Dear Young People!
1. I am pleased to welcome all of you cordially who come from different parts of the world in order to participate in the annual UNIV encounter. I greet each one of you warmly and invite you to take advantage of the opportunity that your Roman visit offers you by growing in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. I greet those who accompany you, especially the Bishop Prelate of Opus Dei, Msgr. Javier Echevarría Rodríguez, who is taking part in your encounter.
Beginning with your university studies, you are involved in building a new culture in accord with the truth of man and woman, and that of society. In this international Congress you are precisely inquiring into the topic of “Projecting Culture”, focusing on the language of music.
2. Music, as all artistic languages, is a means for men and women to get closer to God, who has reserved for those who love Him what “neither eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart ever conceived” (1 Cor. 2: 9). But at the same time, art can at times lead to a conception of man and woman, of love and of happiness that does not correspond to the truth of God’s plan. We must, therefore, choose wisely. I repeat to you what I wrote to the young people across the world in my Message for the next World Youth Day: “Do not give in to false illusions and fleeting trends which not infrequently leave behind a tragic spiritual void!” (n. 5). It is up to you, dear young people, to renew the language of art and culture. May your efforts, therefore, lead you to be courageous so as not to accept types of behavior and entertainment that carry you to senseless excess and noise.
3. As you are constantly reminded in the various activities of spiritual formation sponsored by the Prelature of Opus Dei under the guidance of the Bishop Prelate, each person, regardless of his or her condition or state of life, is called to encounter Christ in his or her daily life. The vocation of the lay faithful, as you well know, is to strive for holiness, vitalizing every aspect of this world in a Christ-like way. And so, even for you, dear university students and professors, just as St. Josemaría used to love to repeat, your work and study should be “a constant prayer for you, with the same loveable words, but with a different tune each day. It is very much our mission to transform the prose of this life into poetry, into heroic verse.” (St. Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, n. 500).
May Most Holy Mary aid you in finding her Son Jesus through the Holy Week liturgy and through the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. May the Virgin Mother of God, the Eucharistic Woman, lead each one of you to the joy of meeting Christ.
With these heartfelt words, I bless all of you and your families, and I send you my warmest Easter wishes.