Some of my favorite parts of the stirring message proclaimed by Pope Francis at World Youth Day (WYD).
His opening salvo sets the spiritual foundation for daily living:
- “I have neither silver nor gold, but I bring with me the most precious thing given to me: Jesus Christ!” (Pope Francis, WYD 2013).
Young people especially are called by Christ to be leaven in the world by means of reaching for the higher gifts each and every day:
- Christ has confidence in young people and entrusts them with the very future of his mission, ‘Go and make disciples.’ Go beyond the confines of what is humanly possible and create a world of brothers and sisters! And young people have confidence in Christ: they are not afraid to risk for him the only life they have, because they know they will not be disappointed.” (Pope Francis WYD 2013).
Life is difficult and Christ’s victory is greater than everything the world can throw at us:
- “Christians must be lights of hope. True disciples keep a positive outlook on reality. Despite the frustrations with the many false idols offered by the modern world, they hold fast to the truth that God always has the upper hand” (Pope Francis WYD 2013).
Happiness only is found in spiritual realities that have the power to transform material values:
- “Young people have a special need for non-material values, which are the spiritual heart of a people, the memory of a people. Among these values are spirituality, generosity, solidarity, perseverance, fraternity and joy — values whose deepest root is the Christian faith” (Pope Francis WYD 2013).
Just live the faith we have received:
- “At times we lose people because they don’t understand what we are saying, because we have forgotten the language of simplicity and import an intellectualism foreign to our people. Without the grammar of simplicity, the church loses the very conditions which make it possible to fish for God in the deep waters of his mystery” (Pope Francis, WYD 2013).
