Il Kerygma 4. - Manila, X WYD 1995 ENG

La Giornata Mondiale della Gioventù di Manila 1995 è stata quella dei grandi numeri. Alla Messa finale del 15 gennaio (inverno boreale) al Luneta Park era presente un numero compreso tra i 4 e i 5 milioni di persone. Di seguito il testo del Kerygma in inglese: al termine dell'incontro ci fu una chiamata vocazionale per il seminario (si alzarono circa 350 ragazzi) e per il monastero di clausura (circa 300 ragazze).

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MEETING WITH KIKO , CARMEN, AND FR. MARIO
in Amoranto stadium
in front of 15.000 people from the neocatechumenal communities coming from all over Asia in occasion of the X World Youth Day 1995

(Kiko)
Let us start singing "Glory,Glory" so that everybody may sing. Let us try in English.
(Practice of song: Glory)
Please sit down so we may start. Silence please! Let us see if the translation works well. I will speak in Spanish and he will translate into English. I hope that the Lord may give us the gift of tongues to understand in our spirit whatever the Lord may give us. Now be sitted and let us start. Please stop taking pictures. Later on ,you may. I will tell you how the meeting will be. Is the translation okay? Can you hear?
After the invocation to the Holy Spirit, we will make a presentation of the different nations and the provinces of the Philippines coming from Luzon or other parts. Later on Cardinal Sin will give us a word because he has a farewell party for the Cardinals who were with the Holy Father. We will start with a procession of the Virgin of Peace and Good Voyage who was with the Holy Father. Later on we will have a celebration of the Word and a catechesis, a call to conversion. At the end, we hope the Lord may call someone to follow Christ as presbyter for the evangelization of the third millennium. I hope that this will be a very important historical event as a fruit of the meeting of the Holy Father in Manila. Let us start. Please stand up. Silence.
Prayer
We bless you, O Lord, our Father, Holy God, eternal King because in your great mercy you give us life. You have convoked us here in Manila, Lord, the only one who does not get scandalized of us. Have mercy. Send from heaven your spirit to renew our lives, to renew the face of the earth. We ask you this in the name of your Son who presents before you his glorious wounds for each one of us. We beg you all of this together, singing.
O Lord Send Forth Your Spirit (sung)

Presentation
Please be sitted. Now we will make the presentation as we did in Denver, many of you were in Denver. You will stand up, you will raise your hands and at the end we will clap our hands to greet you.

Let us start with the brothers from Japan, stand up! Welcome! Here is the Bishop of Takamatsu, Monsignor Fukahori and Monsignor Kirayama, Bishop of Oita. They have accompanied the young people from Japan. Here are present the brothers of Korea. Welcome! There are some brothers from Hong Kong . Welcome! Some brothers from Taiwan. Welcome! Some brothers from Malaysia. Welcome, brothers! The brothers from Sabah. The brothers from Indonesia. There are brothers from India. Some brothers from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Also from Singapore. Welcome, Singapore! Some brothers from Thailand. The brothers from Australia. Welcome, Australia! I hope to see you very soon. There is a bishop from Australia, the Bishop of Darwin. And the brothers from Italy. Welcome Italians! We placed them in the best places here. Now we will start with the Philippines, from the different islands. The Bishop of Spain came, Monsignor Javier Martinez, auxiliary bishop of Madrid and some Spaniards. Now the responsible of the Philippines, Luigi, will present to us those coming from the different zones of the Philippines.
(Luigi)
We can start from the north, the brothers and sisters coming from the Diocese of Laoag. Welcome! We introduce the brothers and sisters according to the region and the itinerant team evangelizing in that place. The brothers and sisters coming from the Diocese of Bataan and Olongapo, with the itinerant team. The members from Pangasinan and Nueva Ecija. Welcome! The brothers and sisters coming from Daet and some from Isabela! The members from Catanduanes, Diocese of Virac. The members of the community coming from Legazpi, Albay Diocese. Welcome! Those coming from Nueva Caceres, Naga. From the Diocese of Sorsogon. From Masbate, with their itinerant team. The brothers and sisters coming from borongan and Catarman in Samar. From Leyte, welcome! From the Dioceses of Panay, Iloilo. Welcome! From the Diocese of Bacolod, Davao - the farthest ones - with them also Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro. Welcome! Are there diocese not yet presented or introduced? The surrounding dioceses of Manila. Imus. Antipolo. Cebu also. Finally the diocese of Cardinal Sin, Manila. Also Bishop Alo is here wt. us. Let us give an applause to Bishop Alo. There are also brothers from Dumaguete here, welcome! Are there others? Laguna, San Pablo. Lipa. Well, if there are others not yet introduced consider yourselves introduced.

(Kiko)
Now brothers let us listen to a word from Cardinal Sin to welcome us.

(Cardinal Sin)
The bishops present here, the reverend fathers, Kiko, our founder - let us give him a round of applause - brothers and sisters from different parts of the world, from Korea, from Chins, from Australia, from Malaysia, and from Hong Kong, from Italy - let us give them a round of applause - young men and women of the Philippines. I am delighted to see all of you this afternoon after all these days of great enthusiasm and love for God and for the Church. I learned that we are here in order to listen to God and to be able to find out whether you are being called to become an apostle of Christ, maybe in the holy priesthood, maybe in the monastery of women. But God has called us all to do something whether we are laymen or lay women, there is a duty for us to proclaim the gospel of God. However, I will tell you four stories. Stories are beautiful...

...I think that is enough, I will have to leave but I will tell you that I am very happy. Young people, Holy Mother the Church calls on you. Arise bright with hope, her face full of emotion, expecting that you will be true to her now and forever. Holy Mother the Church speaks to you. You have strong bodies, alert minds, indomitable spirit, courage, enthusiasm, a past people with intrepid liberty and democracy. In you lies the spirit of a great tradition and as our forefathers were called to die for that faith you are now called to live for that faith so that out of the agony and ashes of our past we may build a better world than those heroes ever dreamed of. I love you all very dearly. I love you all very dearly, cross my heart.

(Kiko)

Let us receive the blessing of the Cardinal before he leaves for the nunciature.

(Cardinal Sin)

Here is my message. But I was so inspired that I did not read what I would like to tell you. I'll give it to Kiko.

The Lord be with you. I will ask the bishops present here to join me in blessing all of you. May your years always be happy in the service of our King. May the days that stretch before you many graces to you bring. May the angels come to greet you, offer you reward for love. With the blessing of this poor minister of God, glory, peace ____ crown above, and may almighty God bless all of you in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Good night, sweet dreams.

(Kiko)

I will speak a little Italian for these brothers. Now, the Lord wanted to start this meeting with a word from the bishop of Manila, Cardinal Sin, which is a sample, let us continue our meeting welcoming the Holy Virgin Mary. She will enter in procession here and she will be placed upon these flowers. After, we will listen to the Word of God and after we will give you a catechesis that the Lord shall inspire, sending His Spirit upon you. While the Holy Virgin enters brought by twelve seminarians with torches we will sing 'Blessed Mary' in English. Do you all know 'Blessed Mary' in English? Our celebration will be presided by Msgr. Paul Cordes, vice-president of the Institute for the Laity, and designated by the Pope to take charge of the Neo-Catechumenal Way. Please applaud.

(Msgr. Paul Cordes)
Mabuhay! I feel very happy to be with you all this evening here. I think it is worthwhile to come together after the marvelous meeting with the Holy Father. I think we are still full of joy and the joy was deepened again by the very nice stories of Cardinal Sin. Now we need to concretize more this feeling in our heart and so I think it's very logical to come together or reflect again about the Word of God. And each one of us has to deepen his own vocation. So for me this meeting is very logically linked with the big meeting with the Holy Father and I'm very grateful and happy that Kiko, Carmen and Mario invited me to stay with you and with the brother bishops this evening. God bless you all!

(Kiko)
Let us stand up and welcome the Holy Virgin singing. I would like to tell you something. This night for some of you can be very important. God wanted to save the world through the foolishness of preaching. It is very important that you may understand preaching. It is not a sermon. It is not an illumination from your intelligence. It is something else, something different. Without faith there is no salvation for us. Faith comes from the ear, the ear. God wanted to save the world through the littleness of preaching and we need to listen - it's not easy. When God appears on Mount Sinai after he brought out of Egypt the people of Israel, after he opened the sea, after he opened a way in the desert, and brought them to Mount Sinai, God appears on the mountain in the midst of a cloud, with a big thunderbolt, like a big earthquake and the people at the foot of the mountain were terrorized. A voice from God was heard: Shema, Israel! In Hebrew, Shema, which means listen. Listen, Israel! Listen! Because the life of many of you can change today if you listen. For this let us pray to the Virgin Mary. May she be the one helping us to listen because God is Word. The Gospel of John says: 'In the beginning there was the Word, verbo, the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God'. Listen to the Word of God. I am today a poor instrument. God wants to give you through the word salvation. Now we will welcome the Holy Virgin Mary. May she prepare the heart of each one of you, to open your ears so that you may listen as she has heard the word of the Archangel Gabriel. Without this Word and without her listening the incarnation would have been impossible. The Word, the verbo, has entered Mary. She has listened to the Word of God, has welcomed it. It has entered in her and has taken her flesh. This, this night will be accomplished. Let us welcome the Virgin in this image with the words of her cousin Elizabeth: How is it that the Mother of God comes to me? The mother of God is coming to us. Let us sing 'Blessed are you, O Mary'. Let us all sing.

(Msgr. Paul Cordes)

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Peace be with you. And also with you.
Let us pray. God, heavenly Father, you gave us these marvelous days , staying together as Church, staying together with the Holy Father. You gave us a message to follow. You gave us your message in Jesus Christ. We ask you to open our inner ears, to open our hearts for this message of love and peace, for this message of salvation, for ourselves and for this big continent of Asia. You gave us your mother, the mother of Jesus Christ as a symbol of those who are obedient to your word. We thank you that she is in our midst, that she gives us the model of how to follow your word. We are very often not ready. We are very often too much occupied with ourselves. We ask you to send us your Holy Spirit. This is the true force in which we can be your apostles, in which we can be open for your word, in which we can hear and follow everything you intended for us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Kiko)

Please, it is very important that each one of you may be in your place. It is a liturgy. It is a moment of important prayer. Please sit down in your places. Try not to walk around and forget all the pictures, at the end you can do it. Now we will listen to a word. Please, if you move I can not speak. All of you must be sitted. The word we are going to listen to is a word of God. It has the power to cast out from us the evil spirit. Just by listening to it. It is the word of the prophet Isaiah: Listen, remotest islands. We are in the islands. This word proclaims what we are doing here. You are my servant, says the word. I have formed you in your mother's womb, I knew you. I have formed you so that you may be light of the nations. We are in the Philippines. God in his providence wanted that Spain bring the gospel to these islands. Today in front of the third millennium and in front of a terrible menace against faith, which is secularization. Due to the advancement in technology they are in the service of money and everybody wants money. As everyone wants to go to Europe, South America to North America where there technology, where there is progress, where there is money. This progress that secularization that destroy the relation with God. I come from a nation that is losing the faith because of secularization. Once a person finds money, a very nice car, a very good job, he doesn't need anymore neither the Virgin, nor God, nor the Church or any other religion. They don' t want to have more children, the family is destroyed. In North Europe there is no longer a family. This will arrive here and the whole Asia is preparing for this economic boom. I was saying that God wanted Spain to bring faith to the Philippines. Today in Spain, God was the one arising the Neo-Catechumenal way so that in front of secularization it is not possible to live faith at a very religious level, going to mass every Sunday. It is necessary to increase, grow up in faith so that the faith we have may not be destroyed by money. Money lifts up itself and oblige to sterilize women, family planning, to abort - money. Feeling that everybody must have money, we teach the mothers to kill their sons. In front of this situation that is forced, that is already menacing all of us, God has provided through the Holy Virgin Mary and has said: You have to form communities, Christian, like the sacred family of Nazareth. Why like the sacred family of Nazareth? Because the son of God, our Lord Jesus, was born of the Virgin Mary as a child, but to carry the salvation of the whole mankind, it is necessary that he may become adult. In front of secularization of the modern world, of North America, of Japan, of Europe, our faith, our little baptism needs to grow up, to become adult. And what example is the Virgin Mary giving us? Where did Christ become adult? In the family of Nazareth. In order that our baptism may grow up, it has need of a community like the family of Nazareth. If our baptism grows up no secularization can destroy it because our faith is not founded on money, has no relation with money. It has overcome the world, has overcome money.

The Neo-Catechumenal way, in the Neo-Catechumenal way there are two kinds of people. As you know in the Neo-Catechumenal way there is the second step where we place people in front of the word of God. You cannot serve both God and money. Choose today to whom you want to serve. You cannot serve God and money. That is why Jesus says in the gospel, "Go, sell everything you have and follow me". In another place, "Whoever wants to come and follow me must renounce to everything he has, to love me more than money, more than the wife, more than the daughter. God is first. In the way, when you grow up in faith, it is impossible to grow up in faith if you do not obey the gospel and we invite the brothers to put into practice the word. Whoever has chosen between money and Christ, Christ there happens a change of nature. The grace of the Holy Spirit works there. I was trying to make a monition. I am becoming lost.
God has brought us to the Philippines, Carmen and Fr. Mario, the responsible team in the world of the Neo-Catechumenal way because if Spain has brought faith into the Philippines some centuries ago, today God wants that Spain may bring to you the profundity of faith, an increase of faith, to become adult in faith so that you may evangelize Asia., so that you may answer in the third millennium to the economical menace, to the secularization. This is what this word proclaims now. It is saying, "Look how many nations are coming to you. You are my servant. I have chosen you as a covenant for the nations. " This is said of Christ and of His body. We are His body. covenant for the nations. There is a representation of Japan, little one, a pagan country, already in the economical boom. But later on comes China, and later on another nation of Asia. You say very well, money, money, money! But you go and see New York. You go and see Europe. See this places with this economical boom, with the families broken, etc. the drugs and other things. Money does not overcome death, CEOs not overcome AIDS, does not overcome cancer. What we preach, what we speak it overcomes eat, overcomes death, otherwise I will not speak to you today. Good, for all the brothers in the Philippines, we will proclaim it first in Tagalog. Listen to this word, O Philippines. Listen , it is for you. You will evangelize Asia but not with the faith you have now, that faith in front of money disappears. You need a faith that is adult. God wants to give it to you. Listen!
Isaiah 49: 1-18

(Kiko)
We have heard the voice of God speaking to us, and you have heard that God spoke. The word of God is a prophecy. It is always accomplished. He brings us branded in his wounds, he will never forget us. If you are here listening, it is because this word is being fulfilled. It is a miracle that you are here. So many people better than you are not here. They are in drugs, they are in jail, maybe they have lost their faith. Now let us answer the Lord with a song. After the word there is song sung together. Please, Lord we have heard your voice and your word has made of us a communion . It has started to put us in communion and for this we can sing to the Lord. We will sing with the words of the prophet Isaiah: I come together all the nations, Glory. We will clap the hands only when we sing 'Glory'. It is said in this song,'He will put a seal on those he has chosen and he will send them to the distant nation so that they may announce his glory and those he will send they will come back bringing other brothers as an oblation, as a gift to the Lord. From this nation, holiness that will come, I will choose some priests to announce my glory. This night, here, this will happen. Let us sing together.
song: Glory, Glory
As a monition to the gospel, I would like that Carmen may give you a word. Let us give an applause for Carmen.
(Carmen)
Mabuhay! This night I didn't sleep at all and just as the Cardinal was speaking I was sleeping. We just came yesterday to the Philippines and really the sun comes from the Orient. Just when all the plane was sleeping, the plane went to the sun. It was impressive to open the window to see the sun shining with a strong force which seemed to me like the sun going inside the plane, blinding. Just when we came here to Manila , we came from Hong Kong, in 20 minutes we will be in Manila. I was awake and I saw this island wonderful, marvelous work of God. The setting of the sun was spectacular. The grandeur, greatness of God. I was thinking just 30 years ago, I was in London 2 years just to learn English to go to India following the footsteps of Francis Xavier but this was in another project of God. I forgot all the English. Thirty years I don't speak a word of English but I have had always my heart in the mission of orient and I see the Philippines forgot the Spanish but I see now with the Pope, you did not forget the faith in the Pope, in the Virgin Mary, in God. I just see this wonderful island with many population, I see the reserve of faith of God to the new evangelization for the Asiatic continent. It is very, very, interesting for the third millennium.
Just this morning I was praying. Today the church proclaims in the Office of the morning, in the Deuteronomy: " The Lord your God has multiplied you and now you are like the stars of heaven in number and the Lord your God is going to increase you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised." .....No family planning ...this comes from the capitalist. You understand me. I told you, multiply a thousand times more. The earth is empty. You can go to America, to Africa, there are very many places completely empty. They are waiting for you. I see the importance also, I think Kiko will speak now, for the family. Jesus Christ, he is God, but has passed for years in the family of Nazareth. That would be something very, very important - to strengthen the family. Because the Spanish conquistadors they went without family, also the missionary, all Spain evangelizing and the family has not been very strong. You understand also for the conquistadors and also for the polygamy in the places they went. Now it is necessary that the new evangelization fortify the family. I hope in this assembly will be, some priests, more and more important than the priest is the family. A strong, real family that is Christian, that is against divorce, with the many .... It is the fundamental cell of the society and the church also because God is family. It is communication, life! For that I ask the women don't permit to put into your matrix, that is the fabric of life, death. This is the plane of the demon, the dollar, of the ... of the world. You understand me? I leave Kiko to speak of the resurrection. Jesus Christ rose, is life, and a Christian is a new wonderful news of life.

(Kiko)
Stand up. Let us welcome the gospel. We will proclaim it, singing. It is a celebration. I understand that you want to make a picture of Carmen but please do not move. It is enough. Go back to your place. Sit down. We are going to proclaim the gospel. You are behaving very well. It is something serious.
Luke 24: 36-49

Sit down please. Fr. Mario, missionary in Africa, God wanted that he may form part of our itinerant team. Carmen, Fr. Mario, and I form a team. He has sung this gospel of the apparition of the risen Lord. I would like that he may give you a word before I start.

(Fr. Mario)
I am very happy to be here with you. A consolation from the Lord, this word that we listened to now from the gospel: " You are witnesses to this." We are witnesses. Also Moses this morning in the Morning prayer says to the Hebrew people that we are spectators of the work of the Lord. During the presentation, in the beginning of this celebration, when I saw you I thought about the beginning of the Neo-Catechumenal way in Asia. In the vigil of Saturday, the Pope said, the church is a small seed. We will begin a big tree. I thought also of the missionary, St. Francis Xavier, the many, many missionaries who offered their lives to take the faith to your land, to Philippines, to Japan, to all of Asia. This little seed has grown up - 4 million people yesterday with the Pope. So much. It is a big, big hope for the church, for humanity. But also I thought about the beginning of the Neo-Catechumenal way, that is a providence, a gift from the Lord through the Second Vatican Council to help us to grow, to increase, as Kiko said before, in our faith. After 20 years, I think that you've begun the evangelization of the Neo-Catechumenal way, now you are a lot of people, a lot of young people and this is a hope, a consolation for the church for the new evangelization. I thank the Lord because also I am a spectator, witness of the works of the Lord and you also. If some of you hear the call of God to be priest, to be apostle of Jesus Christ I say to him, courage! Don't fear because the Lord is faithful. He helped my weakness, he will help your weakness and He has the power to make you a big apostle. The history the Cardinal Sin say us before. Jesus Christ is alive, he loves all of us, he loves all of us here, all people. He gave his blood for us to save us and he put his Spirit in you to extend this love to all Asia. Thank you.

(Kiko)
Now brothers and sisters, I need that you may be still. I will be brief, I hope. But please do not move. Go to your places. It is very important this time - what I am going to say.
Well, all the missionaries always brought the cross. I am carrying this cross because St. Paul says: We preach Christ and Christ crucified. We preach Christ and Christ crucified. Please sit down, some of you are still standing. I am very glad because I can announce Jesus Christ. Listen for a moment what evangelization is. There is always a very important point, it is the proclamation of the kerygma. I will try to do it. I said before that faith comes from listening, from the ear. The faith, faith is a gift coming down from heaven. You can not give faith to yourself but scriptures says it comes from the ear. It means, the fact that God brought you here tonight, the fact that God brought me here to speak to you, is a very serious sign that God wants to give you this faith, and if you have a little faith, God wants it to grow up and if your faith is weak, God wants this night that your faith may become strong. If you are a priest listening to me, this word is also for you even if I am a layman. The faith that God wants to give you comes from the ear. The faith, what is faith? You can make a lot of definitions but there is one that is very important for us: to meet a person. This encounter, where is it realized? Here, in the heart, in the spirit. St. Paul says: The spirit of Christ gives witness to our spirit, the Spirit of Christ enters within you and something happens in your soul. It becomes enlightened. Someone within you says to you: "You are my son. I love you." It is not that you are hearing something outside. Listen well. The spirit of Christ gives witness to our spirit. Those who think that you know everything that I am going to say, listen, because you are wrong, like a priest that thinks that no one can preach to him. I have studied already theology, no one has to teach me . Please go to the pagans and preach to them. That priest has understood nothing about what evangelization is. He confuses evangelization with conferences. It has nothing to do with what we are doing here tonight. I am not giving you a conference. I am realizing, accomplishing a mandate. Listen to what is written there. "Go and evangelize, I am with you!" Christ ascending, sent the apostles to evangelize and he promised that he will go with them. He accompanies them. He was accompanying them. I here in the Philippines, I am not making a show even if I lift up this cross or you clap your hands while singing 'Glory' maybe you ..... a moment. What we are doing here is beyond whatever you can imagine. I am disposed to be a clown here, if necessary, because I am convinced of what is written there. The Lord has sent us to speak to you with the promise that he is coming with us, he is present here in this meeting. That is why I tell you: Christ died for you. Listen to the words of the gospel: It was necessary for Christ to suffer and to taste death and on the third day to rise again so that conversion may be announced to all the nations. It is what we are doing here, to announce conversion. Listen! I tell you. Convert! Many people of the Catholic Church and some priests think that we can not say convert because they think that this is a moral judgment as if I say, "You are a bad boy." They do not understand what is evangelization. I am not doing a moral judgment for anyone. If I tell you convert I am saying something that Christ said when he was going from village to village. Convert! Believe the good news! Believe, Listen, Welcome, Believe the good news! What news? Christ died for you, died for your sins. He has paid with his death, your death. The chastisement(wage) of sin if death. He died in your place so that you may not die. Listen well. I will say something very simple. Even if you are in a Neo-Catechumenal community and you continue to commit sin, it is because at the bottom of your heart you have never believed, never, truly to the kerygma, to the good news, that is why listen. Maybe today your chains may be broken, chains to commit sin, chains with money, avarice. Listen! Christ died for your sins. Do you believe it? Do you believe it? Look! Truly do you believe that Christ died for you, a moment, so that you may not die anymore. A moment, a second. We heard, it was necessary that he may suffer according to the scripture, and the third day to rise so that conversion may be announced. Continue to listen. If the consequence of sin, to commit sin is to separate from God. God is life. The consequence of sin is death. Christ has offered to his Father his death for your sins, the punishment that you deserve, death was suffered by him because he has offered himself for all the men on the earth, for all the nations. But this man who offered himself, was not a normal man. He was a real man but he was God himself. Continue to listen. To believe what I am saying is not so easy with human strength, you can not believe that. You need to believe with the grace of the Holy Spirit. He is here like a cloud, he is looking where to dwell, like a cloud. He wants with his shadow to come upon you. If Christ has offered himself for each one here in this stadium his resurrection, he like a man rises, with his body, rises with the signs of the nail. God wants to give this proof, that his offering for you has been accepted by the Father. If he has died for you, a sinner, if he has died for you a fornicator, murderer, robber, etc. his resurrection is a good news. He is risen also for you. His death accepted by the Father means that your sins are broken, destroyed! Listen! Your sins are destroyed!
A moment. In the primitive church, if someone was listening to this so that this may be realized, accomplished, he had to do a rite - to enter into a pool believing that Christ died for his sins, that his sins were blotted out, that sin dwelling in his flesh was removed because Christ gave his blood for him - they will go down the water, he'll have the faith in the baptismal pool because the blood of Christ was given up so that all the murderers, all the horrible things may be forgiven and from the flesh of that man sin was taken away, all his sins were removed and from the waters came out a new creation, a new creation. Upon this man the church gave the Holy Spirit of God, gave the Holy Spirit, the spirit of love which brought Christ to give his life for you when you were wicked, the greatest thief of the earth. It is to have love within, a love so great as this that brings you to climb the cross and to offer your life for the enemies. If you receive gratuitously from heaven the Holy Spirit, you will do it. Let's see who is doing it. When we will see one, we will say: "That man has received the Holy Spirit from God. Look at him!" She allowed herself to be killed by the sins of the husband. He allowed himself to be killed by the sins of the wife. Look at that..... she allowed herself to be killed by the sins of the parish priest. Let's see who has received from heaven the Holy Spirit. See their works and we will understand who has the Holy Spirit because this spirit can not be confused. It does not exist in the world, does not exist! It comes from heaven. This spirit is God himself. Do you believe it? Do you believe that this love is God? Look! Look well! Do you really believe? Do you want to receive this spirit? Do you accept this night injustice in your body, the injustice in your job, in your family? Do you accept it? Or you say no, no, no ,no, this is an alienation! This love, I do not want it. I will fight against injustice. I will do justice! Christ put justice into the hands of the Father and has presented to the world a new justice, the justice of the cross. This faith which climbs the cross will convert Asia, only this faith, not a sociological faith, not a pseudo faith of those who think only of the social . This faith! The nations of Asia are awaiting this, Japan is waiting for it, Malaysia is waiting for it, India is waiting for it. The whole India is to be evangelized. A Brahmin wrote that in India there are 3 million gods, 3 million, each one a different god. It has never been evangelized. They are a very small minority. And Japan, still to be evangelized, the whole Asia! Buddhism, Shintoism, Taoism all these religions in front of the socio-economic progress, have no strength. The people abandon the temple as in Europe, the same. Having a very good car, they don't need religion anymore.
Listen to me and I will finish. I will finish , the kairos will pass and maybe in you nothing has happened. The encounter of the Holy Spirit I told you, listen to me well. Faith is the encounter of the spirit of Christ and your spirit, an encounter. So this may happen it is necessary that your sins may be destroyed in your body because where sin dwells, the Holy Spirit can not descend. How can we destroy sin today? Through conversion. If you believe whatever I am saying to you, even if yesterday night you committed a sin, listen, even if yesterday night you committed a sin, Christ in this moment is in heaven, he is presenting before the Father his wounds for you. What is the will of Christ? To be one with you! Do you agree? Do you agree? God is love. Love for you. God is love for you. Is God love for you? I am asking. What is God? No one has seen God. Christ crucified has given his life for you when you were wicked, for me, when I was a sinner. The crucified Christ shows the love the Father has for me. God loves me. Why has he died for me? To become one with me. One! Only one God in three persons. He says: Father you in me and I in them so that they may become perfectly one and the world may believe. Christ said in the last supper, the last phrase, in his testament: "Father, Father, that the love in which you have loved me" Listen well, Father, the love, the second, the Father, the love and Christ. Listen well! Father that the love in which you have loved me may be in them, may be in them, within them. And this love that proceeds from the Father when will it enter in you? When you listen. Christ wants to give it to you and you accept it. And when are you accepting it? Now. Now. There isn't a more important moment than this because in heaven there is no time. Christ is presenting his wounds for you so that this night you may believe whatever I am telling you I am saying it, believe, convert, be light! Believe whatever I am telling you! Believe it! You do not believe. No matter how much I may shout here, you do not believe. Why? Why do you not believe what I am saying to you? Because if you believe it, the Holy Spirit because you have accepted that Christ died for your sins, immediately sin has no power over you. You believe that this form of love is God, is truth. You have not recognized it looking at Jesus Christ. Looking at his image you have accepted that you do not love this way even if you are priest. Let us speak clearly, you do not love this way, though you may be a catechist, you do not love this way. You do not have this spirit. We do not have this spirit. Convert, recognize that this love is the truth. Say to the Lord: Give me your spirit so that he may make me love that way. I would like to love this way! Repeat with me. I would like to love this way. I would like to love this way. Do you want? Today the communists say that this is an alienation. Really, do you want to love? If there is a man that wants to love, that says, "Christ and Christ crucified is the truth. I would like to receive this spirit." This night he will receive it. You will receive it. and this spirit penetrating in you will give you witness and tells you: "You are my son. I will give you my nature." You are a son of God from now on you are a new creature. The world is waiting for you because it needs to see the new man, a man that has received from heaven the divine nature. Otherwise everything are just words, words that doesn't convince anyone.
I'll tell you an example. Spain was very famous because it was a Catholic country. Many immigrants went to Germany 30 years ago, thousands. And the bishop of Germany asked, "Where is the faith of the Spaniards? They have made a lot of money but they do not come to mass. Marriages were destroyed. You ask yourself: Where is the faith of all the Filipino immigrants, of the Spaniards or of the others? I mean, we need a faith this way, a gift from heaven. It is not a fruit of our efforts. It is the fruit of the merits of Christ, Christ crucified. I finish saying, courage! Fear not! Christ is risen! Repeat. Christ is risen! Christ is risen! This spirit, those who may receive it, strengthen our faith, that this spirit whoever receives this spirit says our Lord Jesus Christ is like the wind. He doesn't know where it comes from nor where it goes. He only listens to his word. We start an adventure. A Christian everyday would like just to obey the Father. There is no more temple. Please understand what I am saying. The real worship to my Father is searching for the true worshippers, those who worship in spirit and truth. They do not find anymore the holy in the temple. Life is holy. Christians have a ritual of this life. A ritual. Do you know why they have a ritual? Because the life of a Christian is a liturgy of sanctity. There is no sacred and profane, just to .... No. The history in which God has put me is a history that God makes with me and I walk with him and my life is a liturgy. Do you want to know what is going to happen to you? It is enough to read the psalms. The ritual of this liturgy. Many people in Asia live their faith among sacred and profane as a common religion, that oblige him that oppress/besiege him that tires/ burdens him. But Christ has made for us a new thing. That is a first step with him the major of age in history, to this adventure God is calling you and is calling me. Courage, I desire for each one of you that Christ may break for you the chains. He has paid the debts and he may allow you to go everywhere. Let us sing. Stand up.
As a prayer, you know that I made a song that says: My chains are broken, my debts are paid, my doors wide open, I go everywhere. Let us sing this. The world passes its life just counting money. They call me so that I may follow them, just to make money, more money but my sword is already prepared. I put the armor, the horse is already impatient. I will gain my kingdom, the kingdom which God has already conquered for me. I say this for everybody, from the day that God called me, my life has been transformed. I am going from surprise to surprise, my life and the life of whoever. There are millions of people calling themselves Christian but they have a Christianity, not because they are bad, because they need a way of faith, a Christian community. Let us sing this song. I will try to do it in English but brothers my English ..., also in Italian, in Spanish. I will sing in Italian, he will translate. A moment, after I will sing in English. The song of the Lord is a prayer, a prophecy for all of us.

Song: Carmen '63
Sit down a moment. After, we will sing the song at the end. Well now, like in Denver, some brothers... attention for a moment, it very important. Be still brothers. I was brief, other times I am very long. Well, we think that it is necessary to have holy presbyters but I do not like that this may become like a joke. Thanks to God, the boys that stood up to this moment were serious in 97% of the case. If some boy is doubting, please remain sitted. If he thinks that God is calling him to offer his life, totally, even renouncing to get married, that boy can stand up. This call that he is feeling here helped by the Holy Virgin, the church will help it, will protect it. He will be helped. When I tell you "if some boy feels this call.." if someone has felt it before, he can confirm this call here. Those who will stand up will come here and our president, Msgr. Cordes, will make a prayer to the Holy Spirit so that the Holy Spirit may descend upon them and may seal this call, strongly against all the menaces of sexuality, of the devil, of all that will try to cast out this call. First we will do with the boys and then with the girls.
Let us make a prayer. Everybody stand up. Now let us all pray for 3 seconds in silence for those boys or girls that God is calling so that they may not resist, so that a person not called by God may not come and make a stupidity or an exhibition, a stupidity, playing with our assembly. This is something very serious. Behind you there is also the way, there was a lot of preaching. This is not a magic moment, this is an itinerary but here there is a stage, a step. Let us pray. (Brief silence). Please sit down. All be sitted. Those who are going to the toilet, walking, please just for a moment be sitted. Do not move. Please those who are walking, stop, be still. Two minutes, only. Those who are walking, stop a minute! Stop!
If any boy feels that God is calling him to become a presbyter of the Holy Catholic Church, he can stand up, if there is any. Please stand up! Please start coming here, those who feel called by God, please come here.
Song: Glory, Glory
Stand up all of you. Let us make a prayer for these youth. Those who are called please come closer. Those who do not feel this call please separate a little. Leave an open place here.


(Msgr. Paul Cordes)
Let us pray.
Blessed are you our Father Almighty and eternal God who in your infinite love always renews your Church with new fruits of holiness, grace, and love. Look at us here today n front of this spectacle of these youth who, like the Most Holy Virgin Mary, mother of your Son, has said, assisted by her: Here I am, let your Word be done in me. I beg you to send upon them your Spirit with his holy gifts of wisdom, strength, intelligence, counsel , science, holy fear so that he may help them in the combat, the fight against the world, against the flesh, and against the devil who with his lies and deceits will do everything to take away from their hearts your call. Help them, they are all weak. We know that you are faithful, that you will stay beside them in the combat. Give them this confidence so that they won't be discouraged and that they may attain the fulfillment of your will. We ask this through your son Jesus Christ and through the intercession of the Holy Virgin Mary, mother of the Redeemer, to you who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

(Kiko)
Now, you will pass through the bishops, there are 7 bishops. You will go to one of them and he will lay his hands upon each one of you.
song: He Rose From Death

There are 350 boys. A number of the Church, Fr. Mario says. You know that when the risen Christ appears to the apostles, they were fishing, they could not get even one fish. Christ arrives and says, "Throw the nets to the other side." And they got 350 big fishes. It is written in the gospel, 350. St. Agustine says that it is a number that represents the universal church. I was wrong. It was 150 fish. Now in the attention/presence of the Trinity, 350. It was 153 big fish, St. Agustine says is the image of the church. Well , God has given us more. Now, 350. We will finish with this part.
We are asking girls that they may feel a complete vocation for Christ, total. It is not easy because Christ will be your bridegroom. It is something very serious. There are already more than 400 girls who have entered the cloister. We are receiving beautiful letters because there is not a sweeter bridegroom, a better bridegroom than our Lord Jesus Christ. I am married with Christ too. Christ is the groom of each one. But a sister in the cloister reminds me when I am sad and my life is not going so well it is because I have abandoned the Lord and I went after someone else, other idols. There is more joy in a monastery than in the whole world. Well, just a second if each one of you sits down. Please be sitted.

Now, if a girl, in a very serious way, feels that God is calling her to leave the world and to follow him in the way that God may show her, in any monastery, the church needs prayer, eschatological prayer of a person who is making heaven present here, of virginity, if any girl feels this call, with Christ you can not play. If she doubts, please do not move. If she feels this call seriously, she can stand up. If there is any girl who feels this call, please stand up. If any of you feel this call, please come here. Slowly, slowly.

song: Carmen '63
Please wait there. Silence. Let us stand up.

(Msgr. Paul Cordes)
Let us pray.
Blessed are you our Father, almighty and eternal God who in your infinite love always renews your church.....

(Kiko)
Let us give thanks. Let us all sing Psalm 150.

song: Alleluia
About 300 girls. Let us give thanks to the Lord in Manila. Now brothers we will finish our meeting. I hope that we will repeat it. We will meet again in Paris, in Paris. I would like Msgr. Cordes before the blessing to give us a word. Please be sitted for a moment.

(Msgr. Paul Cordes)
My dear friends, it is late and I did not prepare such nice stories like Cardinal Sin but I think first of all we have to thank the Lord, to give thanks to him really. I hope I can say to you all what you are feeling. At least I feel very grateful to the Lord specially with the last days with the Holy Father. You all participated in the big gatherings. I am also happy to see him moved by the youth, moved by the faith of the youth, by what the Lord has done in the hearts of us all. He really is a man seeking for faith, seeking for people who can bring the gospel to the people of today. You know that two-thirds of the population is living in Asia and only 4% have faith in Christ. So the Holy Father coming here, he decided personally, we have to go to Asia. I think he was feeling that Christ needs apostles. He was feeling that so many people here are waiting for the Lord even if they do not know it and so we came to Asia and he saw the big number of young people ready to proclaim the faith for Jesus Christ and you are a part of this. You did this not only by staying with the Holy Father, you came here this evening. I think this is another step forward. I am sure I will be able to tell the Holy Father that there were many people not only ready to stay with him, to pray with him, to have joy with him, to proclaim the faith with him, but to do a step forward. Some of you, stood up to concretize this inner faith and they came forward. They came to get the benediction of the bishops. Some of you, you remained in your places because you have another vocation. This is not a bad sign. It is different and nobody should feel guilty if he stood in his place, nobody should think I am less worthwhile. There are different vocations but everybody of us has the duty to proclaim the faith and the ones who came told us that everybody of us must do it, to go forward with the Lord, to seek the occasion to speak about him, and not to fear to show it, to give signs of your hope and your faith everywhere: some in the seminary, some in the monastery and many others in many other situations in their families. I think, as the Pope said, that the apostolate today begins in families and I know many young people who proclaim the gospel first in their families because their parents no longer have faith in the Lord. So it's very important to come together this evening in order to concretize what was promised with the Holy Father and we bishops, we accept with joy the vocation, vocations prepared by the Neo-Catechumenal way. I am so grateful that the Lord gave to our church the Neo-Catechumenal way, not only for what happened this evening, This is a symbol of the big force of faith that the Lord prepared in the Neo-Catechumenal way. If you have friends, sisters and brothers at home you should try to invite them to taste what the Lord is doing in the Neo-Catechumenal way. So go on, slowly. Go home full of joy and continue your way. It is important for the church.

(Kiko)
Now, brothers, let us stand up. Let us receive the blessing with the 7 bishops. Number 7 is perfect. The blessing of the Lord for all of us that this meeting may remain in the hearts of each one of you. I hope that it is possible to see, in a similar meeting we will do in Paris. God will do everything so that you may go. God will know how to do it, to give you the money so that you may little by little. The blessing.

(Msgr. Paul Cordes)
Let us pray.
Father Almighty, we bless you and thank you for the wonders you have shown to us this evening. For this young people whom you have called for your glory present among us. We beg you for Pope John Paul II, for the whole Church, so that it may grow in communion and in holiness of life and that she may always be a light to the nations. We ask you for this young people so that the fruit of this meeting may profit them in the growth of their faith and that they may announce your glory. We ask you this altogether, in union with the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus and our mother with the prayer that Jesus has taught us.

Our Father
Blessing
(Kiko)
Pray for us.