Mexico City, Mexico, Feb 6, 2008 / 16:32 pm
The Archbishop of Mexico City, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, told three thousand young people gathered at the Seminary of Tlalpan that believers will always be misunderstood “because the Gospel is always uncomfortable.”
“Blessed are those persecuted for the sake of justice because theirs is the Kingdom of God; that is, everyone who is a sign of contradiction as Jesus was will feel attacked, disparaged, ignored, because the Gospel is always uncomfortable,” the cardinal told young people gathered for the Day of Youth Believers.
In this sense, Cardinal Rivera explained that all change involves opposition and surrender and that “the proclaiming of the news of Jesus is not supposed to be pleasing” but rather is supposed to transform and change the heart.
In calling on young people to protect the institution of the family, he pointed out young people often join gangs because they are seeking something to satisfy them and that they are unable to find at home. “Young people are not afraid of sacrifice, but they do fear living a life without meaning, that their lives are wasted, that their lives have no purpose,” the cardinal stressed.
Young people are generous, he continued, but they need someone to point them to the ideals and purpose of life, otherwise they will find no meaning to their existence.
The cardinal called on participants to be leaders and to respond with the generosity and sacrifice characteristic of young people.