World Youth Day: God is with us!

The World Youth Day pilgrims are on the move and heading for the overnight vigil. Let's pray that the Holy Spirit touches the hearts of the young people!

The Holy Spirit satisfies man's greatest need for unity. From the forlorn child in a camp in Darfur, an upset teen, an anxious parent in the suburbs, or even in the depths of our hearts, the same human cry of longing for recognition, affiliation and unity emerges. Speaking with the youth at the great vigil at Randwick Racecourse, Benedict XVI emphasized that God is always with us. The Pope recounted St. Augustine's journey to the faith. At first, he was incredulous and doubtful, but then he became convinced of the presence of God throughout history and scrutinized the mystery of the Trinity, symbol of the journey that we all must make. Inspired by the thought of St. Augustine, we must make unifying love our measure, enduring love our challenge, life-giving love our mission.

God cannot be silenced. This is the message delivered by the Pope to the Church in Australia during the homily of the Mass celebrated with bishops, seminarians, and young religious. Benedict XVI also spoke on the theme of abuse. These evil acts, he said, constitute such a serious betrayal of trust that they "must be unequivocally condemned", having damaged the witness of the Church and caused great pain. Further into the homily, the Holy Father declared with urgency the priority of promoting a safer and healthier environment, especially for children, inviting all to reflect on the precious treasure that has been entrusted to us in our young.