Il-Knisja tiddedika Ħadd il-Palm biex tiċċelebra ż-żgħażagħ (l-ispirtu żgħażugħ). It-tema li għażel il-Papa għal din is-sena hi “nixtiequ naraw lil Ġesù” (Ġw 21:21), fejn jitkellem dwar it-tfitxija sinċiera għal dak li jagħmel sens fil-ħajja. Inħeġġiġkom ħafna sabiex taqrawha kollha. Din hija sinteżi ta’ dan il-messaġġ.

 

Mill-Messaġġ tal-Papa liż-żgħażagħ
għall-okkażjoni tal-Jum Dinji taż-Żgħażagħ 2004

“We wish to see Jesus” (Jn 21:21)

This is a request made to the Apostles one day by some “Greeks”. They wanted to know who Jesus was. My dear young people, I want you to imitate those “Greeks” who spoke to Philip, moved by a desire to “see Jesus”.

May your search be stimulated above all by an inner urge to find the answer to the question about the meaning of your life. Those who approach Jesus with a heart free of prejudice can quite easily come to have faith because Jesus himself has already seen them and loved them first.

My Dear young people, don’t you wish to contemplate the beauty of that Face? Don’t be too hasty in your reply. First of all, create a silence within yourselves. Allow this ardent desire to see God emerge from the depth of your hearts, a desire that is sometimes stifled by the distractions of the world and by the allurements of pleasures.

Only an encounter with Jesus can give full meaning to your lives. But do not let yourselves be distracted from this search. Persevere in it because it is your fulfilment and your joy that is at stake. The Eucharist received with love and adored with fervour becomes a school of freedom and charity in order to fulfil the commandment of love. It frees us from self-attachment in order to open ourselves to others. For love is not merely a feeling; it is an act of will that consists of preferring, in a constant manner, the good of others to the good of oneself.

Jesus teaches us to find him in others, first of all in the disfigured face of poor. The world is in urgent need of a great prophetic sign of fraternal charity

Do not forget to seek Christ and to recognise his presence in the Church, which is like the continuation of his saving action in time and space.

Do not be surprised, then when you meet the Cross on your way; but love is stronger than death. “My dear people, … I entrust to you the Cross of Christ!”. Your contemporaries expect you to be witnesses of the One whom you have met and who gives you life. Feel responsible for the evangelisation of your friends and all your contemporaries.

The compassionate and patient Mother will mould within you a contemplative heart, and teach you to fix your gaze on Jesus so that, in this world that passes away, you shall be prophets of a world that does not die.