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INTENTION : |
We pray the World Youth Day in Lisbon will help young people to live and witness the Gospel in their own lives.
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"Mary arose and went with haste" (Lk 1:39)
Dear Young People!
The theme of the Panama World Youth Day was, "I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38). After that event, we resume our journey towards a new destination - Lisbon 2023 - with hearts afire with God's urgent summons to arise. In 2020, we meditated on Jesus' words: "Young man, I say to you, arise!" (Lk 7:14). Last year too, we were inspired by the figure of the Apostle Paul, to whom the Risen Lord said: "Arise! I appoint you as a witness of what you have seen" (cf. Acts 26:16).
Along the route we still need to travel before arriving in Lisbon, we will have at our side the Virgin of Nazareth who, immediately after the Annunciation, "arose and went with haste" (Lk 1:39). Common to these three themes is the word: "arise!" It is a word that also - let us remember - speaks to us of getting up from our slumber, waking up to the life all around us.
In these troubling times, when our human family, already tested by the trauma of the pandemic, is racked by the tragedy of war, Mary shows to all of us, and especially to you, young people like herself, the path of proximity and encounter. I hope and I firmly believe that the experience many of you will have in Lisbon in August will represent a new beginning for you, the young, and - with you - for humanity as a whole.
Mary arose
After the Annunciation, Mary could have focused on herself and her own worries and fears about her new condition. Instead, she entrusted herself completely to God. Her thoughts turned to Elizabeth. She got up and went into the world of life and movement. Even though the astonishing message of the angel had caused a seismic shift in her plans, the young Mary did not remain paralyzed, for within her was Jesus, the power of resurrection and new life. Within herself, Mary already bore the Lamb that was slain and yet lives. She arises and sets out, for she is confident that God's plan is the best plan for her life. Mary becomes a temple of God, an image of the pilgrim Church, a Church that goes forth for service, a Church that brings the good news to all!
Mary sets out immediately, anxious to bring the news to others, to bear witness to the joy of this encounter. This, too, is what caused the haste of the first disciples following the resurrection: "[the women] left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples" (Mt. 28:8).
The Mother of the Lord is a model for young people on the move who refuse to stand in front of a mirror to contemplate themselves or to get caught up in the "net". Mary's focus is always directed outwards. She is the woman of Easter, in a permanent state of exodus, going forth from herself towards that great Other who is God and towards others, her brothers and sisters, especially those in greatest need, like her cousin Elizabeth.
... and went with haste
Mary set out in haste towards the hills "because she rejoiced in the promise and sought to serve others with the enthusiasm born of her joy. Full of God, where else could she have gone if not towards the heights? The grace of the Holy Spirit permits no delay". Thus, Mary's haste is a sign of her desire to serve, proclaim her joy, and respond without hesitation to the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Mary was motivated by the needs of her elderly cousin. She did not hold back or remain indifferent. She thought more of others than of herself. And this gave enthusiasm and direction to her life.
Each of you can ask: "How do I react to the needs I see all around me? Do I think immediately of some reason not to get involved? Or do I show interest and willingness to help?" To be sure, you cannot resolve all the world's problems. Yet you can begin with the problems of those closest to you, with the needs of your own community. Someone once told Mother Teresa: "What you are doing is a mere drop in the ocean". And she replied: "But if I didn't do it, that ocean would have one drop less".
When faced with concrete and urgent needs, we need to act quickly. How many people in our world look forward to a visit from someone who is concerned about them! How many of the elderly, the sick, the imprisoned and refugees have need of a look of sympathy, a visit from a brother or sister who scales the walls of indifference!
What kinds of "haste" do you have, dear young people? What leads you to feel a need to get up and go, lest you end up standing still? In the wake of realities like the pandemic, war, forced migration, poverty, violence and climate disasters, many people ask themselves: Why is this happening to me? Why me? And why now? But the real question in life is instead: for whom am I living? (cf. Christus Vivit, 286).
The haste of the young woman of Nazareth is the haste of those who have received extraordinary gifts from the Lord and feel compelled to share them, to let the immense grace they have experienced be poured out upon others. It is the haste of those capable of putting other people's needs above their own. Mary is an example of a young person who wastes no time seeking attention or the approval of others - as often happens when we depend on our "likes" on social media. She sets out to find the most genuine "connections": the one that comes from encounter, sharing, love and service.
Dear young people now is the time to set out in haste towards concrete encounters, towards genuine acceptance of those different from ourselves. This was the case with the young Mary and the elderly Elizabeth. Only thus will we bridge distances - between generations, social classes, ethnic and other groups - and even put an end to wars. Young people always represent the hope for new unity within our fragmented and divided human family. But only if they can preserve memory, only if they can hear the dramas and dreams of the elderly. "It is no coincidence that war is returning to Europe at a time when the generation that experienced it in the last century is dying out" (Message for the 2022 World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly). We need the covenant between young and old, lest we forget the lessons of history; we need to overcome all the forms of polarisation and extremism present in today's world.
My message for you, dear young people, the great message entrusted to the Church, is Jesus! Yes, Jesus Himself, in His infinite love for each of us, His salvation and the new life He has bestowed upon us. Mary is our model; she was a young woman, like many of you. She was one of us, she shows us how to welcome this immense gift into our lives, share it with others, and thus bring Christ, His compassionate love and generous service to our deeply wounded humanity.
All together to Lisbon!
Dear young people, it is my dream that at World Youth Day, you will be able to experience anew the joy of encountering God and our brothers and sisters. After a long period of social distancing and isolation, we will all rediscover in Lisbon - with God's help - the joy of a fraternal embrace between peoples and generations, an embrace of reconciliation and peace, an embrace of new missionary fraternity! May the Holy Spirit kindle in your hearts a desire to "arise" and the joy of journeying together in synodal fashion, leaving behind all false frontiers. Now is the time to arise! Like Mary, let us "arise and go in haste". Let us carry Jesus within our hearts, and bring him to all those whom we meet! In this beautiful season of your lives, press ahead and do not postpone all the good that the Holy Spirit can accomplish in you! With affection, I bless your dreams and every step of your journey."
Pope Francis
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