Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Genoa (Agenzia Fides) - On Sunday, May 18, after his visit to the Gaslini Hospital, the Pope held an encounter with young people in Genoa’s Piazza Matteotti. “You are the youth of Genoa! I embrace you with the Heart of Christ!” the Pope said at the beginning of his address, thanking them for not only their exterior preparations, “but above all, the spiritual” ones.
“It is beautiful to be young and today, everyone wants to be young, remain young, and try to appear young, even when their youth has passed, and it is visibly evident,” the Holy Father pointed out, responding immediately to the question, “Why is it beautiful to be young?” “Youth still have all their future ahead of them, everything is yet to come; it is a time of hope. The future is full of promise. Today however, for many, it is also full of threats, especially the threat of a great void. Hence many people want to hold back time for fear of a future in emptiness. They want to consume all of life’s beauty in an instant and thus the oil in the lamp runs out when their life is only just beginning.”
Faced with such a situation, the Holy Father pointed out the important of knowing how to choose: “He who chooses God, even in his old age will have a future without end and without threats. The first fundamental choice must be God, the God who has revealed Himself in His So, Jesus Christ, and it is in light of this choice that we are also offered company on this path, a trustworthy companion that never abandons us. In light of this election, we find the criteria for making other necessary decisions.”
The Pope reminded the youth that Jesus “is the Friend that never betrays us, faithful to the point of giving His life on the Cross... Only he can dissolve your anxieties and fears and meet your expectations.” Continuing his address, the Pope encouraged them to cultivate their spiritual life through which they meet Jesus, “the real Face of God.” “Yet how,” the Pope asked, “can one love what one does not know? Knowledge leads to love and love leads to knowledge. It is this way with Christ, as well. In order to love Christ, to discover Him as our life’s companion, we should above all know Him...it is important that we do not reduce ourselves to the superficial level of those who have only heard something about Him - that He was a great historical figure, etc. Instead, we should establish a personal relationship with him, in order to really know Him. That is why we need to know Scripture, above all the Gospel, where the Lord speaks with us... this conversation with the Lord in Scripture should take place not only individually, but also within in the community of the Church, where Christ is always present, in the communion of the liturgy, within the very personal encounter of the Eucharist and in the sacrament of Reconciliation... Only in this way can we personally know Jesus, and we can also communicate this friendship to others.”
At the close of the encounter, the Holy Father presented the youth with the Gospel as a sign of the missionary mandate. In anticipation of this act, in his homily the Holy Father said, “Go and preach, dear young people, in the various areas of life, in your parishes, in the most difficult neighborhoods, in the streets. Announce Christ the Lord, hope of the world. Remain united, but not closed off. Be humble, but not fearful. Be simple, but not ignorant. Be reflexive, but not complicated. Enter in dialogue with others, but be yourselves. Remain united to your pastors: they are ministers of the Gospel, of the divine Eucharist, of God’s forgiveness. They are for you parents and friends, companions on your journey. You need them and they - all of us - we need you. Each one of you, dear young people, if you remain united to Christ and the Church, can achieve great things.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 19/5/2008; righe 47, parole 676)
