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World Youth Day 2005


The full text of Pope John Paul II's message to the
world's youth in anticipation of World Youth Day in
Cologne, Germany, in 2005. It was released by the
Vatican in August 2004.


"We have come to worship him" (Mt 2:2)

My dear young people!

1. This year we have celebrated the 19th World Youth
Day, meditating on the desire expressed by some Greeks
who had gone to Jerusalem for the Passover: "We wish
to see Jesus" (Jn 12:21). And here we are now, making
our way to Cologne where, in August 2005, the 20th
World Youth Day is to be celebrated.

"We have come to worship him" (Mt 2:2): this is the
theme of the next World Youth Day. It is a theme that
enables young people from every continent to follow in
spirit the path taken by the Magi whose relics,
according to a pious tradition, are venerated in this
very city, and to meet, as they did, the Messiah of
all nations.

It is true to say that the light of Christ had already
opened the minds and the hearts of the Magi. "They
went their way" (Mt 2:9), says the Evangelist, setting
out boldly along unknown paths on a long, and by no
means easy, journey. They did not hesitate to leave
everything behind in order to follow the star that
they had seen in the East (cf Mt 2:2). Imitating the
Magi, you young people are also making preparations to
set out on a "journey" from every region of the world
to go to Cologne. It is important for you not only to
concern yourselves with the practical arrangements for
World Youth Day, but first of all you must carefully
prepare yourselves spiritually, in an atmosphere of
faith and listening to the Word of God.

2. "And the star... went before them, till it came to
rest over the place where the child was" (Mt 2:9). The
Magi reached Bethlehem because they had obediently
allowed themselves to be guided by the star. Indeed,
"When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly
with great joy" (Mt 2:10). It is important, my dear
friends, to learn to observe the signs with which God
is calling us and guiding us. When we are conscious of
being led by Him, our heart experiences authentic and
deep joy as well as a powerful desire to meet Him and
a persevering strength to follow Him obediently.

"And going into the house they saw the child with Mary
his mother" (Mt 2:11). There is nothing extraordinary
about this at first sight. Yet that Child was
different from any other: He is the only Son of God,
yet He emptied Himself of His glory (cf Phil 2:7) and
came to earth to die on the Cross. He came down among
us and became poor in order to reveal to us His divine
glory, which we shall contemplate fully in heaven, our
blessed home.

Who could have invented a greater sign of love? We are
left in awe before the mystery of a God who lowered
himself to take on our human condition, to the point
of giving His life for us on the Cross (cf Phil
2:6-8). In His poverty, - as Saint Paul reminds us -
"though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor,
so that by his poverty you might become rich" (2 Cor
8:9), and came to offer salvation to sinners. How can
we give thanks to God for such magnanimous goodness?

3. The Magi found Jesus at "Bêth-lehem" which means
"house of bread". In the humble stable in Bethlehem on
some straw lay the "grain of wheat" who, by dying,
would bring forth "much fruit" (cf Jn 12:24). When
speaking of Himself and His saving mission in the
course of His public life, Jesus would later use the
image of bread. He would say "I am the bread of life",
"I am the bread which came down from heaven", "the
bread that I shall give for the life of the world is
my flesh". (Jn 6: 35.41.51).

Faithfully pursuing the path of our Redeemer from the
poverty of the Crib to His abandonment on the Cross we
can better understand the mystery of His love which
redeems humanity. The Child, laid by Mary in the
manger, is the Man-God we shall see nailed to the
Cross. The same Redeemer is present in the sacrament
of the Eucharist. In the stable at Bethlehem He
allowed himself to be worshipped under the humble
outward appearances of a newborn baby, by Mary, by
Joseph and by the shepherds; in the consecrated Host
we adore Him sacramentally present in his body, blood,
soul and godhead, and He offers himself to us as the
food of eternal life. The Mass then becomes a truly
loving encounter with the One who gave himself wholly
for us. Do not hesitate, my dear young friends, to
respond to Him when He invites you "to the wedding
feast of the Lamb(cf Rev 19:9). Listen to him, prepare
yourselves properly and draw close to the Sacrament of
the Altar, particularly in this Year of the Eucharist
(October 2004-2005) which I have proclaimed for the
whole Church.

4. "They fell down and worshipped Him" (Mt 2:11).
While the Magi acknowledged and worshipped the baby
that Mary cradled in her arms as the One awaited by
the nations and foretold by prophets, today we can
also worship Him in the Eucharist, and acknowledge Him
as our Creator, our only Lord and Saviour.

"Opening their treasures they offered Him gifts, gold
and frankincense and myrrh" (Mt 2:11). The gifts that
the Magi offered the Messiah symbolised true worship.
With gold, they emphasised His Royal Godhead; with
incense, they acknowledged Him as the priest of the
New Covenant; by offering Him myrrh, they celebrated
the prophet who would shed His own blood to reconcile
humanity with the Father.

My dear young people, you too offer to the Lord the
gold of your lives, namely, your freedom to follow Him
out of love, responding faithfully to His call; let
the incense of your fervent prayer rise up to him, in
praise of His glory; offer Him your myrrh, that is
your affection of total gratitude to Him, true Man,
who loved us to the point of dying as a criminal on
Golgotha.

5. Be worshippers of the only true God, giving Him
pride of place in your lives! Idolatry is an
ever-present temptation. Sadly, there are those who
seek the solution to their problems in religious
practices that are incompatible with the Christian
faith. There is a strong urge to believe in the facile
myths of success and power; it is dangerous to accept
the fleeting ideas of the sacred which present God in
the form of cosmic energy, or in any other manner that
is inconsistent with Catholic teaching.

My dear young people, do not yield to false illusions
and passing fads which so frequently leave behind a
tragic spiritual vacuum! Reject the seduction of
wealth, consumerism and the subtle violence sometimes
used by the mass media.

Worshipping the true God is an authentic act of
resistance to all forms of idolatry. Worship Christ:
He is the Rock on which to build your future and a
world of greater justice and solidarity. Jesus is the
Prince of peace: the source of forgiveness and
reconciliation, who can make brothers and sisters of
all the members of the human family.

6. "And they departed to their own country by another
way" (Mt 2:12). The Gospel tells us that after their
meeting with Christ, the Magi returned home "by
another way". This change of route can symbolise the
conversion to which all those who encounter Jesus are
called, in order to become the true worshippers that
He desires (cf Jn 4: 23-24). This entails imitating
the way He acted by becoming, as the apostle Paul
writes, "a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to
God". The apostle then adds that we must not be
conformed to the mentality of this world, but be
transformed by the renewal of our minds, to "prove
what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable
and perfect" (cf Rm 12: 1-2).

Listening to Christ and worshipping Him leads us to
make courageous choices, to take what are sometimes
heroic decisions. Jesus is demanding, because He
wishes our genuine happiness. He calls some to give up
everything to follow Him in the priestly or
consecrated life. Those who hear this invitation must
not be afraid to say "yes" and to generously set about
following Him as His disciples. But in addition to
vocations to special forms of consecration there is
also the specific vocation of all baptised Christians:
that is also a vocation to that "high standard" of
ordinary Christian living which is expressed in
holiness (cf Novo Millennio Ineunte, 31). When we meet
Christ and accept His Gospel, life changes and we are
driven to communicate our experience to others.

There are so many of our contemporaries who do not yet
know the love of God or who are seeking to fill their
hearts with trifling substitutes. It is therefore
urgently necessary for us to be witnesses to love
contemplated in Christ. The invitation to take part in
World Youth Day is also extended to you, dear friends,
who are not baptised or who do not identify with the
Church. Are you not perhaps yearning for the Absolute
and in search of "something" to give a meaning to your
lives? Turn to Christ and you will not be let down.

7. Dear young people, the Church needs genuine
witnesses for the new evangelisation: men and women
whose lives have been transformed by meeting with
Jesus, men and women who are capable of communicating
this experience to others. The Church needs saints.
All are called to holiness, and holy people alone can
renew humanity. Many have gone before us along this
path of Gospel heroism, and I urge you to turn often
to them to pray for their intercession. By meeting in
Cologne you will learn to become better acquainted
with some of them, such as St Boniface, the apostle of
Germany, the Saints of Cologne, and in particular
Ursula, Albert the Great, Teresa Benedicta of the
Cross (Edith Stein) and Blessed Adolph Kolping. Of
these I would like to specifically mention St Albert
and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross who, with the same
interior attitude as the Magi, were passionate seekers
after the truth. They had no hesitation in placing
their intellectual abilities at the service of the
faith, thereby demonstrating that faith and reason are
linked and seek each other.

My dear young people as you move forward in spirit
towards Cologne, the pope will accompany you with his
prayers. May Mary, "Eucharistic woman" and Mother of
Wisdom, support you along the way, enlighten your
decisions, and teach you to love what is true, good
and beautiful. May she lead you all to her Son, who
alone can satisfy the innermost yearnings of the human
mind and heart.

Go with my blessing!                                                         

by Patrick Yevu

CLEAN-UP EXERCISE---7TH MARCH,2005

CASU, in conjunction with COSRA organised and undertook a clean-up exercise in the parish on the 7th of March,2005.

Activities included washing of the plastic chairs, mobbing of the floor and the removal of cobweb in and around the church building.

Attendance was about 61.

Its Gonna Be Big! Its Gonna be Brutal!! Its Gonna Be Something Else!!!

CASU is doing it again. Please watch out for a Mega Gospel Rockshow in the month of December. Detailed Info will be released soon.