workshop The message of Benedict XVI for the World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro (2013) has as its motto: "Go and make disciples of all nations" (cf. Mt 28:19). In it he entrusts to young people the transmission of the faith.

The Pope exhorts them to respond to the call presided over by the statue of Christ the Redeemer: "His open arms are the sign of the welcome that the Lord gives to those who come to him, and his heart represents the immense love he has for each one of you". At framework of the Year of Faith and of the new evangelization, he invites them to get involved "in this missionary impulse of the whole Church: to make Christ known, which is the most precious gift you can give to others".

It is noteworthy how the witness of the young people at WYD in Madrid, especially the volunteers, is still very much alive in the heart of Benedict XVI, who summed up those memorable days as the finding of "a new way of being Christians". At that time, the young people traveled a path: meeting with Christ, the rediscovery of the universal family of the Church, the beauty of self-giving, the support of the Eucharist (adoration and Mass) and of confession, the joy of faith. Now they are invited to walk the same path.

The Pope encourages young people - especially those who will experience WYD in Rio - by telling them that making Christ known to young people from all over the world is today, with the technical progress that places us online with people from every continent, a possible and fascinating reality.

But he warns: "The globalization of these relationships will only be positive and make the world grow in humanity if it is based not on materialism but on love, which is the only reality capable of fulfilling the heart of each person and uniting people". And he continues: "God is love. Man who forgets God is without hope and is incapable of loving his fellow man. For this reason, it is urgent to bear witness to the presence of God, so that everyone can experience it. The salvation of humanity and the salvation of each one of us are at stake".

In a second point, he notes that being disciples of Christ implies a missionary commitment. Evangelizing is essential for the maturity of every Christian. "One cannot be a true believer if one does not evangelize," as a consequence of the joy of having encountered Christ.

And to evangelize, we must "let ourselves be shaped by the Word of God", making friends with Jesus, recognizing God's gifts and responding like the Christians who have gone before us. "Let us never forget that we are part of an enormous chain of men and women who have passed on to us the truth of the faith and who count on us so that others may receive it."

To this end, Benedict XVI invites young people to rediscover the faith of the Church, which is a living tradition, evoking the words he wrote in the introduction to YouCat (catechism for young people): "You must know your faith as precisely as a computer specialist knows the operating system of his computer, as a good musician knows his piece of music. Yes, you must be more deeply rooted in the faith than your parents' generation, in order to be able to face the challenges and temptations of this time with strength and decision"(Prologue).

The responsibility to evangelize," the Pope explains to young people, "is based on meeting with Christ, especially through Baptism, and on the power of the Holy Spirit, particularly since Confirmation. The "Holy Spirit of love," which is like "the soul of the mission statement " of Christians, enables them to share the beauty of having encountered Christ and the experience of friendship with him (cf. Jn 1:40-42).

With a direct appeal he writes to them: "Dear young people, let yourselves be led by the power of God's love, let this love overcome the tendency to withdraw into your own world, into your own problems, into your own habits. Have the courage to 'go out' of yourselves to others and lead them to meeting with God.

Faced with so many young people who have lost the meaning of their lives, and who live as if God did not exist, this is, we could say, the "apostolic method" proposed by Benedict XVI:"Let us open the doors of our heartsto everyone; let us try to enter into dialogue with them, with simplicity and mutual respect".

And if in doing so they encounter many who do not feel suitable or capable of living the values of the Gospel, the Pope gives them a clear committee : closeness, witness. "The advertisement of Christ - he points out - does not consist only in words, but must involve the whole of life and be translated into gestures of love". The strength to carry it out is the very love of Christ that he instills in us. "Like the Good Samaritan, we must be attentive to those we meet, we must know how to listen, understand and help, so that we can guide those who seek the truth and the meaning of life to the house of God, which is the Church, where hope and salvation are found (cf. Lk 10:29-37)".

It is worth trying, because this is in fact the authentically Christian "method" of the apostolate: first, learning to listen and to understand, so as to be able to help and guide towards baptism and the other sacraments, which open, manifest and strengthen the path of faith, which are the center of the "life of faith".

To overcome the obstacles, Benedict XVI proposes to young people to lean on God themselves, through prayer (asking for those we seek to bring close to him) and the sacraments, particularly in the Eucharist (Sunday Mass and adoration: pause in dialogue with Jesus) and in confession (meeting of mercy and renewal in love); also in confirmation, "sacrament of the mission statement", which strengthens for the missionary impulse and perseverance in the face of difficulties.

"May you remain firm in the faith," the Pope asks the young people, while thanking God "for the precious work of evangelization carried out by our Christian communities, our parishes and our ecclesial movements," by missionaries, priests and consecrated persons. And also for the many lay faithful "who, wherever they are, in their families or at work, strive to live their daily lives as a mission statement, so that Christ may be loved and served and that the Kingdom of God may grow. I am thinking in particular of all those who work in the fields of Education, health care, business, politics and Economics".

And he concludes by turning his gaze once again to Christ the Redeemer of Corcovado: "Be you - he asks the young, and everyone who lives with Christ is young in Him - the heart and arms of Jesus".