'Renew today's society'

Eight months have passed since Pope Benedict XVI started his pontificate on April 19, when, from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica he declared himself "a humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord".

There's no doubt at all that the Holy Father is conscientiously aware that the Lord has entrusted him to "govern the Church". And the Holy Father is doing this not only wisely and with all his dedication, but also very visibly.

When Pope Benedict XVI met hundreds of thousands of young people at the World Youth Day Mass in Cologne on August 21, he solemnly promised them that he would be following them, and their activities, with pleasure and personal interest. He told them: "Jesus needs you to renew today's society".

One was so delighted when on the occasion of the First National Day of young Catholics of the Netherlands, celebrated on November 27, Pope Benedict addressed a message of encouragement, in Dutch, to Netherlands youths.

After manifesting his wish to make himself spiritually present among the youths and assured them of his prayers, the Holy Father wrote: "The deepest reason for your gathering together is to encounter the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how it was for those who took part in the recent World Youth Day, whose theme was: "We have come to worship him" (Mt 2:2).

"Dear friends, Jesus is your friend and Lord; enter into a relationship with Him. He is expecting you and in Him alone will you find happiness. How easy it is to be content with the superficial pleasures that daily life offers us, how easy it is to live only for oneself, apparently enjoying life. But sooner or later we realise that this is not true happiness, because true happiness is much deeper: we find it in Jesus".

This particular concept had already been shared by the Holy Father in Cologne, in August, with the youths, where in his homily for World Youth Day, he said: "The happiness you are seeking, the happiness you have a right to enjoy, has a name and a face: it is Jesus of Nazareth".

In his message to the Netherlands youths he exhorted them to learn the act of prayer: "I therefore invite you every day to seek the Lord, who wants nothing more than for you to be truly happy. Foster an intense and constant relationship with Him in prayer and, when possible, find suitable moments in your day to be alone in His company. If you do not know how to pray, ask Him to teach you, and ask your heavenly Mother to pray with you and for you."

After appealing to today's youths to cultivate the recitation of the Rosary which helps them learn the art of prayer with Mary's simplicity and depth, the Holy Father said in his Message: "It is important that you make participation in the Eucharist, in which Jesus gives himself for us, the heart of your life... Go to the encounter with Him in the Blessed Eucharist, go to adore Him in the churches, kneeling before the Tabernacle: Jesus will fill you with His love and will reveal to you the thoughts of His heart. If you listen to him, you will feel ever more deeply the joy of belonging to His Mystical Body, the Church, which is the family of His disciples held close by the bond of unity and love".

Pope Benedict XVI ended his message with a fatherly exhortation to all youths: "If you follow Jesus, you will never feel lonely, because you are part of the Church which is a great family in which you can grow in true friendship with so many others... scattered in every part of the world."