Communicating Christianity's Joy: The Pope's Hope for WYD 2005

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The Pope wants the young to understand true Christianity. It's not a taxonomy of burdensome rules and prohibitions. It is the joy of living in a relationship with God himself through his Son, Jesus Christ! In a Europe adrift from Christian values, and where a despondancy of culture has begone to settle in, Pope Benedict XVI longs to connect the young with the joy of life in Christ:

"I would like to show them how beautiful it is to be Christian, because the widespread idea which continues to exist is that Christianity is composed of laws and bans which one has to keep and, hence, is something toilsome and burdensome," he said.

"I want to make clear that it is not a burden ... but it is like having wings," he said.

"As Christians we are never alone -- in the sense that God is always with us, but also in the sense that we are always standing together in a large community," he said.

Asked how an "aged pope" could communicate the church's traditional wisdom to young people, the pontiff laughed and said he would need God's help. He said he was aware that young people want to learn about life directly for themselves and "don't want someone to regurgitate it for them."

But he said he would emphasize that the church's belief is not like old food "which we have had for 2,000 years and which is reheated again and again." Instead, he said, the church is a rejuvenating power that draws its strength from "the fresh font of God."

One of the most refreshing phenomena I've observed as a blogger is the evident joy I find among many Catholic and Christian bloggers. They're excited about the lives they live in Christ Jesus. They're happy knowing they participate in a vivacious relationship with Jesus Christ. They're joy becomes a contagion for all who meet them. Including yours truly.

Not that I lacked for Faith before I blogged. No, blogging is an extension of my Faith and vocation, not a cause of it. However, I find encouragement in the presence of so many joyous witnesses to the truth of Jesus Christ and Christianity. If there is any outrage that we show, it's to the false witness and calumny that so many engage in regarding Christ, the Church and Christianity as a whole. These false prophets would lead us all away from the oasis we enjoy to a mirage in the heart of the desert. They would swallow sand while calling it honey and urge us to do the same. They would lead others that have not experienced the joy of life in Christ to follow them away from him. How can we not oppose such obfuscation with passion? While we may love the sinners, we must never rejoice in the sin.

Having said that, there's a fine line between expressing righteous indignation for the purpose of fraternal correction and indulging in anger for the purpose of dehumanization of the "other." Pope Benedict XVI reminds us all today that Christianity is about joy, not wrath. We celebrate the relationship that Christ begins with us. Thus, while we may oppose distortions of him and his message, we must never become harpies while doing so. Our witness is to Christ, not to constant opposition of his opponents.

I pray that through Pope Benedict XVI's witness, the young in attendance of this year's World Youth Day may awaken to the joy of Christ's presence in their midst. May they return from WYD 2005 on fire in their Faith in Christ, and spread that fire to their homes and communities. May God bring forth a fruitful harvest of souls from this great sowing and reaping.