Acta Francisci Pp. 687

and sealed within you at Confirmation, and in union with your pastors, you

can appreciate the many positive values of the diverse Asian cultures. You

are also able to discern what is incompatible with your Catholic faith, what

is contrary to the life of grace bestowed in Baptism, and what aspects of

contemporary culture are sinful, corrupt, and lead to death.

Returning to the theme of this Day, let us reflect on a second word:

« Youth ». You and your friends are filled with the optimism, energy and good

will which are so characteristic of this period of life. Let Christ turn your

natural optimism into Christian hope, your energy into moral virtue, your

good will into genuine self-sacrificing love! This is the path you are called

to take. This is the path to overcoming all that threatens hope, virtue and

love in your lives and in your culture. In this way your youth will be a gift

to Jesus and to the world.

As young Christians, whether you are workers or students, whether

you have already begun a career or have answered the call to marriage,

religious life or the priesthood, you are not only a part of the future of the

Church; you are also a necessary and beloved part of the Church's present!

You are Church's present! Keep close to one another, draw ever closer to

God, and with your bishops and priests spend these years in building a

holier, more missionary and humble Church, a holier, more missionary and

humble Church, a Church which loves and worships God by seeking to serve

the poor, the lonely, the infirm and the marginalized.

In your Christian lives, you will find many occasions that will tempt

you, like the disciples in today's Gospel, to push away the stranger, the

needy, the poor and the broken-hearted. It is these people especially who

repeat the cry of the woman of the Gospel: « Lord, help me! ». The Canaanite

woman's plea is the cry of everyone who searches for love, acceptance, and

friendship with Christ. It is the cry of so many people in our anonymous

cities, the cry of so many of your own contemporaries, and the cry of all

those martyrs who even today suffer persecution and death for the name of

Jesus: « Lord, help me! » It is often a cry which rises from our own hearts

as well: « Lord, help me! » Let us respond, not like those who push away

people who make demands on us, as if serving the needy gets in the way

of our being close to the Lord. No! We are to be like Christ, who responds

to every plea for his help with love, mercy and compassion.