21 Sunday Ordinary Time cycle A. Ngay 20,21 / thang 08 / 2005

Các Trưởng và Thiếu Nhi Thân mến,

During the week from Tuesday till today, the World Youth Day is happening in Cologne Germany. This is the 20th World Youth Day in the history of the event. This gathering becomes an important event in the life of the Church. For the Youth has a chance to know, to listen to their leader, in this case the Pope and via versa, the leaders also have a chance to listen and respond to the needs and concerns of the Youth. The ultimate goal of the church is to invite the youth and support their faith journey and encourage them to become more active in the life of the church.
Let us consider something of this event. First of all, there are more than 400,000 youths registered for the event. Estimates say the final figure might exceed 1,000,000 people. There are 193 countries from which the youth are coming to participate in WYD. From New Zealand, there are 96 young people representing us, 29 of them are from the Wellington Archdiocese. There are 60 Cardinals, 750 Bishops, 9805 Priests, 7200 journalists, and 9000 guard and security people. And there are 30, 000 volunteers in uniform to help. The cost of the event estimates about 130 million American dollars. On Tuesday August 16, 2005. Cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop of Cologne, officially presided at the opening of the World Youth Day. In his homily, he welcomed all who had come to Cologne. Here are some of highlights from his homily.

Welcome to the Archdiocese of Cologne! We are delighted that you are all here. We are celebrating the First World Youth Day with two Popes: With Pope John Paul II in heaven above, and with our Pope Benedict XVI here on earth. What an amazing celebration of faith this will be! Three weeks before he died, the Holy Father called me to his room in the Gemelli hospital and asked me, ‘Are they still waiting for me in Cologne?” I replied, “Holy Father, we are faithfully waiting for you.” “We now call up to heaven: “Holy Father John Paul II, We are waiting for you!” and we call to Rome: “Holy Father Benedict XVI, we are waiting for you!” With Peter of yesterday, that is John Paul II, and Peter of today, that is Benedict XVI, in our midst, we are strengthened on our pilgrimage, for the Lord said to Peter, ‘Strengthen your brothers and sisters’ (lk 22:32)

Young people are so much closer to the beginning of their lives than older people. Those who give the young God-seekers any less than God are not giving them enough. Your search for a fulfilled life has taken you on a journey to Cologne, where we will be following in the footsteps of the first God-seekers, the Three Kings. Two years ago, Pope John Paul II took the words written by Matthew the evangelist and made them the motto of WYD in Cologne: ‘we have come to worship Him”. (Mt 2:2)

We all have only one life. We are not granted a probationary period, free of responsibilities, as we are when we gain our driving licenses. We all set out on the road of life with a full set of responsibilities. There is no provisional license for life, love, faith or death. This is a real thing. We all carry full responsibility from the very beginning. I do not really need to tell you this, as you will be instinctively aware of it as creatures made by God.

This is what you have in common with all young people around the world. You are encountering each other this week not as strangers, but as relatives and companions. We are ‘relatives’ because we were all created by the same God, and ‘companions’ because we have joined each other in our search for a fulfilled and worthwhile life, for before him- kneeling down before the child in the manger, like the Wise Men.

God has made himself so small that he fits in with our personal lives and life-stories. However, it would be easy to overlook him if we were to go through life with our noses up in the air. He becomes visible at this low level as he washes the feet of his disciples. God is down below. Worshipping him on bended knee does not make us small; it makes us great, because it takes us ey to eye with God.

My dear brothers and sisters,
The world youth day is the major event in the Church today. Let us pray for all the youth, for all the participants, and for great success of this event. We pray for each one of them, that they may experience the presence of Christ, the love of Christ in their lives. So that they will bring Christ and be a witness for Christ in the world where they are living.
Speaking of the witness of Christ, the gospel we hear today is one of the great ones in proclaiming witness to Christ. We hear the story. Jesus asks: Who do you say that I am? Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” and Jesus answered him: you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it

Let us take a moment to think about this statement of Jesus and about Jesus: Jesus was born as the Jews. He was born in Israel. He chose the Jews as his chosen people. He chose his first disciples as Jews, and Jesus preached the good news to the Jews in the Israelite country. But the fact is he did not build the church in Israel. What we are meant by the church is the main Catholic Church. The main Catholic Church is St. Peter, and it is in Rome, not in Israel. This makes us think why? The answer could it be Jesus keeps his word. Peter you are the rock, on this rock, I will build my church. That church is really built on the tomb of St. Peter. In 1997 I was one of many people who attended the world youth day in Paris. After that, we went to Rome. Where St. Peter’s tomb is found beneath the main altar of the church.
‘You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church. The word of God is proved and fulfilled in our church today.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today, Jesus also asks each of us personally the same question: Who do you say that I am? What is our answer? What is the responsibility that we are willing to take on in professing of our faith in Jesus?

Let us close with a pray: ‘Lord Jesus, I profess and believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are my Lord and my Saviour. Make my faith strong like Peter’s and give me boldness to speak of you to others that they may come to know you personally as Lord and Saviour and grow in the knowledge of your love. Amen.