. Jim Doyle, a young priest from County Wexford in Ireland.

"I liked the whole thing about the person and that God calls each of us individually and as a person -- so we're not like anybody else and Jesus works within each person individually and has a special calling for everyone."

Cardinal George's also took questions from several young people before leading the congregation in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and then Mass.

At the same time, similar catechesis sessions were being hosted by bishops in churches all across Madrid.

"World Youth Day is always a wonderful experience," concluded Cardinal George.

"It's something I've tried to be part of ever since I've been a bishop. It's always very rewarding to see the young people come together and reinforce each other's faiths from very many parts of the world."

Pope: Fruits of WYD Will Grow in Silence

18-August-2011 -- ZENIT.org News Agency

Says Statistics Might Miss It, But Youth Meeting Is Important for Humanity's Future

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE, AUG. 18, 2011 (Zenit.org).- There will not be a great transformation in the Church starting tomorrow, admits Benedict XVI. Though there are a half million young Catholics gathered in Madrid to celebrate World Youth Day with the Pope, the "seeds" of this experience are like the seeds of the Gospel -- part is lost.

But, the Holy Father said during a press conference on the papal plane in flight to Madrid, for many people, World Youth Day will be the "beginning of a friendship with God and with others." It will open them to a "universality of thought" and make them aware of a "common responsibility." So these days do give much fruit: "God's sowing is always silent; it does not appear in the statistics. ... And we trust in this silent growth, and we are certain that, although the statistics do not say much about it, the Lord's seed really grows."

The Bishop of Rome answered questions ranging from how truth relates to multiculturalism, to how to give hope to young people overshadowed by a worldwide economic crisis. He was quick to affirm that World Youth Day was a divine inspiration given to his predecessor, Blessed John Paul II.

"I would say that these WYDs are a sign, a cascade of light -- they give visibility to the faith, visibility to the presence of God in the world, and thus give the courage to be believers," he said. "Often, believers feel isolated in this world, somewhat lost. Here they see that they are not alone, that there is a great network of faith, a great community of believers in the world."

The Pope noted how World Youth Day fosters friendships that cross the borders of cultures and countries. "The birth of a universal network of friendship that unites the world with God is an important reality for the future of humanity," he affirmed, "for the life of humanity today."

He recommended seeing WYD as a sign and part of a great journey. "It creates friendships, opens borders, makes visible that it is beautiful to be with God, that God is with us," he said. And, "in this connection, we wish to continue with this great idea of Blessed Pope John Paul II."

Truth and freedom

Benedict XVI reiterated one of his hallmark teachings when he was asked about the relationship between truth and multiculturalism.

The Pope noted that one of the great debates linked to Christianity today regards monotheism and an incapacity for dialogue with others.

"It is true that in history there have been abuses, both of the concept of truth as well as the concept of monotheism," he said. "There have been abuses, but the reality is totally different, as truth is only accessible in liberty."

He explained that a behavior can be imposed with violence, but truth cannot. "Truth opens only to free consent and, for this reason, liberty and truth are united intimately, one is condition of the other."

Separating truth from ethics and from man's great problems, the Pontiff warned, leads to "exposing man to the will of those who have power."

"We must always be in search of truth, of values," he affirmed. "We have fundamental human rights. These fundamental rights are known and recognized and, in fact, this puts us in dialogue with one another. Truth as such is open-minded, as it seeks to know better, to understand better, and it does so in dialogue with others. Thus, to seek truth and man's dignity is the best defense of liberty."