changes and real conversions have taken place in the lives of young people who   
   have encountered this simple bare cross! Perhaps you have asked yourselves the   
   question: what is the origin of the extraordinary power of the cross? Here is   
   the answer: the cross is the most eloquent sign of God's mercy! It tells us   
   that   
   the measure of God's love for humanity is to love without measure! Through the   
   cross we can touch God's mercy and be touched by that mercy! Here I would   
   recall   
   the episode of the two thieves crucified beside Jesus. One of them is arrogant   
   and does not admit that he is a sinner. He mocks the Lord. The other   
   acknowledges that he has done wrong; he turns to the Lord saying: 'Jesus,   
   remember me when you come into your kingdom'. Jesus looks at him with infinite   
   mercy and replies: 'Today you will be with me in Paradise'. With which of the   
   two do we identify? Is it with the arrogant one who does not acknowledge his   
   own   
   mistakes? Or is it with the other, who accepts that he is in need of divine   
   mercy and begs for it with all his heart? It is in the Lord, Who gave his life   
   for us on the cross, that we will always find that unconditional love which   
   sees   
   our lives as something good and always gives us the chance to start again.   
    3. The amazing joy of being instruments of God's mercy   
    The Word of God teaches us that 'it is more blessed to give than to receive'.   
   That is why the fifth Beatitude declares that the merciful are blessed. We know   
   that the Lord loved us first. But we will be truly blessed and happy only when   
   we enter into the divine 'logic' of gift and gracious love, when we discover   
   that God has loved us infinitely in order to make us capable of loving like   
   Him,   
   without measure. St. John says: 'Beloved, let us love one another, because love   
   is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is   
   without love does not know God, for God is love... In this is love: not that we   
   have loved God, but that he He loved us and sent His Son as expiation for our   
   sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another'.   
    After this very brief summary of how the Lord bestows his mercy upon us, I   
   would like to give you some suggestions on how we can be instruments of this   
   mercy for others.   
    I think of the example of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. He said, 'Jesus pays   
   me a visit every morning in Holy Communion, and I return the visit in the   
   meagre   
   way I know how, visiting the poor'. Pier Giorgio was a young man who understood   
   what it means to have a merciful heart that responds to those most in need. He   
   gave them far more than material goods. He gave himself by giving his time, his   
   words and his capacity to listen. He served the poor very quietly and   
   unassumingly. He truly did what the Gospel tells us: 'When you give alms, do   
   not   
   let your left hand know what your right is doing,so that your almsgiving may be   
   secret'. Imagine that, on the day before his death when he was gravely ill, he   
   was giving directions on how his friends in need should be helped. At his   
   funeral, his family and friends were stunned by the presence of so many poor   
   people unknown to them. They had been befriended and helped by the young Pier   
   Giorgio.   
    I always like to link the Gospel Beatitudes with Matthew 25, where Jesus   
   presents us with the works of mercy and tells us that we will be judged on   
   them.   
   I ask you, then, to rediscover the corporal works of mercy: to feed the hungry,   
   give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, assist the   
   sick, visit the imprisoned and bury the dead. Nor should we overlook the   
   spiritual works of mercy: to counsel the doubtful, teach the ignorant, admonish   
   sinners, comfort the sorrowful, forgive offences, patiently bear with   
   troublesome people and pray to God for the living and the dead. As you can see,   
   mercy does not just imply being a 'good person' nor is it mere sentimentality.   
   It is the measure of our authenticity as disciples of Jesus, and of our   
   credibility as Christians in today's world.   
    If you want me to be very specific, I would suggest that for the first seven   
   months of 2016 you choose a corporal and a spiritual work of mercy to practice   
   each month. Find inspiration in the prayer of St. Faustina, a humble apostle of   
   Divine Mercy in our times:   
    "Help me, O Lord,   
    ...that my eyes may be merciful, so that I will never be suspicious or judge   
   by   
   appearances, but always look for what is beautiful in my neighbours' souls and   
   be of help to them;   
    ... that my ears may be merciful, so that I will be attentive to my   
   neighbours'   
   needs, and not indifferent to their pains and complaints;   
    ... that my tongue may be merciful, so that I will never speak badly of   
   others,   
   but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all;   
    ... that my hands may be merciful and full of good deeds;   
    ... that my feet may be merciful, so that I will hasten to help my neighbour,   
   despite my own fatigue and weariness;   
    ... that my heart may be merciful, so that I myself will share in all the   
   sufferings of my neighbour" (Diary, 163).   
    The Divine Mercy message is a very specific life plan because it involves   
   action. One of the most obvious works of mercy, and perhaps the most difficult   
   to put into practice, is to forgive those who have offended us, who have done   
   us   
   wrong or whom we consider to be enemies. 'At times how hard it seems to   
   forgive!   
   And yet pardon is the instrument placed into our fragile hands to attain   
   serenity of heart. To let go of anger, wrath, violence, and revenge are   
   necessary conditions to living joyfully'.   
    I meet so many young people who say that they are tired of this world being so   
   divided, with clashes between supporters of different factions and so many   
   wars,   
   in some of which religion is being used as justification for violence. We must   
   ask the Lord to give us the grace to be merciful to those who do us wrong.   
   Jesus   
   on the cross prayed for those who had crucified Him: 'Father, forgive them,   
   they   
   know not what they do'. Mercy is the only way to overcome evil. Justice is   
   necessary, very much so, but by itself it is not enough. Justice and mercy must   
   go together. How I wish that we could join together in a chorus of prayer, from   
   the depths of our hearts, to implore the Lord to have mercy on us and on the   
   whole world!   
    4. Krakow is expecting us!   
    Only a few months are left before we meet in Poland. Krakow, the city of St.   
   John Paul II and St. Faustina Kowalska, is waiting for us with open arms and   
   hearts. I believe that Divine Providence led us to the decision to celebrate   
   the   
   Youth Jubilee in that city which was home to those two great apostles of mercy   
   in our times. John Paul II realised that this is the time of mercy. At the   
   start   
   of his pontificate, he wrote the encyclical Dives in Misericordia. In the Holy   
   Year 2000 he canonised Sister Faustina and instituted the Feast of Divine   
   Mercy,   
   which now takes place on the Second Sunday of Easter. In 2002 he personally   
   inaugurated the Divine Mercy Shrine in Krakow and entrusted the world to Divine   
   Mercy, in the desire that this message would reach all the peoples of the earth   
   and fill their hearts with hope: 'This spark needs to be lighted by the grace   
   of   
   God. This fire of mercy needs to be passed on to the world. In the mercy of God   
   the world will find peace and mankind will find happiness'.   
    Dear young people, at the Shrine in Krakow dedicated to the merciful Jesus,   
   where He is depicted in the image venerated by the people of God, Jesus is   
   waiting for you. He has confidence in you and is counting on you! He has so   
   many   
   things to say to each of you. Do not be afraid to look into His eyes, full of   
   infinite love for you. Open yourselves to His merciful gaze, so ready to   
   forgive   
   all your sins. A look from Him can change your lives and heal the wounds of   
   your   
   souls. His eyes can quench the thirst that dwells deep in your young hearts, a   
   thirst for love, for peace, for joy and for true happiness. Come to Him and do   
   not be afraid! Come to him and say from the depths of your hearts: 'Jesus, I   
   trust in You!'. Let yourselves be touched by His boundless mercy, so that in   
   turn you may become apostles of mercy by your actions, words and prayers in our   
   world, wounded by selfishness, hatred and so much despair.   
    Carry with you the flame of Christ's merciful love - as St. John Paul II said   
   -   
   in every sphere of your daily life and to the very ends of the earth. In this   
   mission, I am with you with my encouragement and prayers. I entrust all of you   
   to Mary, Mother of Mercy, for this last stretch of the journey of spiritual   
   preparation for the next WYD in Krakow. I bless all of you from my heart".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    World Youth Day and the Year of Mercy coincide to make "a Youth Jubilee at   
   world level"   
    Vatican City, 28 September 2015 (VIS) - Pope Francis' third message to the   
   young, for World Youth Day (WYD), like the first two, is dedicated to the theme   
   of the Beatitudes and is intended to accompany young people throughout the   
   world   
   on their long and challenging spiritual journey to Krakow, where in July next   
   year World Youth Day will be held.   
    According to a press release from the Pontifical Council for the Laity, issued   
   today, the WYD is a precious heritage left by St. John Paul II, and over the   
   past thirty years it has become a powerful instrument of evangelisation of   
   young   
   people and a wonderful opportunity for dialogue between the Church and the   
   younger generations. This spiritual adventure has already mobilised millions of   
   young people from all continents. WYD has moved many of them to make big   
   changes   
   in their lives, and has led them to the discovery of a call, one that is an   
   intrinsic part of being young: many are the vocations to the priesthood and   
   consecrated life following each WYD, and many young people, after sharing this   
   experience, have chosen to join with another as a couple in the sacrament of   
   marriage.   
    In his message, the Holy Father remarked that the theme of the 31st World   
   Youth   
   Day places the event in the heart of the Holy Year of Mercy, and this makes it   
   'a Youth Jubilee at world level'. As the Successor of Peter reminds us, it is   
   the third time that an international gathering of young people coincides with a   
   Jubilee Year. It happened during the Holy Year of Redemption (1983/1984) when   
   St. John Paul II invited young people from around the world for Palm Sunday for   
   the first time. Then, during the Great Jubilee of 2000, more than two million   
   young people from about 165 countries met in Rome for the 15thWorld Youth Day.   
   Pope Francis says, "I am sure that the Youth Jubilee in Krakow will be, as on   
   those two previous occasions, one of the high points of this Holy Year!".   
    The Pope goes on to explain to young people how God revealed his mercy in the   
   Holy Scriptures by showing his untiring loyalty and eternal love, always ready   
   to forgive. In the New Testament, mercy is presented to us as"a synthesis of   
   the   
   work that Jesus came to accomplish in the world in the name of the Father [...]   
   Everything in Jesus speaks of mercy. Indeed, he himself is mercy".   
    The Holy Father invites young people to have firsthand experience of the   
   Lord's   
   mercy. He says: "When I was seventeen years old, it happened one day that, as I   
   was about to go out with friends, I decided to stop into a church first. I met   
   a   
   priest there who inspired great confidence, and I felt the desire to open my   
   heart in Confession. That meeting changed my life! I discovered that when we   
   open our hearts with humility and transparency, we can contemplate God's mercy   
   in a very concrete way".   
    After explaining how God shows us his mercy, the Pope invites young people to   
   become, in turn, instruments of that mercy towards others. He suggests a very   
   concrete way of responding to this call: "I would suggest that for the first   
   seven months of 2016 you choose a corporal and a spiritual work of mercy to   
   practice each month".   
    At the end of his message, Pope Francis renews his warm invitation to young   
   people: "Only a few months are left before we meet in Poland. Krakow, the city   
   of St. John Paul II and St. Faustina Kowalska, is waiting for us with open arms   
   and hearts. I believe that Divine Providence led us to the decision to   
   celebrate   
   the Youth Jubilee in that city which was home to those two great apostles of   
   mercy in our times. [...] At the Shrine in Krakow dedicated to the merciful   
   Jesus, where He is depicted in the image venerated by the people of God, Jesus   
   is waiting for you [...].Come to Him and say from the depths of your hearts:   
   ‘Jesus, I trust in You'".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
   For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:   
   www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va   
      
   Copyright (VIS):  the news contained in the services of the Vatican   
   Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting   
   the source:  V. I. S. - Vatican Information Service.   
   http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/vis_en.html   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
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