Pope sends message of joy, hope to Korea before trip

Vatican City, Aug 11, 2014 / 20:35 pm

Amid preparations for his Aug. 14-18 trip to South Korea, Pope Francis has sent a video message greeting the people of the country and offering special encouragement to the youth and elderly.

The Pope recalled the words of Isaiah, "Arise, shine!"

He reflected that "it is the Lord who invites you to receive his light, to welcome it in the heart, to reflect it in a life full of faith, of hope and of love, full of the joy of the Gospel."

Noting that his trip coincides with the sixth World Asian Youth Day, the Pope said that he "will bring the Lord's call, particularly to the youth."

"The youth are bearers of hope and of energy for the future, but they are also victims of the moral and spiritual crisis of our time," the pontiff said. "Because of this I would like to announce to them and to everyone the only name through which we can be saved: Jesus, the Lord."

He called young people to follow the example of Paul Yun Ji-chung and his 123 companions, martyrs of the faith who will be proclaimed blessed by the Pope on August 16 in Seoul.

In addition, he pointed to the special role of the elderly, reminding the people of Korea that "faith in Christ has made deep roots in your land and has brought abundant fruits. The elderly are custodians of this legacy: without them the youth would be deprived of memory."

"The encounter between elderly and youth is a guarantee of the people's journey," Pope Francis emphasized. "And the Church is the big family in which all of us are brothers in Christ."

"I come to you in His name, in the joy of sharing with you the Gospel of love and of hope," the pontiff concluded.