Text of Pope John Paul II's remarks at Sunday Mass at Cherry Creek
State Park, Denver Colorado, World Youth Day, 1993, August 15,
1993, Solemnity of the Assumption.
Beloved young people and dear friends in Christ,
Today the Church finds herself, with Mary, on the threshold of the
house of Zechariah in Ain-Karim. With new life stirring within her, the
Virgin of Nazareth hastened there, immediately after the Feast of the
Annunciation, to be of help to her cousin Elizabeth. It was Elizabeth who
first recognized the "great things" which God was doing in Mary. Filled
with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth marveled that the mother of her Lord
should come to her. With deep insight into the mystery, she declared:
"Blest is she who believed that the Lord's words to her would be
fulfilled." With her soul full of humble gratitude to God, Mary replied
with a hymn of praise: "God who is mighty has done great things for me and
holy is His name."
On this feast, the Church celebrates the culmination of the "great
things" which God has done in Mary: her glorious assumption into heaven.
And throughout the church the same hymn of thanksgiving, the Magnificat,
rings out as it did for the first time at Ain-Karim: All generations call
you blessed.
Gathered at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, which remind us that
Jerusalem, too, was surrounded by hills and that Mary had gone up into
those hills, we are here to celebrate Mary's "going up" to the heavenly
Jerusalem, to the threshold of the eternal Temple of the Most Holy
Trinity. Here in Denver, at the World Youth Day, the Catholic sons and
daughters of America, together with others "from every tribe and tongue,
people and nation," join all generations since who have cried out: God has
done great things for you, Mary - -and for all of us, members of his
pilgrim people!
With my heart full of praise for the Queen of Heaven, the sign of hope
and source of comfort on our pilgrimage of faith to "the heavenly
Jerusalem," I greet all of you who are present at this solemn liturgy. It
is a pleasure for me to see so many priests, religious and lay faithful
from Denver, from the state of Colorado, from all parts of the United
States, and from so many countries of the world, who have joined the young
people of the World Youth Day to honor the definitive victory of grace in
Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer.
The Eighth World Youth Day is a celebration of life. This gathering has
been the occasion of a serious reflection on the words of Jesus Christ: "I
came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." Young people from
every corner of the world, in ardent prayer you have opened your hearts to
the truth of Christ's promise of new life. Through the Sacraments,
especially Penance and the Eucharist, and by means of the unity and
friendship created among so many, you have had a real and transforming
experience of the new life which only Christ can give.
You, young pilgrims, have also shown that you understand that Christ's
gift of life is not for you alone. You have become more conscious of your
vocation and mission in the Church and in the world. For me, our meeting
has been a deep and moving experience of your faith in Christ, and I make
my own words of Saint Paul: "I have great confidence in you, I have great
pride in you: I am filled with encouragement, I am overflowing with joy."
These are not words of empty praise. I am confident that you have
grasped the scale of the challenge that lies before you, and that you will
have the wisdom and courage to meet that challenge. So much depends on
you.
This marvelous world -- so loved by the Father that he sent his only
Son for its salvation -- is the theater of a never-ending battle being
waged for our dignity and identity as free, spiritual beings. This
struggle parallels the apocalyptic combat described in the First Reading
of this Mass.
Death battles against Life: a "culture of death" seeks to impose itself
on our desire to live, and live to the full. There are those who reject
the light of life, preferring "the fruitless works of darkness." Their
harvest is injustice, discrimination, exploitation, deceit, violence. In
every age, a measure of their apparent success is the death of the
innocents. In our own century, as at no other time in history, the
"culture of death" has assumed a social and institutional form of legality
to justify the most horrible crimes against humanity: genocide, "final
solutions," "ethnic cleansings," and the massive "taking of lives of human
beings even before they are born, or before they reach the natural point
of death."
Today's Reading from the Book of Revelation presents the Woman
surrounded by hostile forces. The absolute nature of their attack is
symbolized in the object of their evil intention: the Child, the symbol of
new life. The "dragon" the "ruler of this world" and the "father of lies"
relentlessly tries to eradicate from human hearts the sense of gratitude
and respect for the original, extraordinary and fundamental gift of God:
human life itself. Today that struggle has become increasingly direct.
Dear friends, this gathering in Denver on the theme of life should lead
us to a deeper awareness of the internal contradiction present in a part
of the culture of the modern "metropolis."
When the founding fathers of this great nation enshrined certain
inalienable rights in the Constitution -- and something similar exists in
many countries and in many international declarations -- they did so
because they recognized the existence of a "law" -- a series of rights and
duties -- engraved by the Creator on each person's heart and conscience.
In much of contemporary thinking, any reference to a "law" guaranteed
by the Creator is absent. There remains only each individual's choice of
this or that objective as convenient or useful in a given set of
circumstances. No longer is anything considered intrinsically "good" and
"universally binding." Rights are affirmed but, because they are without
any reference to an objective truth, they are deprived of any solid basis.
Vast sectors of society are confused about what is right and what is
wrong, and are at the mercy of those with the power to "create" opinion
and impose it on others.
The family especially is under attack. And the sacred character of
human life is denied. Naturally, the weakest members of society are the
most at risk: the unborn, children, the sick, the handicapped, the old,
the poor and unemployed, the immigrant and refugee, the south of the
world.
Young pilgrims, Christ needs you to enlighten the world and to show it
the "path to life." The challenge is to make the Church's "yes" to life
concrete and effective. The struggle will be long, and it needs each one
of you. Place your intelligence, your talents, your enthusiasm, your
compassion and your fortitude at the service of life!
Have no fear. The outcome of the battle for life is already decided,
even though the struggle goes on against great odds and with much
suffering. This certainty is what the Second Reading declares: "Christ is
now raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep
.. so in Christ all will come to life again."
The paradox of the Christian message is this: Christ -- the Head -- has
already conquered sin and death. Christ in his Body -- the pilgrim People
of God -- continually suffers the onslaught of the Evil One and all the
evil which sinful humanity is capable of. At this stage of history,
the liberating message of the Gospel of Life has been put into your hands.
And the mission of proclaiming it to the ends of the earth is now passing
to your generation. Like the great Apostle Paul, you too must feel the
full urgency of the task: "Woe to me if I do not evangelize."
Woe to you if you do not succeed in defending life. The Church needs
your energies, your enthusiasm, your youthful ideals, in order to make the
Gospel of Life penetrate the fabric of society, transforming people's
hearts and the structures of society in order to create a civilization of
true justice and love. Now more than ever, in a world that is often
without light and without the courage of noble ideals, people need the
fresh, vital spirituality of the Gospel.
Do not be afraid to go out on the streets and into public places, like
the first Apostles who preached Christ and the Good News of salvation in
the squares of cities, towns and villages. This is no time to be ashamed
of the Gospel. It is the time to preach it from the rooftops.
Do not be afraid to break out of comfortable and routine modes of
living, in order to take up the challenge of making Christ known in the
modern "metropolis." It is you who must "go out into the byroads" and
invite everyone you meet to the banquet which God has prepared for his
people. The Gospel must not be kept hidden because of fear or
indifference. It was never meant to be hidden away in private. It has to
be put on a stand so that people may see its light and give praise to our
heavenly Father.
Jesus went in search of the men and women of his time. He engaged them
in an open and truthful dialogue, whatever their condition. As the Good
Samaritan of the human family, he came close to people to heal them of
their sins and of the wounds which life inflicts, and to bring them back
to the Father's house.
Young people of World Youth Day, the Church asks you to go, in the
power of the Holy Spirit, to those who are near and those who are far
away. Share with them the freedom you have found in Christ. People thirst
for genuine inner freedom. They yearn for the life which Christ came to
give in abundance. The world at the approach of a new millennium, for
which the whole Church is preparing, is like a field ready for the
harvest. Christ needs laborers ready to work in his vineyard. May you, the
Catholic young people of the world, not fail him. In your hands, carry the
Cross of Christ. On your lips, the words of Life. In your hearts, the
saving grace of the Lord.
At her Assumption, Mary was "taken up to Life" body and soul. She is
already a part of "the first fruits" of our Savior's redemptive death and
resurrection. The Son took his human life from her; in return he gave her
the fullness of communion in Divine Life. She is the only other being in
whom the mystery has already been completely accomplished.
In Mary the final victory of Life over death is already a reality. And,
as the Second Vatican Council teaches: "In the most holy Virgin the Church
has already reached the perfection whereby she exists without spot of
wrinkle." In and through the Church we too have hope of "an inheritance
which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for us."
You are blessed, O Mary! Mother of the Eternal Son born of your virgin
womb, you are full of grace. You have received the abundance of Life as no
one else among the descendants of Adam and Eve. As the most faithful
"hearer of the Word," you not only treasured and pondered this mystery in
your heart, but you observed it in your body and nourished it by the
self-giving love with which you surrounded Jesus throughout his earthly
life. As Mother of the Church, you guide us still from your place in
heaven and intercede for us. You lead us to Christ, "the Way, and the
Truth, and the Life," and help us to increase in holiness by conquering
sin.
The Liturgy presents you, Mary, as the Woman clothed with the sun. But
you are even more splendidly clothed with that Divine Light which can
become the Life of all those created in the image and likeness of God
himself: "This life was the light of the human race; the light shines in
the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
O woman clothed with the sun, the youth of the world greet you with so
much love; they come to you with all the courage of their young hearts.
Denver has helped them to become more conscious of the Life which your
Divine Son has brought.
We are all witnesses of this.
These young people now know that Life is more powerful than the forces
of death; they know that the Truth is more powerful than darkness; that
Love is stronger than death.
Your spirit rejoices, O Mary,
and our spirit rejoices with you
because the Mighty One has done great things for you and for us,
-- for all these young people gathered here in Denver -- and
holy is His name!
His mercy is from age to age.
We rejoice, Mary,
We rejoice with you, Virgin assumed into heaven.
The Lord has done great things for you!
The Lord has done great things for us. Alleluia. Amen.
Text of Pope John Paul II's address at Stapleton International
Airport farewell ceremony, August 15, 1993
Dear Mr. Vice President,
Dear Friends,
Dear people of America,
As I take my leave of the United States, I express my gratitude to you,
Mr. vice president who are here to say goodbye, and to President Clinton
who kindly welcomed me on my arrival, for the courtesy I have received at
every stage of this visit.
I wish to thank all those who in any way have cooperated in ensuring
the success of this Eighth World Youth Day, which has brought young
pilgrims from almost every country in the world to the beautiful city of
Denver, to reflect on the words of Jesus Christ: "I came that they might
have life, and have it abundantly."
I too came as a pilgrim, a pilgrim of hope. I have always known that
for the church and for civil society young people constitute the hope of
our future. But over the years of my ministry, especially through the
celebration of events such as this one, that hope has been confirmed and
strengthened again and again. It has been the young people themselves who
have taught me to have ever new and ever greater confidence.
For believers, commitment to the spiritual and moral renewal which
society needs is a gift of the spirit of the Lord who fills the whole
earth, for it is the Spirit who offers man the light and the strength to
measure up to his supreme destiny. This has been particularly evident in
the prayer-filled attitude of the young people gathered here. As a result,
they go away more committed to the victory of the culture of life over the
culture of death. The culture of life means respect for nature and
protection of God's work of creation. In a special way it means respect
for human life from the first moment of conception until its natural end.
A culture of life means service to the underprivileged, the poor and
the oppressed, because justice and freedom are inseparable and exist only
if they exist for everyone. The culture of life means thanking God every
day for his gift of life, for our worth and dignity as human beings, and
for the friendship and fellowship he offers us as we make our pilgrim way
towards our eternal destiny.
Mr. Vice President, I leave the United States with gratitude to God in
my heart. Gratitude for what has happened here in the World Youth Day.
Gratitude to the American people for being open and generous, and for the
many ways in which they continue to assist needy people around the world.
I pray that America will continue to believe in its own noble ideals, and
I express the hope that the United States will be a wise and helpful
partner in the multilateral efforts being made to resolve some of the more
difficult questions facing the international community.
My gratitude becomes an ardent prayer for the people of this great
country, for the fulfillment of America's destiny as one nation under God,
with liberty and justice for all.
America, rise to your responsibilities, with a concourse of all the
energies of your enterprising people. Be faithful to your mission.
America, be faithful to your own true self!
America, land of the free! Use your freedom well! Use it to cherish and
support, with all your strengths and capacity, the dignity of every one
person!
America, defend life so that you may live in peace and harmony.
God bless America!
God bless you all!
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