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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis’ first full day in Poland saw him celebrating Mass at the Holy Jasna Gora Shrine in Chestokowa in the presence of over 500,000 faithful.

During the afternoon he took a tram ride in Krakow with the mayor and was given the keys to the city before travelling to Krakow’s Blonia Meadows, a sprawling 48 hectar area where Pope Saint John Paul II celebrated Holy Mass as many as six times. 

Blonia is the venue chosen for a World Youth Day welcome ceremony where hundreds of thousands of young people gathered to greet the Pope as they celebrate the 31st World Youth Day.

Reporting on the Pope’s Apostolic visit to Poland is Lydia O’Kane who spoke about the events leading up to the Pope’s first discourse to the young people in Blonia and about some of the highlights of the Day.

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis told hundreds of thousands of World Youth Day pilgrims on Thursday to share God’s merciful love by building bridges and by tearing down barriers, walls and barbed wire. Speaking during a welcome ceremony in the giant Blonia Park, close to Krakow’s city centre, the Pope said "mercy has a youthful face" which can move us beyond our comfort zones and make us ready to embrace everyone. A merciful heart, he said, is able to be a place of refuge for the homeless, sharing bread with the hungry and welcoming refugees and migrants.

Recalling the legacy of Saint John Paul II, who began the tradition of World Youth Days, Pope Francis praised the “enthusiasm, dedication, zeal and energy with which so many young people live their lives”. He warned them not to be tempted by “dark paths” or to “run after peddlers of fond illusions”.

Instead, he urged them to be like Mary, Martha’s sister in the reading from St Luke’s Gospel, who made space to listen to Jesus in the midst of her busy life. The Pope told the young people to imitate Mary of Bethany and Mary of Nazareth by welcoming Jesus, by helping the poor and by listening attentively to other cultures and peoples, "even those we are afraid of because we consider them a threat". 

Please find below the English translation of Pope Francis’ prepared address to young people at the welcome ceremony of WYD in Blonie, Krakow,

Dear Young Friends, good evening!

At last we are together!  Thank you for your warm welcome!  I thank Cardinal Dziwisz, the bishops, priests, men and women religious, the seminarians and those who have accompanied you.  I am also grateful to all those who made it possible for us to be here today, who “went the extra mile” so that we could celebrate our faith.

In this, the land of his birth, I especially want to thank Saint John Paul II, who first came up with the idea of these meetings and gave them such momentum.  From his place in heaven, he is with us and he sees all of you: so many young people from such a variety of nations, cultures and languages but with one aim, that of rejoicing that Jesus is living in our midst.  To say that Jesus is alive means to rekindle our enthusiasm in following him, to renew our passionate desire to be his disciples.  What better opportunity to renew our friendship with Jesus than by building friendships among yourselves!  What better way to build our friendship with Jesus than by sharing him with others!  What better way to experience the contagious joy of the Gospel than by striving to bring the Good News to all kinds of painful and difficult situations!

Jesus called us to this Thirty-first World Youth Day.  Jesus tells us: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall find mercy (Mt 5:7).  Blessed indeed are they who can forgive, who show heartfelt compassion, who are capable of offering the very best of themselves to others. 

Dear young people, in these days Poland is in a festive mood; in these days Poland wants to be the ever-youthful face of mercy.  From this land, with you and all those young people who cannot be present today yet join us through the various communications media, we are going to make this World Youth Day an authentic Jubilee celebration.

In my years as a bishop, I have learned one thing.  Nothing is more beautiful than seeing the enthusiasm, dedication, zeal and energy with which so many young people live their lives.  When Jesus touches a young person’s heart, he or she becomes capable of truly great things.  It is exciting to listen to you share your dreams, your questions and your impatience with those who say that things cannot change.  For me, it is a gift of God to see so many of you, with all your questions, trying to make a difference.  It is beautiful and heartwarming to see all that restlessness!  Today the Church looks to you and wants to learn from you, to be reassured that the Father’s Mercy has an ever-youthful face, and constantly invites us to be part of his Kingdom.

Knowing your enthusiasm for mission, I repeat: mercy always has a youthful face!  Because a merciful heart is motivated to move beyond its comfort zone.  A merciful heart can go out and meet others; it is ready to embrace everyone.  A merciful heart is able to be a place of refuge for those who are without a home or have lost their home; it is able to build a home and a family for those forced to emigrate; it knows the meaning of tenderness and compassion.  A merciful heart can share its bread with the hungry and welcome refugees and migrants.  To say the word “mercy” along with you is to speak of opportunity, future, commitment, trust, openness, hospitality, compassion and dreams.

Let me tell you another thing I have learned over these years.  It pains me to meet young people who seem to have opted for “early retirement”.  I worry when I see young people who have “thrown in the towel” before the game has even begun, who are defeated even before they begin to play, who walk around glumly as if life has no meaning.  Deep down, young people like this are bored… and boring!  But it is also hard, and troubling, to see young people who waste their lives looking for thrills or a feeling of being alive by taking dark paths and in the end having to pay for it… and pay dearly.  It is disturbing to see young people squandering some of the best years of their lives, wasting their energies running after peddlers of fond illusions (where I come from, we call them “vendors of smoke”), who rob you of what is best in you. 

We are gathered here to help one another other, because we do not want to be robbed of the best of ourselves.  We don’t to be robbed of our energy, our joy, our dreams by fond illusions.

So I ask you: Are you looking for empty thrills in life, or do you want to feel a power that can give you a lasting sense of life and fulfilment?  Empty thrills or the power of grace?  To find fulfilment, to gain new strength, there is a way.  It is not a thing or an object, but a person, and he is alive.  His name is Jesus Christ. 

Jesus can give you true passion for life.  Jesus can inspire us not to settle for less, but to give the very best of ourselves.  Jesus challenges us, spurs us on and helps us keep trying whenever we are tempted to give up.  Jesus pushes us to keep our sights high and to dream of great things. 

In the Gospel, we heard how Jesus, on his way to Jerusalem, stopped at a home – the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus – and was welcomed.  He stopped, went in and spent time with them.  The two women welcomed him because they knew he was open and attentive.  Our many jobs and responsibilities can make us a bit like Martha: busy, scattered, constantly running from place to place… but we can also be like Mary: whenever we see a beautiful landscape, or look at a video from a friend on our cellphone, we can stop and think, stop and listen…  In these days, Jesus wants to stop and enter our home.  He will look at us hurrying about with all our concerns, as he did with Martha… and he will wait for us to listen to him, like Mary, to make space for him amid the bustle.  May these be days given over to Jesus and to listening to one another.  May they help us welcome Jesus in all those with whom we share our homes, our neighbourhoods, our groups and our schools.

Whoever welcomes Jesus, learns to love as Jesus does.   So he asks us if we want a full life: Do you want a complete life?  Start by letting yourself be open and attentive!  Because happiness is sown and blossoms in mercy.  That is his answer, his offer, his challenge, his adventure: mercy.  Mercy always has a youthful face.  Like that of Mary of Bethany, who sat as a disciple at the feet of Jesus and joyfully listened to his words, since she knew that there she would find peace.  Like that of Mary of Nazareth, whose daring “Yes” launched her on the adventure of mercy.  All generations would call her blessed; to all of us she is the “Mother of Mercy”. 

All together, then, we ask the Lord: “Launch us on the adventure of mercy!  Launch us on the adventure of building bridges and tearing down walls, barriers and barbed wire.  Launch us on the adventure of helping the poor, those who feel lonely and abandoned, or no longer find meaning in their lives.  Send us, like Mary of Bethany, to listen attentively to those we do not understand, those of other cultures and peoples, even those we are afraid of because we consider them a threat.  Make us attentive to our elders, as Mary of Nazareth was to Elizabeth, in order to learn from their wisdom. 

Here we are, Lord!  Send us to share your merciful love.  We want to welcome you in our midst during this World Youth Day.  We want to affirm that our lives are fulfilled when they are shaped by mercy, for that is the better part, and it will never be taken from us.

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis paid an unscheduled call on Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, Archbishop-emeritus of Krakow.

Cardinal Macharski was Pope St. John Paul II’s immediate successor on the See of St. Stanislaus, which he held from 1978 until 2005.

The 89 year-old Cardinal Macharski is in University Hospital, Krakow, where he is receiving care for a protracted illness.

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis reached out to over a million young people gathered at Krakow's Blonia Park on Thursday urging them to share God's merciful love.

He was speaking during a welcome ceremony for young people attending the 31st World Youth Day in a giant park near Krakow.

Vatican Radio's Lydia O'Kane is in Krakow with Pope Francis and sent us this report:

 
Despite persistent rain at Blonia meadows, nothing could dampen the spirits of the over 1 million World Youth Day pilgrims who had gathered to be with Pope Francis.

The Pope arrived to this welcome ceremony by tram which had been especially customised for the occasion in the Vatican colours of yellow and white.
His final stop was at Blonia and as he entered these grounds the party really got started. Taking to the podium the Pope was welcomed by a group of young people in a number of languages.

Then the Holy Father was treated to an evening which included traditional Polish dance, vibrant songs and the presentation of the images of a number of saints from the continents represented at this youth event

Against the backdrop of Jesus, Divine Mercy and drawings of the patrons of this World Youth Day, St John Paul II and St Faustina Kowalska, Pope Francis told the youth of the world gathered that, “mercy has a youthful face” adding, “we are going to make this World Youth Day an authentic Jubilee celebration.”

The Pope then told them that in his years as a bishop, he learned one thing.  “Nothing is more beautiful than seeing the enthusiasm, dedication, zeal and energy with which so many young people live their lives.”

He also underlined that it pained him to meet young people who seemed to have “thrown in the towel”.

To find fulfilment, to gain new strength, there is a way, Pope Francis said. “His name is Jesus Christ.”

As this welcome ceremony drew to a close it seemed that the youth here where determined to take Pope Francis at his words from the night before, to do what young people do, to go out during these nights and make noise. 

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Young people on Thursday evening chanted and sang songs awaiting Pope Francis to come to the window of the Archbishop’s residence in Krakow and when he came out, the Square below erupted with cheers.

This evening’s remarks were directed at newly married couples and the Pope jokedInizio modulo, they say today there is a good group here, in this square, newlyweds.”

He commended young men and women for having the courage to commit to marriage and because he said “it is not easy to form a family.”

The pope said that he sometimes is asked how married couples can surmount varies difficulties and he suggested that three words are always used, pardon, thanks, and forgiveness.

Marriage, the Pope stressed “is something so beautiful, so beautiful that we must preserve it, because it is forever.”
 

There will always be quarrels, but do not be afraid when this happens, underlined Pope Francis.

This is my advice, he said, “never finish the day without making peace. And you know why? Because the cold war the next day is very dangerous.”

The Holy Father concluded, “I invite you, before receiving the blessing, to pray for all the families present here, for newlyweds, for those who are already married for a long time.”

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Krakow, Poland, Jul 28, 2016 / 11:58 am (CNA/EWTN News).- For young people who have given up on life, or who waste their existence seeking out “empty thrills,” Pope Francis proposes an alternative: Look to Christ, for only he can bring lasting fulfillment.

“Jesus can give you true passion for life” and “can inspire us not to settle for less, but to give the very best of ourselves,” the Pope said July 28 during a massive welcoming ceremony at Krakow's Blonia Park, one of his first encounters with young people during this year's World Youth Day celebrations.

In his address to the crowds, the Roman Pontiff observed how many young people are entering into an “early retirement,” and “throw in the towel” before their lives have begun.

Others, he said, “waste their lives” seeking out “empty thrills” in order to feel alive. “It is disturbing to see young people squandering some of the best years of their lives, wasting their energies running after peddlers of fond illusions,” he said.

He challenged young people instead to seek out lasting fulfillment from another source. “To find fulfillment, to gain new strength, there is a way,” he said. “It is not a thing or an object, but a person, and he is alive. His name is Jesus Christ.”

The Pope then went off script, enthusiastically calling on the young people to answer: “Can you buy Jesus Christ? Is Jesus Christ sold in stores? Jesus Christ is a gift! A gift from the Father!”

Thursday evening's welcome ceremony marks Pope Francis' first full day in Poland during his July 27-31 trip for the 31st World Youth Day.

In his address to the crowds, Pope Francis began by expressing his gratitude toward St. John Paul II, who founded World Youth Day in the 1980s.

“From his place in heaven, he is with us and he sees all of you,” he said. “So many young people from such a variety of nations, cultures and languages but with one aim, that of rejoicing that Jesus is living in our midst.”

The Pope explained that in rekindling our enthusiasm to follow Christ and our desire to be his disciples, we are saying he is alive.

“What better opportunity to renew our friendship with Jesus than by building friendships among yourselves!” he said. “What better way to build our friendship with Jesus than by sharing him with others!

“What better way to experience the contagious joy of the Gospel than by striving to bring the Good News to all kinds of painful and difficult situations!”

Citing the theme of this WYD – “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall find mercy” – Francis said, “blessed indeed are they who can forgive, who show heartfelt compassion, who are capable of offering the very best of themselves to others.”

Francis remarked on the “festive mood” of the event in Poland, and with all the young people taking part both in person and via modern media, “we are going to make this World Youth Day an authentic Jubilee celebration.”

“Nothing is more beautiful than seeing the enthusiasm, dedication, zeal and energy with which so many young people live their lives,” he said.

“When Jesus touches a young person’s heart, he or she becomes capable of truly great things.”

The Roman Pontiff described his excitement in listening to the young people share their dreams, their questions, and “impatience with those who say that things cannot change.”

“It is beautiful and heartwarming to see all that restlessness!” he said. “Today the Church looks to you and wants to learn from you, to be reassured that the Father’s Mercy has an ever-youthful face, and constantly invites us to be part of his Kingdom.”

“Knowing your enthusiasm for mission, I repeat: mercy always has a youthful face!”

A merciful heart is one which seeks to go beyond its comfort zone, to go out and embrace everyone, the Roman Pontiff continued.

It is also a “place of refuge” for the homeless, refugees, and migrants; “it knows the meaning of tenderness and compassion.”

“To say the word 'mercy' along with you is to speak of opportunity, future, commitment, trust, openness, hospitality, compassion and dreams.”

The Pope then spoke off the cuff, saying that "when the heart is open, it is able to dream; there is a room for mercy, there is room to caress those who suffer."

“There is room to place oneself  next to those who lack peace in their heart, or who lack the necessities of life, or who lack the most beautiful thing: the faith.”

Francis discouraged young people from entering into an “early retirement” – referring particularly to those “who are defeated even before they begin to play, who walk around glumly as if life has no meaning.”

“Deep down, young people like this are bored… and boring!” he said.

The Pope also said he is troubled when young people “waste their lives looking for thrills or a feeling of being alive by taking dark paths and in the end having to pay for it… and pay dearly.”

“It is disturbing to see young people squandering some of the best years of their lives, wasting their energies running after peddlers of fond illusions.”

He challenged young people with an alternative: to seek the “power of grace” which gives them a “lasting sense of life and fulfillment.”

“To find fulfillment, to gain new strength, there is a way. It is not a thing or an object, but a person, and he is alive. His name is Jesus Christ.”

“Jesus can give you true passion for life,” he said, and “can inspire us not to settle for less, but to give the very best of ourselves.”

“Jesus challenges us, spurs us on and helps us keep trying whenever we are tempted to give up. Jesus pushes us to keep our sights high and to dream of great things.”

Francis spoke of the Gospel account of Christ visiting the home of his friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. As the account goes, Martha is kept busy with the duties of entertaining Christ, while Mary simply visits with their guest.

“Our many jobs and responsibilities can make us a bit like Martha: busy, scattered, constantly running from place to place. But we can also be like Mary: whenever we see a beautiful landscape, or look at a video from a friend on our cellphone, we can stop and think, stop and listen…”

“Jesus wants to stop and enter our home,” Pope Francis reflected. “He will look at us hurrying about with all our concerns, as he did with Martha… and he will wait for us to listen to him, like Mary, to make space for him amid the bustle.”

In a challenge to young people, the Pope said that if they “want a complete life”, they must begin by letting themselves “be open and attentive.”

This is “because happiness is sown and blossoms in mercy,” he said: “That is his answer, his offer, his challenge, his adventure: mercy.”

Francis turned to Mary of Nazareth, and her “daring 'Yes'” which “launched her on the adventure of mercy.”

“All generations would call her blessed,” he said: “to all of us she is the 'Mother of Mercy'.”

The Pope challenged all the youth present to pray that they may be launched “on the adventure of mercy.”

“Launch us on the adventure of building bridges and tearing down walls, barriers and barbed wire,” he prayed. “Launch us on the adventure of helping the poor, those who feel lonely and abandoned, or no longer find meaning in their lives.”

“Here we are, Lord! Send us to share your merciful love,” he concluded, expressing his desire to welcome Christ “in our midst during this World Youth Day.”

“We want to affirm that our lives are fulfilled when they are shaped by mercy, for that is the better part, and it will never be taken from us.”

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller

By Dennis Sadowski

KRAKOW, Poland (CNS) -- Tara Gouldring never thought of herself as a missionary to others.

But the 18-year-old from Birmingham, England, decided it's not such a strange idea after hearing Bishop Frank J. Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut, during a morning catechetical session July 28 during World Youth Day.

"It's inspiring to see God's mercy in so many ways and how I can bring it into my life and how (to) love people even though they do you wrong," Gouldring told Catholic News Service.

"You can start with prayer for people who need help and hope to help more from there," she said.

Bishop Caggiano's talk at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church focused on the idea that anyone can become a missionary of mercy by showing compassion, love and a caring attitude toward anyone who is suffering.

He took the 150 young people in the church, most from the Archdiocese of Birmingham, England, back to the days before he became a priest. He was a sales representative for a major publisher in New York City, and on his way to work every morning he saw a homeless man in a plaza along the Avenue of the Americas. For weeks, he said, he ignored the man.

"I was so self-absorbed it took me two months to realize this was a man there. I would literally step over him," the bishop said.

Soon, he began giving the man $1 every day.

"I thought I was giving him what he needed. I thought I was doing something good. I thought I was an OK Catholic," he said.

Today, he realizes he was being far from merciful.

"My friends, that may be good enough for the world, but that's not good enough for Jesus Christ. That is not what we are being called to do. We are being called to more than that," Bishop Caggiano explained.

Then, dressed in the traditional bishop's cassock, waist sash and zucchetto, he got down on his knees and acted out how he should have responded.

"You get down on your knees and put your hands under them and you bring them close to you and you lift them up," he said. "And the smell of the sheep is when your heart and their heart are so close that they touch."

Acting with mercy can occur toward anyone at any time, as long as it is done to follow the example of Jesus, he said, suggesting that World Youth Day 2016 can be the start of merciful actions on the part of everyone attending the six-day celebration of faith.

"Is it easy? No. Is it going to be something you and I will fail at? Yes. Are we going to learn from failure? Yes, because Christ will love us," Bishop Caggiano said.

The bishop, who was the U.S. bishops' episcopal liaison for World Youth Day, called on each member of the audience to become a missionary of mercy one person at a time.

Bridget Phiri, 20, of Wolverhampton, England, said she saw herself in Bishop Caggiano's story of giving money to the homeless man in New York.

"Instead of just handing people money, I should get up and give them a hug and make them feel like they're a person too, like they're accepted in society. Something more physical than just giving them some coins and walking by," she said.

"I think I need to re-evaluate how I look at things now and how I act toward people who are homeless or less fortunate," Phiri said.

It comes down to letting God flow through each person's action, concluded Toby Duckworth, 21, of Streetly, England, who will enter the Venerable English College in Rome as a seminarian in August.

"The challenge is to go beyond what the world sees as mercy. To go beyond even what we as human beings think is merciful. To me that is constant challenge, always, everywhere," Duckworth told CNS.

Returning home to England and elsewhere, pilgrims will find it difficult to go beyond their normal circles, he acknowledged. But such work is never easy. The challenge is "be Jesus to others," he said.

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Follow Sadowski on Twitter: @DennisSadowski.

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