NOTRE-DAME
BASILICA
YOUNG SCHOOL
CHILDREN
MONTREAL, QUEBEC
SEPTEMBER 11, 1984
Dear young
people,
First, let us observe a moment's silence to
thank God from the bottom of our
hearts for the joy of this meeting!
You are happy to be so close to the Pope!
Well, I can assure you that the Pope
is also very happy to be among you!
You know as well as I that when people, young people like you or older people like me, take the time to meet one another and to show
their friendship, simply and
sincerely, to help one another as best they can, that is HAPPINESS on earth! It is this fraternity among all the
inhabitants of the earth that the Lord desires so strongly. You know that Jesus came and that he remains, mysteriously but
truly, among us. He continues to seek
this universal brotherhood with us, he brings us together to make us members of his Body.
Of course, no one individual alone can realize
this plan for friendship in
the world and unity within each country and among all the peoples of the
earth. But everyone has to make his or her contribution: a personal,
irreplacable [sp] contribution. I know you understand me for I can see it in your young faces.
There are almost three thousand of you young
people gathered here in the
house of the Lord and you are all different. Some are quiet, others a little more restless; some of you like music and art, others prefer sports; many of you work with all your heart at school while there are others who have less interest and less courage for
study; some of you have health
problems, while others enjoy good health. Different, yes. But each and every one of you has a place - a unique place
- in the heart of the Lord, a role in the vast plan the Lord has for the world.
If Jesus were to meet you here today... but he is here in one way,
in the person of the Bishop of Rome, me, the successor of the Apostle Peter -he would say to you again: you must, above all,
love one another; that is how you
will be recognized as my disciples, as my true friends! Yes, always love one another more.
I am happy to have seen with my own eyes your
symbolic gestures of friendship and mutual aid and to have heard you sing your
desire to love the other as he is, to love others as they are. I have every
confidence that each one
of you will, here in Canada and throughout the world,
promote friendship in
the way Jesus meant it to be: by giving happiness to others every day... by giving one's life. Through
your personal andd [sp] collective efforts, this is happening and will continue to happen. Jesus is always helping you: in prayer, you are very close to
him. You meet him in the sacraments he gave to his Church: since baptism you are tied to him; you seek his pardon through Confession and you like to receive him and share his life in the joy of Communion; the sacrament
of Confirmation assures you of the gift of
the Holy Spirit who bestows his light and strength on you so that you may grow with the Spirit of Christ in you
and take your active place in his
Church.
I would like to add one
more thing. I know that you all have your place in a family, in a community specially adapted to
you, as well as in Christian
action movements. Your parents and your teachers give you what you need to live, to
grow and to build your future. They understand you, they support you and they give you their
affection. So I would ask you to show more confidence, respect and
consideration for those who take such good care of you. Thus you will be their joy
and thus every day, you will know not
only the joy of being loved but the joy of loving. Is that not a great thing?
That is what I wanted to say to you here.
Dear young people, to help you live like brothers and sisters, like friends, and that with as many people as possible, I bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Conférence
des évêques catholiques du Canada