Pope Francis, after passing through the crowd of young people and greeting everyone from the papamobile, welcomed the young people and wished a happy WYD to the young people present in what was the first moment of encounter between them and the Pope, at the Welcoming Ceremony held in Eduardo VII Park in Lisbon this Thursday, August 3.
In his address, the Pontiff developed the reflection from this call of God: called, because loved, he emphasized. In God’s eyes we are precious children, whom he calls each day to embrace and encourage; to make each of us a unique and original masterpiece, whose beauty we can scarcely glimpse.
God calls you by name
The Pope warned young people about dispersion, and also said to be attentive and not to be deceived, because many realities that attract and promise happiness are later shown for what they are: vain, superfluous things, substitutes that leave the interior empty. Jesus, no! He has confidence in you, you count for him.
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“Friend, if God calls you by name, it means that for him you are not a number, but a face. I want to point out something: many people today know your name, but they do not call you by name. Indeed, your name is known, it appears on social medias, it is processed by algorithms that associate it with likes and preferences. But all this does not question your uniqueness, but your usefulness for market research. How many wolves hide behind smiles of false kindness, saying that they know who you are, but without wanting you, implying that they believe in you and promising that you will be someone, only to leave you alone when you are no longer useful to them.”
“On this World Youth Day, let us help each other recognize this essential reality: let these days be vibrant echoes of God’s loving call, because we are precious in his eyes, despite what our eyes sometimes see, clouded by negativity and overshadowed by so many distractions. Let them be days when your name, through brothers and sisters of many languages and nations who pronounce it in friendship, resounds as a unique news in history, because unique is the beating of God’s heart for you. Let these be days to fix in our hearts that we are loved just as we are. This is the starting point of WYD, but above all of life.”
We are not the best
Having said this, the Holy Father emphasized that they are, the Church of Jesus, the community of those who are called: they are not the community of the best, but all are sinners, but we are called just as they are.
“Let us think about this in our hearts for a moment: we are called as we are, with the problems we have, with the limitations we have, with our overflowing joy, with our desire to be better, with our desire to succeed. We are called as we are. Think about it: Jesus calls me as I am, not as I would like to be. We are Jesus’ community of brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the same Father.”
“Friends, I want to be clear with you who are allergic to falsehoods and empty words: in the Church there is room for everyone. For everyone! In the Church no one is extra, there is room for everyone, as well as everyone. And Jesus said it clearly when he called the disciples to the banquet of a master who had prepared it and said bring everyone: young and old, sick and healthy, righteous and sinners. Everyone, everyone, everyone. In the Church there is room for everyone.”
Mary always helps us
At the end, the Holy Father, having several times set aside the previously prepared text, spoke spontaneously to the young people and gave another strong exhortation:
“Dear young people: I invite you to think about this beautiful thing: that God loves us, God loves us as we are, not as we would like to be or as society would like us to be. As we are! He calls us with the defects we have, with the limitations we have and with the desire we have to move forward in life. God calls us that way. Trust, because God is a Father and a Father who loves us and a Father who loves us. That is not very easy. And for this we have a great help, the Mother of the Lord. She is also our Mother, she is our Mother.”
“God loves by surprise. It is not programmed. God’s love is a surprise. It always surprises, it always keeps us alert and it surprises”, so with the previous change of speech, the Holy Father closed with great joy and pronounced the blessing to all. The Pope’s youth will meet today (4), for the meditation of the Way of the Cross.
Check out the entire welcome ceremony
The Shalom Youth continues on a pilgrimage through Lisbon, invading the spaces where the Shalom Catholic Community is present, and of course, with a lot of joy that is contagious, is in the central acts.
Service
Halleluya Music Festival
When: August 1st to 4th, 2pm to 11pm
Where: Alameda Dom Afonso Henriques, Lisbon – Portugal
Follow: @halleluyalisboa