” “This is a strong invitation to discern one’s own call and to distinguish this among "inner instincts" and from "voices which attract". This was the message addressed by Cardinal Karl Lehmann, President of the German Bishops’ Conference, who presided in Düsseldorf over the inaugural Mass of the World Youth Day, contemporarily with Cologne, the main centre, and Bonn. "The call of God and of Jesus said the Cardinal to over 20 thousand young people present can be recognised because they tear us away from the mass and from habits of our life. Christ calls us by name and grasps us in the intimate depths of our life. His call asks us for courage and we cannot get ourselves to be replaced. This is something we would like especially for difficult choices". According to Lehmann, this call "first of all leads us into a foreign and unknown future" to then reveal "a mission at the service of the Gospel in the world. This mission corresponds to the call". The WYD, he concluded, "helps us along this journey. It does not create an anonymous mass but intends to show each one his or her mission in the Church. That is why there is always somebody in the WYD who discovers his or her own vocation to consecrated life, marriage, parish commitment, in our dioceses and countries".
