L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO
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FORTIETH YEAR
N. 29 (2003) - 18 July 2007
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Calling all youth: to holiness!
The Holy Father tells young people to
prepare spiritually so that they can be
the Lord's witnesses to their peers as
World Youth Day 2008 approaches.
See page 2 for the Pope's Address.
ANGELUS, LORENZAGO DI CADORE: 15 JULY
The ‘heart’ of Christian life: love
On Sunday, 15 July, at the Resi-
dence of the Mirabello Castle, Loren-
zago di Cadore, in the Dolomites, the
Holy Father introduced the Angelus
for the faithful with comments on the
beauty of the mountains as conducive
to prayer and on the Parable of the
Good Samaritan. The Pope had ar-
rived there by helicopter from Rome
on 9 July. As a guest of the Bishop of
Treviso, he is staying in the same
house in which John Paul II stayed.
The following is a translation of the
Pontiff's Reflection, given in Italian.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I thank the Lord who this year has
granted me the opportunity to spend a
few days of rest in the mountains, and I
am grateful to all who have welcomed
me here at Lorenzago, in this enchant-
ing setting with the peaks of Mount
Cadore in the background, which my
beloved Predecessor Pope John Paul II
also visited several times. I offer special
thanks to the Bishops of Treviso and
Belluno-Feltre, and to all who in various
ways have helped to assure me a peace-
ful stay that serves its purpose. Before
this view of meadows, woods and peaks
soaring to the sky, the desire to praise
God for the marvels of his works spon-
taneously wells up in one's heart and
our admiration for these beauties of na-
ture is easily transformed into prayer.
Love of God and neighbour
Every good Christian knows that va-
cations are an appropriate time for re-
laxation and also the nourishment of
the spirit through more extended peri-
ods of prayer and meditation, in order
to grow in one's personal relationship
with Christ and to conform increasingly
to his teachings.
Today, for example, the liturgy invites
WEEKLY EDITION
UNICUIQUE SUUM
us to reflect on the famous Parable of
the Good Samaritan (cf. Lk 10:25-37),
which introduces us into the heart of
the Gospel message: love for God and
love for neighbour. But the person
speaking to Jesus asks: who is my
neighbour? And the Lord answers by re-
versing the question and showing
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To China, with love
The Papal Letter to the
faithful of China is shown
in St Peter's Square after
its release on 30 June. For
the full text see pages 3-9.
not hesitate to humble himself to the
point of becoming a man and giving his
life for us.
Love is therefore the “heart” of Chris-
tian life; indeed, love alone, awakened
in us by the Holy Spirit, makes us
Christ's witnesses.
I wanted to present this important
spiritual truth anew in my Message for
the 23rd World Youth Day which will
be released next Friday, 20 July: “You
will receive power when the Holy Spirit
has come upon you; and you will be
my witnesses (Acts 1:8).
This is the theme on which, dear
young people, I ask you to reflect in the
coming months in order to prepare
yourselves for the great event that will
take place in Sydney, Australia, in a
year's time, precisely in these July days.
The Christian communities of that
beloved Nation are working hard to wel-
come you and I am grateful to them for
the efforts they are making to organize
it.
Let us entrust to Mary, whom tomor-
through the account of the Good row we shall invoke as Our Lady of
Samaritan that each one of us must Mount Carmel, the process of prepara-
make himself close to every person he tion for the next meeting of youth from
meets: “Go and do likewise” (Lk 10:37). across the world, to which I invite you,
Loving, Jesus says, means acting like dear friends from every continent, to
the Good Samaritan. And we know that take part in large numbers.
he himself is the Good Samaritan par Thank you once again for coming! I
excellence; although he was God, he did wish you all a good Sunday!
PAGE€2 NEXT WEEK:
‘Responses to Some Questions
PAGE€10 Regarding Certain Aspects
of the Doctrine of the Church’
from the Congregation for the
PAGE€11 Doctrine of the Faith