Cardinal Pell Catechesis: “Maintain the light of faith”

Article from the official WYD site, printed here in full because of their ongoing problems with denial of service attacks:

The Love and Life has been a home for English speaking pilgrims throughout these five days of WYD activities.  Kicking off events for the first day of Catechesis on Wednesday, Sr. Mary Gabriel gave a brief talk about what it means to be human. She elaborated on the capacity for greatness that each and every person has access to through their baptism.

“The effects of baptism are limitless!” she said.

Through humorous stories and an engaging style, she brought her point home. To conclude, she reminded her listeners of Pope Benedict XVI´s words: “You were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness.”

After her talk, Cardinal Pell gave his catechesis to the almost full auditorium. Pell called for young people to stay strong in their faith.

 Cardinal George Pell of Sydney, Australia was ordained a priest in 1966 and was consecrated the eighth metropolitan Archbishop of Sydney by Pope John Paul II in 2003.

He reminded his listeners that Faith is alive and real: “Not empty promises, not religious platitudes, not a vague ecological sensitivity….but the affirmation of the existence of a personal God who makes demands on our lives but who loves us without measure.”

This faith, he said, would not be easy to keep alive. There will be challenges.

“The great struggle of our generation will be to hand down the faith.”

He encouraged prayer as a means to keep the faith alive in the various struggles that each person faces in their life.

“The battle is to keep the flame of faith burning, to rekindle where it is dimming, to start it again where it might have gone out. I need your promise that the flame of faith will not existinguish during your watch, that in your generation the flame of faith will not weaken, can I ask you this?”

He pointed out that we serve a rational God and one who loves us without limits even when we fall but that prayer is the best remedy.

“We know that our hearts can be hardened and blinded by the cares of the world, money, possessions, and bad habits imprisoned by our selfishness.

“Pray regularly to purify the vision of our hearts and survival of our own faith during the ups and downs of our own story.

Photo of George Cardinal Pell