Hello All!   
                   This Area is READ ONLY.  Do not post to this area.   
                   The following press release is Copyrighted by the   
                             Vatican Information Service.   
                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
                                  VIS-Press releases   
      
   CATHOLIC ACTION: LEARN THE ART OF TRUE LOVE   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 30 OCT 2010 (VIS) - In St. Peter's Square this morning, Benedict   
   XVI met with 100,000 children and young people from Italian Catholic Action who   
   are participating in a national meeting on the theme: "There is something more:   
   Let us grow up together".   
      
   The Pope replied to three questions put to him by a boy from Catholic Action, a   
   young man and a school teacher.   
      
   To the first question - "What does it mean to grow up? What must I do to grow   
   up while following Jesus?" - the Holy Father replied by recalling his own   
   youth. "I wanted to do something grand, to make more of my life", he said.   
   "Being 'grown up' means loving Jesus, listening to Him and speaking with Him in   
   prayer, meeting Him in the Sacraments, in Mass and Confession; it means ever   
   greater knowledge of Him, and making Him known to others; it means being with   
   one's friends, even the poor and sick, so as to grow together".   
      
   To the second question - "What does it mean to love unto the end? How can we   
   learn to love authentically?" - the Pope said: "This is a vital question. It is   
   very important, I would say fundamental, to learn to love, to love truly, to   
   learn the art of true love. ... You will grow up if you are capable of making   
   your life a gift to others; not seeking yourself but giving yourself to others.   
   ... You cannot and must not make do with a love reduced to a commodity, to be   
   consumed with no respect for self or for others, incapable of chastity and   
   purity. That is not freedom. A lot of the 'love' presented by the media and on   
   the internet is not love but selfishness and closure. ... It binds you like a   
   chain suffocating the most beautiful thoughts and feelings, the true impulses   
   of the heart, that unquenchable force which is love and which finds in Jesus   
   its highest expression, and in the Holy Spirit the strength and the fire to   
   ignite your life, thoughts and affections. Of course it also takes some   
   sacrifice to love truly - without sacrifice you cannot follow this path - but I   
   am sure you are not afraid of the fatigue of a demanding and authentic love. It   
   is the only thing which, in the final analysis, brings true happiness".   
      
   The third question was: "What does it mean to be teachers today? How can we   
   face the difficulties we meet in our service? How can we ensure that everyone   
   takes responsibility for the present and the future of the new generations?"   
      
   Benedict XVI replied by highlighting how "Being an educator means having joy in   
   one's heart and communicating it to everyone so as to make life good and   
   beautiful; it means providing reasons and goals for life's journey, presenting   
   the beauty of the person of Jesus and making people love Him, His lifestyle,   
   His freedom. ... Above all it means holding up the goal of ... that 'extra'   
   that comes to us from God. This requires personal knowledge of Jesus, a   
   personal, daily and loving contact with Him in prayer, meditation on the Word   
   of God, faithfulness to the Sacraments, the Eucharist, Confession; it means   
   communicating the joy of being part of the Church, of having friends with whom   
   to share, not only the difficulties but also the beauties and surprises of a   
   life of faith".   
      
   "You will be good educators if you are able to involve everyone in the good of   
   the young. You cannot be self-sufficient but must make the vital importance of   
   educating the young generations felt at all levels. Without the presence of the   
   family, for example, you risk building on sand; without a collaboration with   
   schools it is not possible to create a profound knowledge of the faith; without   
   the involvement of the those who work in the sector of leisure and   
   communication your patient efforts risk being unproductive and ineffective in   
   daily life. I am sure that Catholic Action is well rooted in the community and   
   has the courage to be light and salt. Your presence here this morning tells not   
   only me but everyone that education is possible, that it is tiring but   
   beautiful to enthuse young people and children. Have the courage and audacity   
   to ensure that no sector is deprived of Jesus, of His tenderness which you   
   bring to everyone, especially the neediest and abandoned, through your mission   
   as educators".   
      
   The Pope concluded his remarks by inviting those present to remain faithful "to   
   the identity and goals of Catholic Action".   
   AC/VIS 20101103 (780)   
      
   SUMMARY   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS =Meridian, MS= bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)