Pope Francis' Message to 50,000 Youth at Medjugorje "run attracted by that much loved Face, which we adore in the Holy Eucharist..." FULL TEXT

MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
TO THE YOUNG PEOPLE GATHERED IN MEDJUGORJE FOR THEIR ANNUAL MEETING

Dear!

The annual meeting of young people in Medjugorje is a time rich in prayer, catechesis and fraternity. It offers all of you the opportunity to meet Jesus Christ alive, especially in the Eucharist, celebrated and adored, and in Reconciliation. And so it helps you to discover another way of life, different from what the culture of the provisional offers, according to which nothing can be definitive but only enjoying the present moment counts. In this climate of relativism, in which it is difficult to find the true and sure answers, the guiding words of the Festival: "Come and see" ( Jn 1:39), addressed by Jesus to the disciples, are a blessing. Jesus also turns his gaze on you and invites you to go and be with him.

Do not be afraid! Christ lives and wants each of you to live. He is the true beauty and youth of this world. Everything he touches becomes young, becomes new, is filled with life and meaning (cf. Apostolic Exhortation Christus vivit , 1). We see him precisely in that Gospel scene, when the Lord asks the two disciples who follow him: "What are you looking for?". And they reply: "Rabbi, where are you staying?" And Jesus says: "Come and see" (cf. Jn 1 : 35-39). And they go, see and stay. The experience of meeting Jesus was so impressed in the memory of those disciples that one of them even recorded the time: "It was about four in the afternoon" (v. 39).

The Gospel tells us that after being at the house of the Lord, the two disciples became "mediators" that allow others to meet him, to know him and to follow him. Andrea immediately went to tell his brother Simone and led him to Jesus. When he saw Simone, the Maestro immediately gave him a nickname: "Cefa", that is "Stone", which will become the name Pietro (cf. Jn 1,40-42) . This shows that by meeting Jesus you become a new person, and you receive the mission of transmitting this experience to others, but always keeping your gaze fixed on him, the Lord.

Dear young people, have you met this gaze of Jesus who asks you: "What are you looking for?" Have you heard his voice saying to you: "Come and see"? Have you felt that urge to set off? Take the time to be with Jesus, to fill yourself with his Spirit and be ready for the fascinating adventure of life. Go to meet him, stay with him in prayer, trust in him who is an expert on the human heart.

This beautiful invitation from the Lord: "Come and see", told by the young and beloved disciple of Christ, is also addressed to future disciples. Jesus invites you to meet him and this Festival becomes an opportunity to be able to "come and see". The word "come", in addition to indicating a physical movement, has a deeper, spiritual sense. It indicates an itinerary of faith whose aim is to "see", that is, to experience the Lord and, thanks to him, to see the full and definitive meaning of our existence.

The great model of the Church with a young heart, ready to follow Christ with freshness and docility, always remains the Virgin Mary. The strength of his "yes" and that "happens for me" which he said to the angel always strikes us. His "yes" means getting involved and taking risks, with no other guarantee than the certainty of being the bearer of a promise. Her "Behold the handmaid of the Lord" ( Lk1.38) is the most beautiful example that tells us what happens when man, in his freedom, abandons himself in the hands of God. May this example fascinate and guide you! Mary is the Mother who watches over «her children who walk in life often tired, needy, but with the desire that the light of hope will not go out. This is what we want: that the light of hope does not go out. Our Mother looks at this pilgrim people, people of young people whom she loves, who seeks her by making silence in her heart despite the fact that along the way there is so much noise, conversations and distractions "( Christus vivit , 48 ).

Dear young people, "run attracted by that much loved Face, which we adore in the Holy Eucharist and recognize in the flesh of the suffering brother. May the Holy Spirit push you forward in this race. The Church needs your momentum, your intuitions, your faith "( ibid. , 299 ). In your race for the Gospel, also animated by this Festival, I entrust all of you to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, invoking light and strength from the Spirit so that you can be true witnesses of Christ. For this I pray and bless you, and I also ask you to pray for me.

Rome, San Giovanni in Laterano, 29 June 2020  

Francis

 FULL TEXT Source: Vatican.va - Image Source: Google Images