Pope Offers Words of Encouragement

Pope Benedict XVI yesterday made a pastoral visit to the Italian city of Turin, for the exposition of the Holy Shroud. In his homily at Mass in the city's Piazza San Carlo, the Pope referred to the difficulties of living a Christian life, in which context he recalled "people who live their lives in truly precarious conditions, because of lack of work, uncertainty about the future, physical and moral suffering. I am thinking of families, of young people, of the elderly who often suffer solitude, of the marginalised, of immigrants", he said.

The Pope went on, despite these many problems "it is precisely the certainty we receive from faith, the certainty that we are not alone, that God loves each of us without distinction and is close to each with His love, that makes it possible to face, to live and to overcome the burden of daily problems".

The Holy Father particularly encouraged young people "never to lose hope, the hope that comes from the risen Christ, from God's victory over sin, hatred and death".

Turning his attention then to the Shroud of Turin, the Pope highlighted how "in it we see, as if reflected, our own sufferings in the suffering in Christ. . . . For this reason the Shroud is a sign of hope. Christ faced the cross in order to place a limit to evil, in order to make us see, in His Easter, the anticipation of the moment in which, for us too, every tear will be wiped away and there will no longer be death, mourning, lamentation or fatigue".

Good words of encouragement during these challenging times.

(The quoted excerpts are from the Vatican News Service.)

For more information about the Holy Shroud of Turin, visit:

     The Shroud of Turin Website