亲爱的青年朋友﹕
1．十五年前，救赎圣年结束时，我把一个木制十字架交到各位手中，要求你们把它带到世界各地，做为主耶稣对人类之爱的标记，幷向世人宣扬，只有在死而复活的基督内，才有救恩。从那天起，这个十字架就随着慷慨的手和慷慨的心，未曾中断地在各大洲走过了一趟漫长的朝圣之旅，显示这十字架与年轻人同行，年轻人也与十字架同行。
世界青年日就是以「圣年十字架」为中心而诞生的，幷在你们青年基督徒的旅程中，发展成为有意义的「休憩时刻」；持续而热切地邀请年轻人，把生命建立在基督这盘石上。世界青年日已在整个教会内，也在个人心中结出了无数美果，我们怎能不为此颂谢天主？在本世纪的最后这个时刻，这些果实已成为青年信友走向下一个千年旅程的标志。 这个十字架在横跨了各大洲之后，现在回到了罗马，带着数百万年轻人的祈祷与奉献投身，他们已经认得那十字架是天主对人类之爱神圣而质朴的标记。因为各位知道，在大禧年中，罗马将主办二零零零年的世界青年日。
亲爱的年轻人，因此我邀请各位怀着喜乐的心前来罗马朝圣，共赴此一教会的重要约会。此趟朝圣之旅理所当然地会是「青年大禧年」。请准备好进入圣门，我们知道进入圣门，是为加强对祂的信仰，好能生活出祂赐给我们的新生命。
2．第十五届世界青年日的主题，我选的是使徒圣若望的：「圣言成了血肉，寄居在我们当中」（若：一，14），若望用这句简洁的话来形容天主降生成人的深刻奥迹。基督信仰与其它宗教的不同之处，在于基督信仰肯定纳匝肋的耶稣是天主子、圣言成为血肉、天主圣三的第二位来到世上。「这是教会一开始就有的令人欣喜的信念，致使她高唱『伟大的虔敬奥迹』：『祂显现于肉身』」。不可见的天主生活且临在于耶稣身上，临在于天主之母玛利亚的儿子身上。纳匝肋的耶稣是与我们同在的天主--厄玛奴耳：凡认识祂的，就认识天主；看见祂的，就看见了天主；跟随祂的，就是跟随天主；与祂结合的，就是与天主结合（参阅若﹕十二，44-50）。借着诞生在白冷城的耶稣，天主接受了人类的状况，使人类可以接近祂；幷与人类建立了盟约。
在新的千年的前夕，我再度向各位提出迫切的恳求，敞开通向基督的大门，而祂「给那些信祂名字的人特权，好能成为天主的子女」（若﹕一，12）。接受耶稣基督，就是接受天父的命令去生活，去爱天主及爱我们的弟兄姊妹，对每一个人都有休戚与共的感情，没有任何分别；接受基督就是相信在人类历史中，纵然有邪恶和痛苦，最终还是属于生命、属于爱，因为天主来居住在我们当中，使我们能居住在祂内。
基督降生成人成为穷人，以祂的贫穷来丰富我们，祂赐给我们救恩，那更是祂在加略山的十字架上所流鲜血的果实，「祂所背负的，是我们的疾苦…祂被刺透，是因了我们的悖逆」（依：五十三，4-5）。祂为了我们的救恩而无条件地献出生命，而这生命的崇高牺牲，证明了天主对我们无尽的爱。使徒圣若望写道：「天主竟这样爱了世界，甚至赐下了自己的独生子，使凡信祂的人不至丧亡，反而获得永生」（若﹕三，16）。天主派遣耶稣来分享我们人类的各种状况，只除了罪以外；尽管人类顽固的拒绝天主，甚至不惜动手杀人（参阅玛﹕廿一，33-39），天主还是把耶稣完全「给」了人类，让他们能借着祂的死亡而获得和好。「创世的天主被启示为救赎的天主、『忠于自己的』天主，幷且如祂在创世之日所启示的，被启示为忠于对人类及对世界之爱的天主…人如果能获得如此伟大的救主，那么人在造物主眼中是如何的珍贵」。
耶稣走向祂的死亡。祂幷没有在祂「与我们同在」的任何后果中退缩。祂取代了我们的位置，在十字架上把我们从邪恶和罪恶中赎回来。正如那位罗马百夫长，看到耶稣死亡的情况，就明白祂真是天主子（参阅谷﹕十五，39），所以我们看到和默想被钉的主，也会明白天主究境是谁，因为祂在耶稣内启示了对人类至深的爱。「受难」一词的原文是Passion，意思是一种热烈的爱，无条件的奉献﹕基督的受难是将整个生命「给予」祂的弟兄姊妹，以显示圣父的爱心的高峰。这十字架，看似从地上高举起来，其实是从天上向下伸到地上，以神的爱包围住整个宇宙。十字架显示出「它是整个历史和所有人类生命的中心、意义和目标」。
「一个人替众人死了」（格后﹕五，14）；基督「为我们把自己交出，献于天主作为馨香的供物和祭品」（弗﹕五，2）。在耶稣死亡的背后，是一个爱的计划，教会信仰把它称之为「救赎奥迹」：全人类都得到救赎，也就是说，从罪恶的奴役中获得自由，幷被带领到天主的国里。基督是天地的主宰。凡是听祂的话，相信派遣祂来的天父的，便有永生（参阅若﹕五，24）。祂是「天主的羔羊，除免世罪者」（若﹕一，29、36），祂是大司祭，像我们一样受苦，而能分担我们的软弱（参阅希﹕四，14），幷借着十字架的痛苦经验而「达到完成」，「为一切服从祂的人，成了永远救恩的根源」（希﹕五，9）。
3．亲爱的青年人，面对这些伟大的奥迹，请学习以默观的态度高举你们的心。停下来以赞叹的心注视圣母玛利亚带到世界上来的圣婴，祂裹着襁褓，躺在马槽中：这婴孩就是天主，祂亲自来到我们当中。请注视纳匝肋的耶稣，有些人接纳祂，有些人郄鄙视祂，轻蔑、排斥祂﹕祂是所有人的救主。请敬拜基督我们的救世者，祂拯救我们，便我们从罪恶和死亡中解放出来：祂是生活的天主，生命的泉源。
请默想反省！天主创造我们来分享祂自己的生命；祂召叫我们做祂的子女、做基督奥体中生活的一份子，爱之神的光辉圣殿。祂召叫我们成为祂的：祂要我们大家都成为圣人。亲爱的年轻人，愿你们都有成圣的崇高雄心，因为祂是圣的。
你们会问﹕但是，在今天要成为圣人，有可能吗？要是我们只能依靠人的力量，这个任务确实是不可能。其实，你们的成功和失败，你们自己都很清楚；你们都知道人所承受的重担、威胁着他的许多危险，以及因为他的罪恶而引起的后果。有时候我们会感到泄气，甚至会认为，要对这世界或我们自己做任何改变，都是不可能的。 尽管旅途多艰，但是在救主内，我们一切都能做到。所以除了耶稣，请不要投靠任何人。不要向别处寻求只有祂能给你的，因为「在天下人间，没有别的名字，使我们赖以得救」（宗﹕四，12）。与基督一起，成圣--这是天主对每一个领过洗的人的旨意--是可能做到的。请依靠祂，相信福音无可匹敌的力量，把信仰做为你希望的基础。耶稣与你同行，祂以圣神的力量更新你的心，使你坚强。
世界各地的年轻朋友，在新的千年中请不要害怕做圣人！要做默观、仁爱的祈祷者，坚守你的信仰，慷慨地为弟兄姊妹服务，在教会要积极的参与，缔造和平。为了能在以上种种严苛的生命计划中成功，必须继续倾听祂的圣言，从圣事中汲取力量，特别是圣体圣事和好圣事。天主要你成为祂福音的坚毅门徒，做新人类的缔造者。事实上，你怎能说你相信天主造人，郄不采取坚定的立场，反对所有摧毁人类生命及家庭的事物呢？如果你相信基督为每一个人启示了天父的爱，就不能不努力于在建设新世界上贡献力量，这个新世界是建立在爱及宽恕的力量上，建立在反对不义及一切肉体、道德及心灵的压迫上，建立在把政治、经济、文化和科技导向于为人类服务及人的整体发展上。 4．我真诚地希望近在跟前的大禧年，能成为一个心灵革新和特别赞美天主对人类之爱的适当时刻。从整个教会，会升起「赞美感谢天父的赞歌，祂以无与伦比的爱，赐我们在基督内成为『圣徒的同胞，天主的家人』」（弗﹕二，19）。愿我们能从圣保禄宗徒的肯定中得到安慰：天主既然没有怜惜祂自己的儿子，反而为我众人把祂交出去了，祂又怎会不把一切随同祂一幷赐给我们呢？谁能使我们与基督的爱隔离？生命中的种种遭遇，包括死亡，我们都能借着那爱我们，甚至死于十字架上的那一位，使我们不仅止于大获全胜而已（参阅罗：八，31-37）。
天主之子降生成人的奥迹，以及祂为所有人挣得的救恩奥迹，构成了我们信仰的中心讯息。教会宣报这个奥秘，历经两千年，而行走于「世人的误解和迫害，以及天主的安慰」中。她把这奥秘托付给她的子女，做为需要保护和分享的珍贵宝藏。
亲爱的年轻人，你们也是这遗产的受托人：「这是我们的信仰。这是教会的信仰。我们在耶稣基督，我们的主内，骄傲地宣认这信仰」。在下一届世界青年日中，我们要一起宣示这信仰，我希望你们许多人都能来参加。罗马是一个「圣殿城市」，对圣伯多禄及圣保禄以及其它殉道者的怀念，会让每一个领过洗的朝圣者想起自己的圣召。明年八月，我们要在世人面前重发圣伯多禄宗徒所宣示的信仰﹕「主！唯你有永生的话，我们还能去投奔谁呢」（若：六，68），因为「你是默西亚，永生天主之子」（玛﹕十六，16）。
至于各位男女孩，下一世纪的主人翁，也受托保管「生命之书」。今年圣诞夜，第一个跨过圣门的人--教宗，会向教会及世人出示，「生命之书」是生命的泉源和第三个千年的希望。
愿它成为你们最宝贵的财产：请仔细地研读、慷慨地接纳天主圣言，你会在日常生活中得到滋养和力量；你会找到动力，不厌倦地献身于建立「爱的文明」。 5．现在让我们把眼光转向天主童贞之母，关于她，罗马珍藏了一座最早也最受尊敬的纪念物，是由热心的基督徒所奉献，就是圣母大殿。
圣言降生成人以及人类的救赎，都与圣母领报密切相连，在领报时，天主向玛利亚透露祂的旨意，幷在她--一位像各位一样的年轻人--身上找到了对祂爱的行动完全开放的心。几世纪以来，基督徒每天都在诵念三钟经中纪念天主进入了人类历史中。愿这篇祷文成为你每天的默想祈祷。
玛利亚是在正义的太阳--救主基督--升起之前的曙光。随着她在领报时的「尔旨承行」，她完全开放自己，接受天父的旨意，她欣然接受圣子降生成人，幷使其成为可能。做为耶稣的第一个门徒，玛利亚总是默默地陪伴耶稣，直到走上加耳瓦略山，幷在门徒等待耶稣复活及圣神降临时，维系他们的希望。在教会生活中，她仍然奥秘地继续担任天主来临的先行者。玛利亚从不间断地履行她身为教会之母及每一位基督徒之母的职责，因此我怀着信心，把第十五届世界青年日的筹备工作托付给她。
亲爱的青年朋友，愿至圣圣母教导各位，如何分辨在天之父对你们生命的旨意。愿她为你们求得力量与智慧，来跟天主谈话以及谈论天主。借着她的榜样，愿她鼓励各位，在新的千年中，成为希望、仁爱与和平的宣报者。
我盼望明年在罗马与你们各位见面，「我把你们托付给天主和祂恩宠之道，祂能建立你们，幷在一切圣徒中，赐给你们嗣业」（宗﹕廿，32），同时我也满怀深厚的感情，愉快地降福你们大家，你们的家庭以及你们所爱的人。
一九九九年六月廿九日，圣伯多禄和圣保禄庆日，发自梵蒂冈
若望保禄二世
以下是世界青年节文告的英文版：
My dear young people
1. Fifteen years ago, at the close of the Holy Year of the Redemption, I entrusted to you a great wooden Cross, asking you to carry it across the world as a sign of the love which the Lord Jesus has for mankind and to proclaim to everyone that only in Christ who died and is risen is there salvation and redemption. Since that day, carried by generous hands and hearts, the Cross has made a long, uninterrupted pilgrimage across the continents, to demonstrate that the Cross walks with young people and young people walk with the Cross.
Around the “Holy Year Cross”, World Youth Days were born and developed as meaningful “moments of rest” along your journey as young Christians; a constant, pressing invitation to build life on the rock that is Christ. How can we fail to bless the Lord for the countless fruits born in the hearts of individuals and in the whole Church thanks to the World Youth Days, which in this last part of the century have marked the journey of young believers towards the new millennium?
After spanning the continents, that Cross now returns to Rome bringing with it the prayers and commitment of millions of young people who have recognized it as a simple and sacred sign of God’s love for humanity. Because Rome, as you know, will host World Youth Day of the Year 2000, in the heart of the Great Jubilee.
Dear young people, I invite you therefore to undertake with joy the pilgrimage to Rome for this important ecclesial appointment, which will rightly be the “Youth Jubilee”. Prepare to enter the Holy Door, knowing that to pass through it is to strengthen faith in Him in order to live the new life which he has given to us (cfr Incarnationis Mysterium 8).
2. I chose as the theme for your 15th World Day the lapidary phrase with which Saint John the Apostle describes the profound mystery of God made man: “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). What distinguishes the Christian faith from all other religions, is the certainty that the man Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, the Word made flesh, the second person of the Trinity who came into the world. “Such is the joyous conviction of the Church from her beginning, whenever she sings 'the mystery of our religion': 'He was manifested in the flesh'” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 463). God, the invisible one is alive and present in the person of Jesus, Son of Mary, the Theotokos, Mother of God. Jesus of Nazareth is God with us, Emmanuel: he who knows Him knows God, he who sees Him sees God, he who follows Him follows God, he who unites himself with Him is united with God (cfr Jn 12:44-50). In Jesus, born in Bethlehem, God embraces the human condition, making himself accessible, establishing a covenant with mankind.
On the eve of the new millennium, I make again to you my pressing appeal to open wide the doors to Christ who “to those who received him, gave power to become children of God” (Jn 1:12) To receive Jesus Christ means to accept from the Father the command to live, loving Him and our brothers and sisters, showing solidarity to everyone, without distinction; it means believing that in the history of humanity even though it is marked by evil and suffering, the final word belongs to life and to love, because God came to dwell among us, so we may dwell in Him.
By his incarnation Christ became poor to enrich us with his poverty, and he gave us redemption, which is the fruit above all of the blood he shed on the Cross (cfr Catechism of the Catholic Church 517). On Calvary, “ours were the sufferings he bore ... he was pierced through for our faults” (Is 53: 4-5). The supreme sacrifice of his life, freely given for our salvation, is the proof of God’s infinite love for us. Saint John the Apostle writes: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that everyone that believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). He sent Him to share in every way, except sin, our human condition; he “gave” him totally to men, despite their obstinate and homicidal rejection (cfr Mt 21:33-39), to obtain, through his death, their reconciliation. “The God of creation is revealed as the God of redemption, as the God who is 'faithful to himself' and faithful to his love for man and the world which he revealed on the day of creation ... how precious must man be in the eyes of the Creator, if he gained so great a Redeemer” (Redemptor hominis 9.10)
Jesus went towards his death. He did not draw back from any of the consequences of his being “with us”, Emmanuel. He took our place, ransoming us on the Cross from evil and sin (cfr Evangelium vitae 50). Just as the Roman Centurion, seeing the manner in which Jesus died, understood that he was the Son of God (cfr Mk 15:39) so we too, seeing and contemplating the Crucified Lord, understand who God really is, as he reveals in Jesus the depth of his love for mankind (cfr Redemptor hominis 9). “Passion” means a passionate love, unconditioned self- giving: Christ’s passion is the summit of an entire life “given” to his brothers and sisters to reveal the heart of the Father. The Cross, which seems to rise up from the earth, in actual fact reaches down from heaven, enfolding the universe in a divine embrace. The Cross reveals itself to be “the centre, meaning and goal of all history and of every human life” (Evangelium vitae 50).
“One man has died for all” (2 Cor 5:14): Christ “gave himself up in our place as a fragrant offering and a sacrifice to God” (Eph 5:2). Behind the death of Jesus there is a plan of love, which the faith of the Church calls the “mystery of the redemption”: the whole of humanity is redeemed, that is, set free from the slavery of sin and led into the kingdom of God. Christ is Lord of heaven and earth. Whoever listens to his word and believes in the Father, who sent him, has eternal life (cfr Jn 5:25). He is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (Jn 1:29.36), the high priest who, having suffered like us, is able to share our infirmity (cfr Heb 4:14 ) and “made perfect” through the painful experience of the Cross, becomes “for all who obey him, the source of eternal salvation” (Heb 5:9).
3. Dear young people, faced with these great mysteries, learn to lift your hearts in an attitude of contemplation. Stop and look with wonder at the infant Mary brought into the world, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger: the infant is God himself who has come among us. Look at Jesus of Nazareth, received by some and scorned by others, despised and rejected: He is the Saviour of all. Adore Christ, our Redeemer, who ransoms us and frees us from sin and death: He is the living God, the source of Life.
Contemplate and reflect! God created us to share in his very own life; he calls us to be his children, living members of the mystical Body of Christ, luminous temple of the Spirit of Love. He calls us to be his: he wants us all to be saints. Dear young people, may it be your holy ambition to be holy, as He is holy.
You will ask me: but is it possible today to be saints? If we had to rely only on human strength, the undertaking would be truly impossible. You are well aware, in fact, of your successes and your failures; you are aware of the heavy burdens weighing on man, the many dangers which threaten him and the consequences caused by his sins. At times we may be gripped by discouragement and even come to think that it is impossible to change anything either in the world or in ourselves.
Although the journey is difficult, we can do everything in the One who is our Redeemer. Turn then to no one, except Jesus. Do not look elsewhere for that which only He can give you, because “of all the names in the world given to men this is the only one by which we can be saved” (Acts 4:12). With Christ, saintliness - the divine plan for every baptized person - becomes possible. Rely on Him; believe in the invincible power of the Gospel and place faith as the foundation of your hope. Jesus walks with you, he renews your heart and strengthens you with the vigour of his Spirit.
Young people of every continent, do not be afraid to be the saints of the new millennium! Be contemplative, love prayer; be coherent with your faith and generous in the service of your brothers and sisters, be active members of the Church and builders of peace. To succeed in this demanding project of life, continue to listen to His Word, draw strength from the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Penance. The Lord wants you to be intrepid apostles of his Gospel and builders of a new humanity. In fact, how could you say you believe in God made man without taking a firm position against all that destroys the human person and the family? If you believe that Christ has revealed the Father’s love for every person, you cannot fail to strive to contribute to the building of a new world, founded on the power of love and forgiveness, on the struggle against injustice and all physical, moral and spiritual distress, on the orientation of politics, economy, culture and technology to the service of man and his integral development.
4. I sincerely wish that the Jubilee, now at the door, may be an opportune time for courageous spiritual renewal and an exceptional celebration of God’s love for humanity. From the whole Church may there rise up “a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to the Father, who in his incomparable love granted us in Christ to be 'fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God'” (Incarnationis Mysterium 6). May we draw comfort from the certainty expressed by Saint Paul the Apostle: If God did not spare his only Son but gave him for us, how can he fail to give us everything with him? Who can separate us from the love of Christ? In every event of life, including death, we can be more than winners, by virtue of the One who loved us to the Cross (cfr Rom 8: 31-37).
The mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God and that of the Redemption he worked for all men, constitute the central message of our faith. The Church proclaims this down through the centuries, walking “amidst the misunderstandings and persecutions of the world and the consolations of God” (S. Augustine De Civ. Dei 18, 51, 2; PL 41,614) and she entrusts it to her children as a precious treasure to be safeguarded and shared.
You too, dear young people, are the receivers and the trustees of this heritage: “This is our faith. This is the faith of the Church. And we are proud to profess it, in Jesus Christ Our Lord” (Roman Pontifical, Rite of Confirmation). We will proclaim it together on the occasion of the next World Youth Day, in which I hope very many of you will take part. Rome is a “city- shrine” where the memory of the Apostles Peter and Paul and other martyrs remind pilgrims of the vocation of every baptized person. Before the world, in August next year, we will repeat the profession of faith made by Saint Peter the Apostle: “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68) because “you are the Christ the Son of the Living God!” (Mt 16:16).
Also to you boys and girls who will be adults in the next century, is entrusted the “Book of Life”, which on Christmas Eve this year the Pope, the first to cross the threshold of the Holy Door, will show to the Church and to the world as the wellspring of life and hope for the third millennium (Incarnationis Mysterium 8).
May it become your most precious treasure: in the careful study and generous acceptance of the Word of the Lord, you will find nourishment and strength for your daily life, you will find motivation for tireless commitment to the building of a civilization of love.
5. Let us now turn our eyes to the Virgin Mother of God, of whom the city of Rome treasures one of the earliest and most honoured monuments which the devotion of the Christian people has dedicated to her: the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.
The Incarnation of the Word and the Redemption of mankind are closely linked with the Annunciation when God revealed to Mary his plan and found in her, a young person like yourselves, a heart totally open to the action of his love. For centuries Christian devotion has recalled every day, with the recitation of the Angelus Domini, God’s entrance into the history of man. May this prayer become your daily meditated prayer.
Mary is the dawn which precedes the rising of the Sun of justice, Christ our Redeemer. With her “yes” at the Annunciation, as she opened herself completely to Father’s plan, she welcomed and made possible the incarnation of the Son. The first disciple, with her discreet presence she accompanied Jesus all the way to Calvary and sustained the hope of the Apostles as they waited for the Resurrection and Pentecost. In the life of the Church she continues to be mystically the one who precedes the Lord’s coming. To Mary, who fulfills without interruption her ministry as Mother of the Church and of each Christian, I entrust with confidence the preparation of the 15th World Youth Day. May Most Holy Mary teach you, dear young people, how to discern the will of the heavenly Father in your life. May she obtain for you the strength and the wisdom to speak to God and to speak about God. Through her example may she encourage you to be in the new millennium announcers of hope, love and peace.
Looking forward to meeting many of you in Rome next year, “I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace that has power to build you up and to give you your inheritance among all the sanctified” (Acts 20:32), while, gladly and with great affection, I bless all of you, with your families and your loved ones.
From the Vatican, June 29th 1999, solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul
Joannes Paulus P.P. II