A prayer vigil was held this evening in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome beginning at 6:30pm, in preparation for the XXXII World Youth Day which will be celebrated tomorrow at the diocesan level. The theme of this year's celebration is The Mighty One has done great things for me (Lk 1:49).
The Vigil was organized by the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, in collaboration with the Holy See's Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life and with the Dioceses of the Lazio region.
The gathering was preceded by singing, readings and witnesses presented by the youth of Rome and the Lazio region of Italy.
During the celebration, after testimonials which were presented by a Religious Sister and by a young man, the Holy Father shared an impromptu dialogue with the young people.
Dear young people,
Thank you for being here! Tonight has a double meaning: it is the beginning of the journey toward the Synod, which has a long name: Youth, faith and vocational discernment, but we call it the Synod of Youth, which is easier to understand! The second meaning for this night: it is the beginning of the journey toward Panama: the Archbishop of Panama is here (he points to him and speaks to him). I greet you warmly!
We have listened to the Gospel, we have prayed, we have sung; we have brought flowers to Our Lady, to our Mother; and we have brought the Cross, which has travelled from Kraków and tomorrow evening it will be handed over to the youth from Panama. From Kraków to Panama; and, in the middle, the Synod. A Synod from which no youth should feel that he or she is excluded! But ... we are holding the Synod for young Catholics ... for youth who belong to Catholic associations ... that way they will grow stronger ... No! The Synod is the Synod for and by all the young! Youth are the stars. But don't some young people also feel that they are agnostics? Yes! Aren't there also some young people whose faith is tepid? Yes! Are there not also some young people who are distanced from the Church? Yes! Are there not some young people - I'm not sure whether there are some ... maybe there are some - young people who are atheists? Yes! This is the Synod of Youth, and we all want to listen to them. Every young person has something to say to others, has something to say to adults, has something to say to priests, to Sisters, to bishops and to the Pope. Everyone needs to listen to you!
Let us remember a bit of Kraków; the Cross reminds us. There, I said two things, maybe someone remembers: it is terrible to see a young person who retires at the age of 20, this is brutal; and also, it is terrible to see a young person who lives on a couch. It is not true? It is terrible to see retired youth and couch youth. Young people who are on a journey, young people in the streets, young people who are headed forward, one beside the other, but looking toward the future!
We have listened to the gospel (cf Lk 1:39-45). When Mary received that gift, the great vocation to bring the gift of God to all of us, the gospel says that having also received the news that her older cousin was expecting a child and that she needed help, she went with haste. With haste! The world today needs young people who go in haste, who never grow tired of going out in faith; we need young people who possess this vocation of feeling that life offers them a mission. And, like (young Sister) Maria Lisa said many times in her witness, young people are on a journey. She told us about her experience: it was an experience of a journey. We need young people on a journey. The world can change only if young people are on a journey. But this is the drama of our world: which young people - and this is the drama of youth today! - that young people sometimes are discarded. They do not have work, they do not have ideals to aim for, they lack eduction, they lack integration ... Many young people need to flee, to emigrate to other places ... Youth, today, it's hard to say it, but sometimes they are treated like garbage. This we cannot tolerate! We have to experience this Synod in order to say: We young people are here! And we are going to Panama in order to say: We young people are here, on a journey. We do not want to be discarded material! We have something of value to offer.
While Pompeo was speaking (during the second witness), I thought: twice he was almost at the point of feeling like garbage, at the age of 8 years and again at the age of 18. And he did it. He did it. He managed to get up. And life, when we look toward the horizon - Maria Lisa also said this - we are always surprised, always. Both of them said the same thing.
We are on a journey, toward the Synod and toward Panama. And this journey is risky; but if a young person doesn't risk anything, he grows old. And we need to risk.
Maria Lisa said that after the Sacrament of Confirmation, she drew away from the Church. You know very well that here in Italy the Sacrament of Confirmation is called the Sacrament of good bye! After Confirmation, they never return to the church. Why? Because many young people don't know what to do ... And she (Maria Lisa) never stopped, she was still on a journey: sometimes on dark roads, on paths that were not illuminated very well, without ideals or with ideals that she did not understand very well; but in the end, even she made it. You young people need to risk in life, risk. Today, you need to prepare for the future. The future is in your hands. The future is in your hands.
In the Synod, the Church, everyone wants to listen to young people: what do they think, what do they feel, what do they want, what do they critique and what are their reasons for repenting. Everyone. The Church needs more springtime, and spring is the season of youth.
And also, I would like to invite you to make this journey, to walk this path toward the Synod and toward Panama, to make this journey with joy, to do it with your aspirations, without fear, without shame, to do it courageously. It takes courage. And try to find the beauty in small things, like Pompeo said, the beauty of each day: take it, do not miss out on it. And be thankful for who you are: I am this way, thank you! Many times in life, we waste time asking ourselves: Who am I? You can ask yourself who you are and you can spend a whole lifetime seeking answers to that question. But ask yourself: Who am I for? Like Our Lady, who was able to ask: For who, for which person am I, in this moment? For my cousin, and she set out. For who am I, not who am I: this comes afterward, yes, it is a question that should be asked, but first of all why do you do certain things, you work your whole life long, work that makes you think, that makes you feel, that makes you do things. In three languages: the language of the mind, the language of the heart and the language of the hands. And always keep going.
There is another thing that I want to say to you: the Synod is not a speak easy. World Youth Day will not be a speak easy or a circus or something beautiful, a festival and then good bye, I've been forgotten. No, it's concrete! Life needs us to be concrete. In this liquid culture, we need to be concrete, and concreteness is your vocation.
And I want to finish ... - there was a written speech, but after having seen you, having heard the two witnesses, I had other things to say -: there will be moments in which you will not understand anything, obscure moments, terrible, beautiful moments, obscure moments, illuminating moments ... but there is one thing that I want to focus on. We are in the present. At my age, we are about to leave ... oh no? (laughter) Who can guarantee life? No one. Your age has a future stretching out before you. Young people today, young life asks for a mission, the Church asks them for a mission, and I want to give you this mission: turn back and speak with your grandparents. Today, more than ever before, we need, we need this bridge, the bridge of dialogue between grandparents and the young, between the old and the young. The prophet Joel, in chapter 3, verse 2, tells us this truth, like a prophecy: The elderly have dreams, they dream dreams, and the young prophesy, which means that they continue the prophecy of concrete things. This is the task that I give you in the name of the Church: speak with the elderly. But that's boring ... they always say the same things ... No. Listen to the elderly. Speak to them, ask them questions. Ask them what they dream about and let these dreams lead you on to prophesy and to make those prophesies concrete. This is your mission today, this is the mission that the Church asks of you today.
Dear young people, be courageous! But, Father, I have sins, many times I fall ... I am thinking about an alpine song, a beautiful song, that people sing in the mountains: In the art of climbing, the important thing is not to not fall, but not to remain fallen. Keep going! Have you fallen? Get up and keep going. But think about the things that your grandfather dreamed about, that the old man and the old woman dreamed. Make them talk about their dreams, take those things and build a bridge into the future. This is the challenge and the mission that the Church confides to you today.
Thank you very much for your courage, and ... in Panama! I don't know whether I will be there, but the Pope will be there. And the Pope, in Panama, will ask you: Have you spoken with the elderly? Have you spoken with the elderly? Did you take the dreams of the elderly and transform them into concrete prophecies? This is your task. May the Lord bless you. Pray for me, and let us all prepare together for the Synod and for Panama.
Thank you.
The Vigil was organized by the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, in collaboration with the Holy See's Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life and with the Dioceses of the Lazio region.
The gathering was preceded by singing, readings and witnesses presented by the youth of Rome and the Lazio region of Italy.
During the celebration, after testimonials which were presented by a Religious Sister and by a young man, the Holy Father shared an impromptu dialogue with the young people.
Transcription of the Holy Father's Dialogue
with young people during the prayer vigil
in anticipation of the XXXII World Youth Day
Dear young people,
Thank you for being here! Tonight has a double meaning: it is the beginning of the journey toward the Synod, which has a long name: Youth, faith and vocational discernment, but we call it the Synod of Youth, which is easier to understand! The second meaning for this night: it is the beginning of the journey toward Panama: the Archbishop of Panama is here (he points to him and speaks to him). I greet you warmly!
We have listened to the Gospel, we have prayed, we have sung; we have brought flowers to Our Lady, to our Mother; and we have brought the Cross, which has travelled from Kraków and tomorrow evening it will be handed over to the youth from Panama. From Kraków to Panama; and, in the middle, the Synod. A Synod from which no youth should feel that he or she is excluded! But ... we are holding the Synod for young Catholics ... for youth who belong to Catholic associations ... that way they will grow stronger ... No! The Synod is the Synod for and by all the young! Youth are the stars. But don't some young people also feel that they are agnostics? Yes! Aren't there also some young people whose faith is tepid? Yes! Are there not also some young people who are distanced from the Church? Yes! Are there not some young people - I'm not sure whether there are some ... maybe there are some - young people who are atheists? Yes! This is the Synod of Youth, and we all want to listen to them. Every young person has something to say to others, has something to say to adults, has something to say to priests, to Sisters, to bishops and to the Pope. Everyone needs to listen to you!
Let us remember a bit of Kraków; the Cross reminds us. There, I said two things, maybe someone remembers: it is terrible to see a young person who retires at the age of 20, this is brutal; and also, it is terrible to see a young person who lives on a couch. It is not true? It is terrible to see retired youth and couch youth. Young people who are on a journey, young people in the streets, young people who are headed forward, one beside the other, but looking toward the future!
We have listened to the gospel (cf Lk 1:39-45). When Mary received that gift, the great vocation to bring the gift of God to all of us, the gospel says that having also received the news that her older cousin was expecting a child and that she needed help, she went with haste. With haste! The world today needs young people who go in haste, who never grow tired of going out in faith; we need young people who possess this vocation of feeling that life offers them a mission. And, like (young Sister) Maria Lisa said many times in her witness, young people are on a journey. She told us about her experience: it was an experience of a journey. We need young people on a journey. The world can change only if young people are on a journey. But this is the drama of our world: which young people - and this is the drama of youth today! - that young people sometimes are discarded. They do not have work, they do not have ideals to aim for, they lack eduction, they lack integration ... Many young people need to flee, to emigrate to other places ... Youth, today, it's hard to say it, but sometimes they are treated like garbage. This we cannot tolerate! We have to experience this Synod in order to say: We young people are here! And we are going to Panama in order to say: We young people are here, on a journey. We do not want to be discarded material! We have something of value to offer.
While Pompeo was speaking (during the second witness), I thought: twice he was almost at the point of feeling like garbage, at the age of 8 years and again at the age of 18. And he did it. He did it. He managed to get up. And life, when we look toward the horizon - Maria Lisa also said this - we are always surprised, always. Both of them said the same thing.
We are on a journey, toward the Synod and toward Panama. And this journey is risky; but if a young person doesn't risk anything, he grows old. And we need to risk.
Maria Lisa said that after the Sacrament of Confirmation, she drew away from the Church. You know very well that here in Italy the Sacrament of Confirmation is called the Sacrament of good bye! After Confirmation, they never return to the church. Why? Because many young people don't know what to do ... And she (Maria Lisa) never stopped, she was still on a journey: sometimes on dark roads, on paths that were not illuminated very well, without ideals or with ideals that she did not understand very well; but in the end, even she made it. You young people need to risk in life, risk. Today, you need to prepare for the future. The future is in your hands. The future is in your hands.
In the Synod, the Church, everyone wants to listen to young people: what do they think, what do they feel, what do they want, what do they critique and what are their reasons for repenting. Everyone. The Church needs more springtime, and spring is the season of youth.
And also, I would like to invite you to make this journey, to walk this path toward the Synod and toward Panama, to make this journey with joy, to do it with your aspirations, without fear, without shame, to do it courageously. It takes courage. And try to find the beauty in small things, like Pompeo said, the beauty of each day: take it, do not miss out on it. And be thankful for who you are: I am this way, thank you! Many times in life, we waste time asking ourselves: Who am I? You can ask yourself who you are and you can spend a whole lifetime seeking answers to that question. But ask yourself: Who am I for? Like Our Lady, who was able to ask: For who, for which person am I, in this moment? For my cousin, and she set out. For who am I, not who am I: this comes afterward, yes, it is a question that should be asked, but first of all why do you do certain things, you work your whole life long, work that makes you think, that makes you feel, that makes you do things. In three languages: the language of the mind, the language of the heart and the language of the hands. And always keep going.
There is another thing that I want to say to you: the Synod is not a speak easy. World Youth Day will not be a speak easy or a circus or something beautiful, a festival and then good bye, I've been forgotten. No, it's concrete! Life needs us to be concrete. In this liquid culture, we need to be concrete, and concreteness is your vocation.
And I want to finish ... - there was a written speech, but after having seen you, having heard the two witnesses, I had other things to say -: there will be moments in which you will not understand anything, obscure moments, terrible, beautiful moments, obscure moments, illuminating moments ... but there is one thing that I want to focus on. We are in the present. At my age, we are about to leave ... oh no? (laughter) Who can guarantee life? No one. Your age has a future stretching out before you. Young people today, young life asks for a mission, the Church asks them for a mission, and I want to give you this mission: turn back and speak with your grandparents. Today, more than ever before, we need, we need this bridge, the bridge of dialogue between grandparents and the young, between the old and the young. The prophet Joel, in chapter 3, verse 2, tells us this truth, like a prophecy: The elderly have dreams, they dream dreams, and the young prophesy, which means that they continue the prophecy of concrete things. This is the task that I give you in the name of the Church: speak with the elderly. But that's boring ... they always say the same things ... No. Listen to the elderly. Speak to them, ask them questions. Ask them what they dream about and let these dreams lead you on to prophesy and to make those prophesies concrete. This is your mission today, this is the mission that the Church asks of you today.
Dear young people, be courageous! But, Father, I have sins, many times I fall ... I am thinking about an alpine song, a beautiful song, that people sing in the mountains: In the art of climbing, the important thing is not to not fall, but not to remain fallen. Keep going! Have you fallen? Get up and keep going. But think about the things that your grandfather dreamed about, that the old man and the old woman dreamed. Make them talk about their dreams, take those things and build a bridge into the future. This is the challenge and the mission that the Church confides to you today.
Thank you very much for your courage, and ... in Panama! I don't know whether I will be there, but the Pope will be there. And the Pope, in Panama, will ask you: Have you spoken with the elderly? Have you spoken with the elderly? Did you take the dreams of the elderly and transform them into concrete prophecies? This is your task. May the Lord bless you. Pray for me, and let us all prepare together for the Synod and for Panama.
Thank you.
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