SW News: Welcoming the youth from the far corners of the world to Lisbon, Cardinal Manuel Clemente stressed the importance of setting out on a journey of encounter while preaching the homily during the Opening Mass of WYD at Parque Eduardo VII on August 1. The patriarch of Lisbon said they must make each day a new stage in their life.

His homily revolved around the theme of the mega youth event, “Mary got up and left in a hurry” taken from the Gospel of Luke. The cardinal said that while discussing the theme with the Holy Father, the pope pointed out the difference between leaving in a hurry and in anxiety. “In fact, the eagerness is for what we still don't have and we want restlessly. Hurry is different, it's sharing what already takes us. That is why it is a serene and unhurried urgency,” he said as he addressed the vast multitude of young believers gathered at the venue for Holy Mass.

The Patriarch of Lisbon told the young men and women that they will in this hurry without exhibiting anxiety like “someone sharing what they have”. He added by saying “What brought you here and what you will take is added by the grace of these days.”

He explained how Our Lady was young when she conceived Christ and had to take a difficult terrain without any means of transport those days. “You too have set out on the way. For many, it was a difficult road due to the distance, the connections and the costs involved in the trip. It was necessary to gather resources, develop activities to obtain them and rely on solidarities that, thank God, were not lacking,” said the top Portuguese prelate.

The Patriarch said that there are many things that can hinder young believers from going out. He said they should replace “true reality” with the virtual world in front of a smart screen. “Virtuality keeps us seated, faced with means that easily use us when we think we are using them. Quite the contrary, the consistent reality puts us on the path, to meet others and the world as it is, both to admire it and to make it better,” he told the young men and women from across the globe as they listened to his homily.

Just like how Our Lady carried Jesus in her womb, Christian believers also carry him spiritually as they receive Him in the sacraments. He said that they walk with Jesus in the same impulse that led the Blessed Virgin.

Citing the salutation of Our Lady, which led to St Elizabeth exclaiming, “Blessed are You among women and blessed is the fruit of Your womb”, the cardinal said every encounter with others must contain a genuine greeting, full of sincerity and words of welcome and sharing. He said it has to be intensely practised during WYD. He reminded young men and women that the novelty of each encounter paves the way for a new world.