At 6:00pm today, the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with children and young people who were gathered in Vittorio Square in Turin.
Following some words of welcome that we offered by two representatives, the large World Youth Day cross was welcomed. Then, responding to questions posed by three young people, Pope Francis shared the following impromptu speech, while choosing to leave his prepared speech to be distributed at a later date.
Thanks to Chiara, Sara and Luigi. I thank you because the questions are on the theme of three words from the gospel of John that we have just heard: love, life and friends. Three words that, in John's text intersect, and one explains the other: we cannot speak of the life of the gospel without speaking about love - if we speak about real life - and we cannot speak about love without this transformation from servants to friends. These three words are so important for life but all three have common roots: the will to live. Here, permit me to use the words of Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young man like you: Live, don't just get along! Live!
You know that it is terrible to see a closed in young person, who is living, but living like - if I might say - like a vegetable: he or she does things, but there is no life, he or she is closed in. You know that I am so saddened in my heart to see young people who retire at 20 years old! Yes, they get old so quickly ... This is why, when Chiara asked her question about love: what makes a young person not retire and instead want to love, want to give the most beautiful part of yourself to a man, want to give the most beautiful part of yourself to God, Saint John of God says that God is love. When a young person loves, lives, grows, he or she doesn't retire. He/she grows, grows, grows.
But what is love? Is it a soap opera, Father? Like we see in other soap operas? Some people think that this is what love is. Speaking about love is so beautiful, if we can say beautiful things. But love has two axes around which it moves, and if a person, a young person doesn't have these two axes, these two dimensions of love, the love is not true. First of all, love is more than actions and words: love is concrete. Two hours ago, with the Salesian Family, I spoke about the concreteness of their vocation ... and I see that you feel young because you are here in front of me! You feel young! - Love is concrete, it is more than actions and words. It's not enough to say: I love you, I love all people. No. What are you willing to do for love? Love has to be given. Do you think that God only began speaking about love when he got involved with his people, when he chose his people, when he created the covenant with his people, when he saved his people, when he forgave them so many times - God has so much patience! - he ... made gestures of love, works of love. And the second dimension, the second axis on which love revolves and by which love is communicated, is the love that is heard and responded to, love is found in dialogue, in communion: it communicates. Love is not born deaf or mute, it communicates. These two dimensions are very useful for understanding what love is all about, that it is not a romantic sentiment at a certain time in history, no, it is concrete and it is at work. It is communicated, through dialogue, always.
So Chiara, I will respond to your question: We often feel disappointed when we are in love. How great is the love of Jesus? How can we feel his love? Now, I know that you are good and I will allow myself to speak with sincerity. I don't want to be a moralist but I want to say one word that you may not like, an unpopular word. Even the Pope sometimes has to take a risk to speak the truth. Love is at work, in communication, but love is very respectful of persons, it never uses a person and true love is chaste. It's up to you young people in the world, in this hedonistic world, in his world where things are published to give pleasure, and many people believe that they should just live well, live a beautiful life. I say to you: be chaste, be chaste.
All of us in this life have known moments during which this virtue is very difficult, but it is truly the way to genuine love, a love that knows how to give life, that seeks not to use the other but to truly make the other person happy. It is a love that considers the life of the other person to be sacred: I respect you, I don't want to use you, I don't want to use you. This is not easy. We all know how hard it is to overcome this false and hedonistic concession to love. Excuse me if I'm saying something that you did not expect, but I ask you: be strong enough to live chaste love.
And from this we draw a consequence: if love is respectful, if love is found in works, if love is found in communicating, love sacrifices itself for others. Look at the love of parents, of so many mothers, of so many fathers who in the morning arrive at work tired because they haven’t slept well because they have been looking after their sick child – this is love! This is respect. This is not having a good time. This is – we go to another key word – this is service. Love is service. It means to serve others. When, after the washing of the feet, Jesus explained that gesture to the Apostles, he taught that we are made to serve one another, and if I say that I love but don’t serve the other, don’t help the other, don’t make him a better person, don’t sacrifice myself for him, this isn’t love. You have carried the Cross - the WYD Cross: that is the sign of love. That history of love of God involved in works and dialogue, with respect, with forgiveness, with patience during so many centuries of history with His people, ends there - his Son on the Cross, the greatest act of service, which is to give one’s life, to sacrifice oneself, to help others. It’s not easy to speak of love, it’s not easy to live love. However, with these things that I have answered, Chiara, I think I’ve helped you in something, in the questions you asked me. I don’t know, I hope they will be useful to you.
And thanks to you, Sara, who is passionate about theatre. Thank you. I think of Jesus’ words: To give one’s life. We spoke about this now. Often we breathe a sense of mistrust in life. Yes, because there are situations that make us think: But, is it worthwhile to live like this? What can I expect from this life? We think, in this way, of wars. Sometimes I have said that we are living the Third World War, but in pieces. In pieces: there is war in Europe, there is war in Africa, there is war in the Middle East, there is war in other countries ... But, can I have confidence in such a life? Can I trust the world leaders? When I go to give my vote for a candidate, can I trust that he won’t lead my country into war? If you only trust men, you have already lost!
It makes me think one thing: people, leaders, entrepreneurs that call themselves Christians, and produce arms! This creates some mistrust: they call themselves Christians! No, no, Father, I don’t produce them, no, no .... I only have my savings, my investments in arms factories. Ah! And why? Because the interest is somewhat higher ... And a double face is also a current coin today: to say something and do another. Hypocrisy ! But let’s see what happened in the last century: in 1914, 1915, in 1915 in fact. There was that great tragedy in Armenia. So many died. I don’t know the figure: more than a million certainly. But where were the great powers of the time? Were they looking elsewhere? Why? Because they were interested in war: their war! And those that died were persons, second class human beings. Then, in the 1930 and 1940 the tragedy of the Shoah. The great powers had photographs of the railroad lines that took trains to the concentration camps, such as Auschwitz, to kill the Jews, and also Christians, also the Roma, also homosexuals, to kill them there. But tell me, why didn’t they bomb that? Interest! And shortly after, almost at the same time, were the lager in Russia: Stalin ... How many Christians suffered, were killed! The great powers divided Europe among themselves like a cake. So many years had to pass before arriving at certain freedom. It’s that hypocrisy of speaking of peace and producing arms, and even selling arms to this one who is at war with that one, and to that one who is at war with this one!
I understand what you say about mistrust in life, also today when we are living in this throwaway culture, because whatever is not of economic usefulness is discarded. Children are disposed of, because they are not developed or because they are killed before they are born; the elderly are disposed of, because they are not useful or they are left there, to die, a sort of hidden euthanasia, and they are not helped to live; and now young people are disposed of: think of the 40% of young people who are unemployed. It is in fact a rejection! But why? Why are man and woman not the focus of the global economic system, as God wants, but for the god of money. And everything is done for money.
In Spanish, there is a good saying that says: el mono baila por dinero. I will translate: For money, the monkey also dances. And thus, with this disposable culture, can one trust life? - with that sense of challenge that widens, widens, widens? A youth who can’t study, who doesn't have work, who has the shame of not feeling worthy because he doesn’t have work, doesn’t earn his living. But how many times these young people end up with addictions? How many times do they commit suicide? The statistics on the suicides of young people are not well known. Or how often these young people go to fight with terrorists, at least to do something, for an ideal. I understand this challenge. It was because of this that Jesus told us not to put our trust in riches, in worldly powers. How can I trust life? What can I do, how can I live a life that doesn’t destroy, that isn’t a life of destruction, a life that doesn’t dispose of people? How can I live a life that won’t disappoint me?
And I go on to answer Luigi’s question: he spoke of a project of sharing, namely of connection, of construction. We must go ahead with our plans of construction, and this life doesn’t disappoint. If you get involved there, in a project of construction, of help – we might think of street children, of migrants, of so many in need, but not only to give them something to eat for one day, two days, but to help them get ahead with education, with unity in the joy of the Oratories and so many things, but things that build, then that sense of mistrust in life recedes, goes away. What must I do for this? Not retire too soon. Do. Do. And I’ll say a word: go against the current, go against the current. For you, young people, who are living this economic situation, which is also cultural, hedonistic, consumerist with soap bubble values, with such values one doesn’t go forward. Do constructive things, even if they are small, but which bring us together, which bring us together with our ideals: this is the best antidote against this mistrust of life, against this culture that only offers you pleasure: to have a good time, to have money and not think of other things.
Thank you for the questions. To you, Luigi, I have answered you in part, no? Go against the current, namely, be courageous and creative, be creative. Last summer I received, one afternoon - it was August ... Rome was dead - a group of boys and girls had spoken to me on the telephone who were camping in several cities throughout Italy, and they came to me - I told them to come - poor things: they were all dirty, tired ... but joyful! Because they had done something against the current!
So often advertising wants to convince us that this is good, that that is good, and it makes us believe that they are diamonds; but be careful, they often sell us glass! And we must go against this, don't be naive. Don't buy filth that you are told are diamonds.
And to conclude, I would like to repeat Pier Giorgio Frassati’s words: if you want to do something good in life, live, don’t live poorly. Live!
But you are intelligent and will surely say to me: But, Father, you speak this way because you are in the Vatican. You have so many Monsignors there who do your work, you are tranquil and don’t know what everyday life is like ... Yes, someone could think that. The secret is to understand well where one lives. On this earth – and I also said this to the Salesian Family - at the end of the 19th century there were bad conditions for the growth of youth: there was full Masonry, even the Church couldn’t do anything, there were priest haters, there were also Satanists ... It was one of the worst moments and one of the worst places in the history of Italy. However, if you would like to do a good task at home, go to see how many men and women Saints were born at that time. Why? Because they realized that they had to go against the current in relation to the culture, to that way of living. Reality, live your reality. And if this reality is glass and not diamonds, look for the reality against the current and create your reality, but something that is of service to others. Think of your Saints of this land, what they did!
And thank you, thank you, thank you so much! Always love, life, friends. However, these words can only be lived by going out: always going out to take something. If you stay still, you won’t do anything in life and you will ruin your own life.
I forgot to tell you that I will now deliver the written address. I knew your questions, and I wrote something about your questions; but it’s not what I said, this came to me from my heart; and I will give the address to the one of the people in charge, and you make it public (he handed the sheets to the priest in charge of the pastoral care of youth). There are so many university students here. Be careful of believing that the University is only to study with the head: to be a University student also means to go out, to go out in service, to the poor especially! Thank you.
Dear young people,
I thank you for this warm welcome! And thank you for your questions, which take us to the heart of the Gospel.
The first, on love, questions us about the meaning of God’s profound love, offered to us by the Lord Jesus. He shows us to what point love goes: to the total gift of himself, to giving his own life, as we contemplate in the mystery of the Shroud, which we recognize in it the icon of the greatest love. However, this gift of ourselves must not be imagined as a rare heroic gesture or reserved to some exceptional occasion. In fact, we could run the risk of singing of love, of dreaming of love, of applauding love ... without letting ourselves be touched and involved in it! The grandeur of love is revealed in taking care of one in need, with fidelity and patience; therefore, great is the love that is able to make itself small for the sake of others, like Jesus, who made himself a servant. To love is to come close, to touch the flesh of Christ in the poor and the little ones, to open to God’s grace the needs, the appeals, the solitude of the people that surround us. Then the love of God enters, transforms and makes little things great, it makes them the signs of his presence. Saint John Bosco is in fact a teacher for us because of his capacity to love and to educate from the closeness which he lived with youngsters and young people.
In the light of this transformation, the fruit of love, we can answer the second question on the subject of mistrust in life. The lack of work and of prospects for the future certainly contributes to halting the movement of life itself, putting many on the defensive: to think of themselves, to manage time and resources for their own good, to limit the risks of any generosity ... They are all symptoms of a withholding of life, preserved at all costs which, in the end, can also lead to resignation and cynicism. Instead, Jesus teaches us to follow the opposite way: whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it (Luke 9:24). This means that we must not wait for favourable external circumstances to really get involved but that, on the contrary, only by committing our life – aware of losing it! – we create for others and for ourselves the conditions of new trust in the future. And here my thoughts go spontaneously to a young man who truly spent his life this way, so much so as to become a model of trust and evangelical audacity for the young generations of Italy and of the world: Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. His motto was: Live, not live poorly! This is the way to experience fully the strength and joy of the Gospel. In this way, not only will you find trust in the future, but you will succeed in generating hope among your friends and in the environments in which you live.
Friendship was a great passion for Pier Giorgio Frassati. And your third question stated in fact: how can friendship be lived in an open way, capable of transmitting the joy of the Gospel? I learned that this Square in which we find ourselves, is often frequented by young people on Friday and Saturday evenings. It happens the same way in all our cities and countries. I think that some of you also meet here or in other Squares with your friends. And now I ask you a question - each one of you, think and answer it within himself -: in those moments, when you are with others, do you succeed in having your friendship with Jesus shine in your attitudes, in your way of behaving? Do you sometimes think, also in your free time, in relaxation, that you are little shoots attached to the vine that is Jesus? I assure you that thinking of this reality with faith, you will feel running in you the life of the Holy Spirit, and you will bear fruit, almost without realizing it: you will be able to be courageous, patient, humble, capable of sharing but also of differentiating yourselves, to rejoice with those who rejoice, and to weep with those who weep; you will be able to love those who do not love you, respond to evil with good. And thus you will proclaim the Gospel!
Turin’s men and women Saints teach us that all renewal, including that of the Church, passes through our personal conversion, through that openness of heart that receives and recognizes God’s surprises, driven by the greatest love (cf 2 Corinthians 5:14), which also makes us friends of persons who are alone, suffering and marginalized.
Dear young people, together with these older brothers and sisters that the Saints are, in the Church’s family we have a Mother, let us not forget it! I hope you will entrust yourselves fully to this tender Mother, who indicated the presence of the greatest love precisely amid young people, at a wedding celebration. Our Lady is the always attentive friend so that wine will not be lacking in our life (Apostolic Exhortation Eveangelii gaudium, 286). Let us pray that the wine of joy will not be lacking in us!
Thank you all. May God bless you all. And please, pray for me.
The gathering concluded with the veneration of the Icon of the Youth, which is travelling between various Oratories and among the youth of the Archdiocese. The Pope then returned to the Archbishop's residence.
Following some words of welcome that we offered by two representatives, the large World Youth Day cross was welcomed. Then, responding to questions posed by three young people, Pope Francis shared the following impromptu speech, while choosing to leave his prepared speech to be distributed at a later date.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
with youth in Vittorio Square, Turin
Thanks to Chiara, Sara and Luigi. I thank you because the questions are on the theme of three words from the gospel of John that we have just heard: love, life and friends. Three words that, in John's text intersect, and one explains the other: we cannot speak of the life of the gospel without speaking about love - if we speak about real life - and we cannot speak about love without this transformation from servants to friends. These three words are so important for life but all three have common roots: the will to live. Here, permit me to use the words of Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young man like you: Live, don't just get along! Live!
You know that it is terrible to see a closed in young person, who is living, but living like - if I might say - like a vegetable: he or she does things, but there is no life, he or she is closed in. You know that I am so saddened in my heart to see young people who retire at 20 years old! Yes, they get old so quickly ... This is why, when Chiara asked her question about love: what makes a young person not retire and instead want to love, want to give the most beautiful part of yourself to a man, want to give the most beautiful part of yourself to God, Saint John of God says that God is love. When a young person loves, lives, grows, he or she doesn't retire. He/she grows, grows, grows.
But what is love? Is it a soap opera, Father? Like we see in other soap operas? Some people think that this is what love is. Speaking about love is so beautiful, if we can say beautiful things. But love has two axes around which it moves, and if a person, a young person doesn't have these two axes, these two dimensions of love, the love is not true. First of all, love is more than actions and words: love is concrete. Two hours ago, with the Salesian Family, I spoke about the concreteness of their vocation ... and I see that you feel young because you are here in front of me! You feel young! - Love is concrete, it is more than actions and words. It's not enough to say: I love you, I love all people. No. What are you willing to do for love? Love has to be given. Do you think that God only began speaking about love when he got involved with his people, when he chose his people, when he created the covenant with his people, when he saved his people, when he forgave them so many times - God has so much patience! - he ... made gestures of love, works of love. And the second dimension, the second axis on which love revolves and by which love is communicated, is the love that is heard and responded to, love is found in dialogue, in communion: it communicates. Love is not born deaf or mute, it communicates. These two dimensions are very useful for understanding what love is all about, that it is not a romantic sentiment at a certain time in history, no, it is concrete and it is at work. It is communicated, through dialogue, always.
So Chiara, I will respond to your question: We often feel disappointed when we are in love. How great is the love of Jesus? How can we feel his love? Now, I know that you are good and I will allow myself to speak with sincerity. I don't want to be a moralist but I want to say one word that you may not like, an unpopular word. Even the Pope sometimes has to take a risk to speak the truth. Love is at work, in communication, but love is very respectful of persons, it never uses a person and true love is chaste. It's up to you young people in the world, in this hedonistic world, in his world where things are published to give pleasure, and many people believe that they should just live well, live a beautiful life. I say to you: be chaste, be chaste.
All of us in this life have known moments during which this virtue is very difficult, but it is truly the way to genuine love, a love that knows how to give life, that seeks not to use the other but to truly make the other person happy. It is a love that considers the life of the other person to be sacred: I respect you, I don't want to use you, I don't want to use you. This is not easy. We all know how hard it is to overcome this false and hedonistic concession to love. Excuse me if I'm saying something that you did not expect, but I ask you: be strong enough to live chaste love.
And from this we draw a consequence: if love is respectful, if love is found in works, if love is found in communicating, love sacrifices itself for others. Look at the love of parents, of so many mothers, of so many fathers who in the morning arrive at work tired because they haven’t slept well because they have been looking after their sick child – this is love! This is respect. This is not having a good time. This is – we go to another key word – this is service. Love is service. It means to serve others. When, after the washing of the feet, Jesus explained that gesture to the Apostles, he taught that we are made to serve one another, and if I say that I love but don’t serve the other, don’t help the other, don’t make him a better person, don’t sacrifice myself for him, this isn’t love. You have carried the Cross - the WYD Cross: that is the sign of love. That history of love of God involved in works and dialogue, with respect, with forgiveness, with patience during so many centuries of history with His people, ends there - his Son on the Cross, the greatest act of service, which is to give one’s life, to sacrifice oneself, to help others. It’s not easy to speak of love, it’s not easy to live love. However, with these things that I have answered, Chiara, I think I’ve helped you in something, in the questions you asked me. I don’t know, I hope they will be useful to you.
And thanks to you, Sara, who is passionate about theatre. Thank you. I think of Jesus’ words: To give one’s life. We spoke about this now. Often we breathe a sense of mistrust in life. Yes, because there are situations that make us think: But, is it worthwhile to live like this? What can I expect from this life? We think, in this way, of wars. Sometimes I have said that we are living the Third World War, but in pieces. In pieces: there is war in Europe, there is war in Africa, there is war in the Middle East, there is war in other countries ... But, can I have confidence in such a life? Can I trust the world leaders? When I go to give my vote for a candidate, can I trust that he won’t lead my country into war? If you only trust men, you have already lost!
It makes me think one thing: people, leaders, entrepreneurs that call themselves Christians, and produce arms! This creates some mistrust: they call themselves Christians! No, no, Father, I don’t produce them, no, no .... I only have my savings, my investments in arms factories. Ah! And why? Because the interest is somewhat higher ... And a double face is also a current coin today: to say something and do another. Hypocrisy ! But let’s see what happened in the last century: in 1914, 1915, in 1915 in fact. There was that great tragedy in Armenia. So many died. I don’t know the figure: more than a million certainly. But where were the great powers of the time? Were they looking elsewhere? Why? Because they were interested in war: their war! And those that died were persons, second class human beings. Then, in the 1930 and 1940 the tragedy of the Shoah. The great powers had photographs of the railroad lines that took trains to the concentration camps, such as Auschwitz, to kill the Jews, and also Christians, also the Roma, also homosexuals, to kill them there. But tell me, why didn’t they bomb that? Interest! And shortly after, almost at the same time, were the lager in Russia: Stalin ... How many Christians suffered, were killed! The great powers divided Europe among themselves like a cake. So many years had to pass before arriving at certain freedom. It’s that hypocrisy of speaking of peace and producing arms, and even selling arms to this one who is at war with that one, and to that one who is at war with this one!
I understand what you say about mistrust in life, also today when we are living in this throwaway culture, because whatever is not of economic usefulness is discarded. Children are disposed of, because they are not developed or because they are killed before they are born; the elderly are disposed of, because they are not useful or they are left there, to die, a sort of hidden euthanasia, and they are not helped to live; and now young people are disposed of: think of the 40% of young people who are unemployed. It is in fact a rejection! But why? Why are man and woman not the focus of the global economic system, as God wants, but for the god of money. And everything is done for money.
In Spanish, there is a good saying that says: el mono baila por dinero. I will translate: For money, the monkey also dances. And thus, with this disposable culture, can one trust life? - with that sense of challenge that widens, widens, widens? A youth who can’t study, who doesn't have work, who has the shame of not feeling worthy because he doesn’t have work, doesn’t earn his living. But how many times these young people end up with addictions? How many times do they commit suicide? The statistics on the suicides of young people are not well known. Or how often these young people go to fight with terrorists, at least to do something, for an ideal. I understand this challenge. It was because of this that Jesus told us not to put our trust in riches, in worldly powers. How can I trust life? What can I do, how can I live a life that doesn’t destroy, that isn’t a life of destruction, a life that doesn’t dispose of people? How can I live a life that won’t disappoint me?
And I go on to answer Luigi’s question: he spoke of a project of sharing, namely of connection, of construction. We must go ahead with our plans of construction, and this life doesn’t disappoint. If you get involved there, in a project of construction, of help – we might think of street children, of migrants, of so many in need, but not only to give them something to eat for one day, two days, but to help them get ahead with education, with unity in the joy of the Oratories and so many things, but things that build, then that sense of mistrust in life recedes, goes away. What must I do for this? Not retire too soon. Do. Do. And I’ll say a word: go against the current, go against the current. For you, young people, who are living this economic situation, which is also cultural, hedonistic, consumerist with soap bubble values, with such values one doesn’t go forward. Do constructive things, even if they are small, but which bring us together, which bring us together with our ideals: this is the best antidote against this mistrust of life, against this culture that only offers you pleasure: to have a good time, to have money and not think of other things.
Thank you for the questions. To you, Luigi, I have answered you in part, no? Go against the current, namely, be courageous and creative, be creative. Last summer I received, one afternoon - it was August ... Rome was dead - a group of boys and girls had spoken to me on the telephone who were camping in several cities throughout Italy, and they came to me - I told them to come - poor things: they were all dirty, tired ... but joyful! Because they had done something against the current!
So often advertising wants to convince us that this is good, that that is good, and it makes us believe that they are diamonds; but be careful, they often sell us glass! And we must go against this, don't be naive. Don't buy filth that you are told are diamonds.
And to conclude, I would like to repeat Pier Giorgio Frassati’s words: if you want to do something good in life, live, don’t live poorly. Live!
But you are intelligent and will surely say to me: But, Father, you speak this way because you are in the Vatican. You have so many Monsignors there who do your work, you are tranquil and don’t know what everyday life is like ... Yes, someone could think that. The secret is to understand well where one lives. On this earth – and I also said this to the Salesian Family - at the end of the 19th century there were bad conditions for the growth of youth: there was full Masonry, even the Church couldn’t do anything, there were priest haters, there were also Satanists ... It was one of the worst moments and one of the worst places in the history of Italy. However, if you would like to do a good task at home, go to see how many men and women Saints were born at that time. Why? Because they realized that they had to go against the current in relation to the culture, to that way of living. Reality, live your reality. And if this reality is glass and not diamonds, look for the reality against the current and create your reality, but something that is of service to others. Think of your Saints of this land, what they did!
And thank you, thank you, thank you so much! Always love, life, friends. However, these words can only be lived by going out: always going out to take something. If you stay still, you won’t do anything in life and you will ruin your own life.
I forgot to tell you that I will now deliver the written address. I knew your questions, and I wrote something about your questions; but it’s not what I said, this came to me from my heart; and I will give the address to the one of the people in charge, and you make it public (he handed the sheets to the priest in charge of the pastoral care of youth). There are so many university students here. Be careful of believing that the University is only to study with the head: to be a University student also means to go out, to go out in service, to the poor especially! Thank you.
Prepared speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the encounter with youth in Turin
Dear young people,
I thank you for this warm welcome! And thank you for your questions, which take us to the heart of the Gospel.
The first, on love, questions us about the meaning of God’s profound love, offered to us by the Lord Jesus. He shows us to what point love goes: to the total gift of himself, to giving his own life, as we contemplate in the mystery of the Shroud, which we recognize in it the icon of the greatest love. However, this gift of ourselves must not be imagined as a rare heroic gesture or reserved to some exceptional occasion. In fact, we could run the risk of singing of love, of dreaming of love, of applauding love ... without letting ourselves be touched and involved in it! The grandeur of love is revealed in taking care of one in need, with fidelity and patience; therefore, great is the love that is able to make itself small for the sake of others, like Jesus, who made himself a servant. To love is to come close, to touch the flesh of Christ in the poor and the little ones, to open to God’s grace the needs, the appeals, the solitude of the people that surround us. Then the love of God enters, transforms and makes little things great, it makes them the signs of his presence. Saint John Bosco is in fact a teacher for us because of his capacity to love and to educate from the closeness which he lived with youngsters and young people.
In the light of this transformation, the fruit of love, we can answer the second question on the subject of mistrust in life. The lack of work and of prospects for the future certainly contributes to halting the movement of life itself, putting many on the defensive: to think of themselves, to manage time and resources for their own good, to limit the risks of any generosity ... They are all symptoms of a withholding of life, preserved at all costs which, in the end, can also lead to resignation and cynicism. Instead, Jesus teaches us to follow the opposite way: whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it (Luke 9:24). This means that we must not wait for favourable external circumstances to really get involved but that, on the contrary, only by committing our life – aware of losing it! – we create for others and for ourselves the conditions of new trust in the future. And here my thoughts go spontaneously to a young man who truly spent his life this way, so much so as to become a model of trust and evangelical audacity for the young generations of Italy and of the world: Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. His motto was: Live, not live poorly! This is the way to experience fully the strength and joy of the Gospel. In this way, not only will you find trust in the future, but you will succeed in generating hope among your friends and in the environments in which you live.
Friendship was a great passion for Pier Giorgio Frassati. And your third question stated in fact: how can friendship be lived in an open way, capable of transmitting the joy of the Gospel? I learned that this Square in which we find ourselves, is often frequented by young people on Friday and Saturday evenings. It happens the same way in all our cities and countries. I think that some of you also meet here or in other Squares with your friends. And now I ask you a question - each one of you, think and answer it within himself -: in those moments, when you are with others, do you succeed in having your friendship with Jesus shine in your attitudes, in your way of behaving? Do you sometimes think, also in your free time, in relaxation, that you are little shoots attached to the vine that is Jesus? I assure you that thinking of this reality with faith, you will feel running in you the life of the Holy Spirit, and you will bear fruit, almost without realizing it: you will be able to be courageous, patient, humble, capable of sharing but also of differentiating yourselves, to rejoice with those who rejoice, and to weep with those who weep; you will be able to love those who do not love you, respond to evil with good. And thus you will proclaim the Gospel!
Turin’s men and women Saints teach us that all renewal, including that of the Church, passes through our personal conversion, through that openness of heart that receives and recognizes God’s surprises, driven by the greatest love (cf 2 Corinthians 5:14), which also makes us friends of persons who are alone, suffering and marginalized.
Dear young people, together with these older brothers and sisters that the Saints are, in the Church’s family we have a Mother, let us not forget it! I hope you will entrust yourselves fully to this tender Mother, who indicated the presence of the greatest love precisely amid young people, at a wedding celebration. Our Lady is the always attentive friend so that wine will not be lacking in our life (Apostolic Exhortation Eveangelii gaudium, 286). Let us pray that the wine of joy will not be lacking in us!
Thank you all. May God bless you all. And please, pray for me.
The gathering concluded with the veneration of the Icon of the Youth, which is travelling between various Oratories and among the youth of the Archdiocese. The Pope then returned to the Archbishop's residence.
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