Facts For Life - A Canadian High School Students Pro-Life Newspaper

What does Pope John Paul II expect of our young people (aged 16-35) at World Youth Day in July 2002? When he entrusted the WYD Cross to the faithful youth of Canada on Palm Sunday in April, 2001, his message, one to which all young people should aspire and respond, was direct and challenging: “Young people, be saints of the New Millennium”.
At the World Youth Day in Denver, 1993, he made clear his priorities: “Place your intelligence, your talents, your enthusiasm, your compassion and your fortitude at the service of life”.

When our Holy Vicar of Christ entrusted the WYD CROSS to Canadian youth he was calling them forth to be the “salt of the earth and light to the world”, living signs of life and hope in communities across Canada and the world.

The WYD CROSS is to be the forerunner of healing. The WYD CROSS is to enable all communities to reflect upon the meaning of their lives and their faith. The WYD CROSS is to remind everyone of the sacrifice of love that Jesus paid for us.
Mother Teresa helps us to understand what the awesome decision to follow Christ, to become holy, entails: “To resolve to be a saint means I will rid myself of all that is not God; I will strip my heart and empty it of all created things; I will live in poverty and detachment and I will renounce my will, my inclinations, my whims and fancies and offer myself as a willing slave to the will of God. Yes, my children, this is what I pray for daily, for each one, that you may become a slave to the will of God” (Mother Teresa, Total Surrender, edit. Bro. Angel Devananda, Servant Publications, 1995, p. 32).

Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic, Archbishop of Toronto, in his pastoral letter about the World Youth Day helps everyone to understand what it is all about: “The World Youth Day is a pilgrimage: it is a free departure from the routines of every day. It is a journey creating a community of its own; motivated by the goal it sets for itself. This goal consists in meeting other young people, strengthening and being strengthened by the faith they share, focussing on the prayer and the Eucharist with the Holy Father.

A very significant element of this journey is the sacrament of Reconciliation, which will purify our minds and hearts… A good way to prepare for the work of being hosts is for those young Catholics who go to church regularly to invite others to join them in their weekly meeting with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. I am firmly convinced that the World Youth Day will make Jesus’ light shine more brightly in their hearts and in our hearts, and in the world beyond”.

Archbishop Marcel Gervais, Archbishop of Ottawa, in his pro-life Sunday message points out: “Young people view life as the base of their anticipated accomplishments… The taking of unborn life is a major blight on our society, and we would hope that the upcoming generation of leaders will right such a deep social wrong in this country. How the present political and scientific leadership has ever come to deem that the exterminating of more than 100, 000 unborn children every year can enhance the common good is impossible to grasp. We must encourage our youth to bring reason to bear over convenience so that human life is truly appreciated as the first and most important gift a human being receives”.

Several questions immediately come to mind about the changes that can come about if our young people are open to the celebration of life. These are messages that have been provided by our Holy Father.

World Youth Day
www.wyd2002.org/

WORLD YOUTH CELEBRATION OF LIFE
VOCATION AND MISSION: PRO-LIFE SERVANTHOOD
by Fr. Jim Whalen

    World Youth Day is a time for many to look at their calling (vocation), to examine their ‘mission in life’. All Catholics are called to the mission to serve God and their neighbour. This is especially so for the littlest neighbour (the unborn), the most vulnerable neighbour (the handicapped), the most neediest neighbour (the chronically ill) and the most fragile neighbour (the elderly). In real living this means to give of one’s life for the other. “There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15:13).

    In Christ’s teachings the greatest of all is the servant: “Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest" (Matt 20:26). This is why the title most favoured by Pope John Paul II is ‘servant of the servants’. Youth’s attitude must be Christ’s: “He emptied Himself and took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:7). It is difficult to see how being a pro-life servant will lead to any greatness. Those who follow the world’s ways of greatness tend to be goal-driven, self-made, self-centred, powerful and wealthy.

    What youth need to fulfill the pastoral goal of pro-life servanthood is the pro-life heart of a servant. This means considering others better than yourselves and looking not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others. It implies also that you should be alert at all times to the needs of others and try to find solutions for those needs. The heart of the servant recognizes that when you serve and love others, share your lives with them, you are serving and loving Christ. This pro-life servanthood can take many forms: visitation of the sick and elderly in nursing homes; teaching children their faith in Sunday school classes; working with handicapped patients, the blind and the deaf; working in pro-life centres to defend the unborn; working on pro-life teams to build a ‘culture of life’; working with AIDS victims who need friends and volunteering for special needs camps. The heart of the servant actively searches for the needs of others and attempts to respond with the spirit of Christ: love, generosity, kindness, mercy and compassion. In making a servant’s choice to die to ourselves, to serve others, a whole new life is discovered and one is changed forever. Constantly making the choice to be and live as servants will enable you to acquire the heart of the servant. Serving Christ will be your motivation. It always costs you something. Laying down your life for others means laying down your time, your possessions, your money, and your plans for others. Servanthood will kill in you all that is not of Jesus and will let His life, His nature, and His identity make you more pro-life and pro-love. You are called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. You can make a great difference and a better world.

    ‘Pro-life servanthood’ will become your very nature. He who is least is the greatest. ‘Pro-life servanthood’ will become your very lives. He who is poorest is the richest. ‘Pro-life servanthood’ will be your vocation to bring the good news to all (a witness to Christ’s life). ‘Pro-life servanthood’ will be your mission to bring peace to all (a strong prayer life).

    Our Holy Father has asked young people to take it upon themselves the duty of praying for peace. As he has indicated, young people instinctively turn away from hatred and are attracted by love.

In many high schools, students are permitted to assist in opening announcements and prayers. We encourage you to say the following prayer at least once a week in your school.