Acta Benedicti Pp. XVI 345

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Saint John

Neumann, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Venerable Pierre Toussaint, and

Padre Felix Varela: any one of us could be among them, for there is no

stereotype to this group, no single mold. Yet a closer look reveals that there

are common elements. Inflamed with the love of Jesus, their lives became

remarkable journeys of hope. For some, that meant leaving home and em-

barking on a pilgrim journey of thousands of miles. For each there was an act

of abandonment to God, in the confidence that he is the final destination of

every pilgrim. And all offered an outstretched hand of hope to those they

encountered along the way, often awakening in them a life of faith. Through

orphanages, schools and hospitals, by befriending the poor, the sick and the

marginalized, and through the compelling witness that comes from walking

humbly in the footsteps of Jesus, these six people laid open the way of faith,

hope and charity to countless individuals, including perhaps your own an-

cestors.

And what of today? Who bears witness to the Good News of Jesus on the

streets of New York, in the troubled neighborhoods of large cities, in the

places where the young gather, seeking someone in whom they can trust?

God is our origin and our destination, and Jesus the way. The path of that

journey twists and turns - just as it did for our saints - through the joys

and the trials of ordinary, everyday life: within your families, at school or

college, during your recreation activities, and in your parish communities. All

these places are marked by the culture in which you are growing up. As

young Americans you are offered many opportunities for personal develop-

ment, and you are brought up with a sense of generosity, service and fairness.

Yet you do not need me to tell you that there are also difficulties: activities

and mindsets which stifle hope, pathways which seem to lead to happiness

and fulfillment but in fact end only in confusion and fear.

My own years as a teenager were marred by a sinister regime that thought

it had all the answers; its influence grew - infiltrating schools and civic

bodies, as well as politics and even religion - before it was fully recognized

for the monster it was. It banished God and thus became impervious to

anything true and good. Many of your grandparents and great-grandparents

will have recounted the horror of the destruction that ensued. Indeed, some

of them came to America precisely to escape such terror.