The encyclical "Deus caritas est", explained Benedict XVI, especially in the first part, "is largely indebted to Saint Augustine’s philosophy". "Contemporary men need this essential message, embodied in Christ Jesus: God is love. Everything must start from here and everything must go back here: every pastoral action, every theological treatment", explained the Pope afterwards. Hence Saint Augustine’s still topical message: "Love is the soul of the life of the Church and of its pastoral action", and "only those who live in the personal experience of the Lord’s love can guide and lead other people to follow in Christ’s footsteps". Serving Christ therefore "is first and foremost a matter of love"; may the belonging to the Church and the apostolate "always shine for release from any personal interest and for the unconditional adhesion to Christ’s love". Especially the young, recalled the Holy Father, "need to receive the announcement of freedom ad joy, the secret of which lies in Christ. He is the truest answer to the expectations of their hearts, which are restless with the many questions they carry in their hearts. Only in Him, the Word uttered by the Father for us, lies that alliance of truth and love in which the full meaning of life lies".
