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July 5, 2023Abu Dhabi.
I am delighted to be able to meet you today in this celebration in preparation for World Youth Day in Lisbon this August. The Eucharistic celebration we are experiencing this afternoon is an important moment of preparation for this pilgrimage, involving millions of young participants.
I am happy that many young people from our Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia will participate together with many other young people in this festival of the Young. I thank you, young people, for you have accepted the invitation from Pope Francis, and I thank all those who are working hard for the success of this important moment for the young people of our vicariate, especially Father Stalin and his collaborators.
As you know, this year's theme is taken from a verse from the Gospel of Luke and refers to Mary after having accepted the word of the Angel Gabriel, who had announced to her that she would become the Mother of Jesus: "Mary arose and went with haste” (Lk 1:39). Mary, this young woman from Nazareth welcomes God's will. In her joy, she sets in motion. She leaves her house to go towards her cousin Elizabeth. The Word of God moves us, puts us on the road, pushes us toward others, and invites us to love.
Mary of Nazareth was indeed a young person like you. Already this chronological fact makes us understand that this event concerns us as well. Pope Francis invites us to participate in this pilgrimage by identifying ourselves with the heart of this young woman whose life was entirely changed by the encounter with the word of God. So, we, too, set out on the journey. We want to joyfully experience this pilgrimage which will take us to Lisbon following in the footsteps of the mother of God.
The Gospel we have heard helps us understand the proper position of the heart to live well on this pilgrimage. It is a powerful gospel where Jesus places himself as the fundamental criterion for deciding his existence. From Jesus' words, we understand that he cannot simply be one of the important people in our lives alongside many others. Jesus proposes himself as the ultimate meaning of life and invites us to follow him by putting nothing before love for him.
Jesus is not simply one of the prophets, not even the greatest. He is the fulfilment of every expectation and every prophecy. He is the son of God who became man so that we can fully become children of God and can already participate on this earth in the divine life. He calls us to follow him now, to leave everything to be with him, and participate in his mission of salvation for the whole world. Following Jesus means deeply questioning our mentality and way of thinking about life and the future. All people generally think of preserving their lives, accumulating goods and money for themselves, of looking after their interests.
Jesus instead tells us that if you want to preserve and keep your life only for yourself, you will eventually lose it. In fact, everything we can try to have will never remain forever. Life passes and is consumed. All things disappoint sooner or later, and eventually, life itself comes to an end. Jesus tells us that if we lay down our lives and follow Jesus, we will have eternal life: whoever loses his life to follow Jesus will find it again. Jesus is telling us that the secret of life is enclosed in the mystery of Easter: death and resurrection.
In his letter to the Romans, even Saint Paul explained this profound logic of life to us well: if you want to live only for yourself, in the end, you will be left alone. If, on the other hand, you accept the gospel, deny your selfishness and follow Jesus, you will already participate in the joy of the resurrection.
So today, I want to ask you a question: do you desire true life? Do you have within you, within your heart, a great desire to fully realize your life in goodness? Or you simply want to defend your interests, separating yourself from others and those in need. Do you have in you the desire for beauty, truth, justice, and love? A love that is stronger than death and greater than our selfishness and evil?
If you feel this intense desire within you and want your life to have significant meaning, then you are ready for the pilgrimage to Lisbon. I tell you today that Jesus came to make your desire possible. He came to respond to the deep desire that dwells in the hearts of young people.
Finally, he invites you to make great decisions and to have great ideals, the ideal that he proposes to us in the Gospel. You have received life from God to contribute to his kingdom. Each of you is unique and unrepeatable. Each of you must discover your vocation to carry out the mission for which God has willed you in this world and this part of the earth.
Never settle for a trivial and superficial life. God gave you life for greater things. Have the courage to be original, have the courage to follow Jesus, and go where he will ask you to go. You will never regret having left everything to follow Jesus.
Whatever your vocation is: marriage, priestly, or consecrated life, live it all with intensity and love. Be protagonists of a new world, in the Church and society.
Dear young people, I ask you to participate in the pilgrimage by keeping your hearts open to the voice of God, as Mary was able to do. She accepted his word and became the Mother of God. She got up and went to her cousin out of love. We, too, let ourselves be moved by the word of God, which is a revolutionary word of Love. Following Jesus will change the world, starting with changing ourselves.