Sep 24, 2011 / 23:48 pm
Pope Benedict XVI has challenged young people to “dare to be glowing saints, in whose eyes and hearts the love of Christ beams and who thus bring light to the world.”
Addressing tens of thousands of young pilgrims gathered for a candlelight prayer vigil in the German city of Freiburg, the Pope explained that saints are those who never give up in the spiritual life despite setbacks.
“Christ is not so much interested in how often in your lives you stumble and fall, as in how often you pick yourselves up again,” he said.
The prayer vigil was the Pope’s final appointment of a busy day-three of his state visit to Germany. Drawing upon the theme of Christ as “the light the world,” the evening consisted of a series of prayers offered by young people carrying bowls of fire. The fire was then taken out into the crowd in imitation of the liturgy of the Easter Vigil. The service, held outside Freiburg’s exhibition centre, was also interspersed with Christian music and dance.