Prague, Czech Republic, Sep 28, 2009 / 15:06 pm
A sea of young people listened to Pope Benedict on Monday morning as he challenged them to meet Jesus, place their hope in Him and respond to the vocation that He places on their hearts. In turn, young Catholics must become messengers of hope to the world, the Holy Father said.
After the Holy Father celebrated Mass for the Solemnity of St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of the Czech Republic, he spoke to the 10,000 young people as they sat near their tents.
"Being with you makes the Pope feel young!" the Pope said, thanking them for their enthusiasm and "generosity."
He then touched on the aspiration for happiness that youths feel so acutely. "In every young person there is an aspiration towards happiness, sometimes tinged with anxiety: an aspiration that is often exploited, however, by present-day consumerist society in false and alienating ways. Instead, that longing for happiness must be taken seriously, it demands a true and comprehensive response. At your age, the first major choices are made, choices that can set your lives on a particular course, for better or worse."
To point the young pilgrims in the right direction, Pope Benedict recalled the experience of St. Augustine, who said that “the heart of every person is restless until it finds what it truly seeks. He discovered that Jesus Christ alone is the answer that can satisfy his and every person's desire for a life of happiness, filled with meaning and value.