Pope Francis' Message to Taizé "...to open up to great ideals that make life more beautiful and dignified. Let us walk in hope "
SIGNED BY CARDINAL SECRETARY OF STATE PIETRO PAROLIN,
TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE 43rd EUROPEAN MEETING ANIMATED BY THE COMMUNITY OF TAIZÉ
Dear young people ,
For over forty years the Taizé community has been preparing a European meeting every year in a major city on the continent and several generations of young people have participated in it. Pope Francis is happy, again this year, to join you in thought and prayer. Not having the health situation allowed such a gathering this time, you have shown creativity and imagination: although distant, you are connected in a new way thanks to the new means of communication. And at the same time extend the meeting to young people from all continents. May these days, during which you pray together and support one another in faith and trust, help you "hope for favorable and unfavorable times", as the theme of the message that will accompany you throughout 2021 underlines.
The very fact of "meeting", even if exceptionally you do it in a virtual way, already places you on the path of hope. As the Holy Father reiterated in his encyclical Brothers All , “no one can face life in isolation. We need a community that supports us, that helps us and in which we help each other to look ahead "( n. 8 ). Do not be among those who sow despair and arouse constant mistrust, it would neutralize the strength of hope that is offered to us by the Spirit of the risen Christ. On the contrary, let yourselves be inhabited by this hope, it will give you the courage to follow Christ and to work together with and for those most in need, especially those who struggle to face the difficulties of the present time. “Hope is audacious, it knows how to look beyond personal comfort, the small securities and compensations that narrow the horizon, to open up to great ideals that make life more beautiful and dignified. Let us walk in hope "( Brothers all, no. 55). During this year, may you continue to develop a culture of encounter and fraternity and to walk together towards that horizon of hope revealed by the resurrection of Christ.
The Holy Father blesses each and every one of you, dear young people, he also blesses the brothers of the Taizé community, as well as your families and all those around the world who participate with you in this international meeting.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State of His Holiness
from L'Osservatore Romano , Year CLX, n.297, 28 December 2020
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