Pope Francis says "Friends, Jesus says to each one of you too: «Come! Follow me!" to Youth at Medjugorje - FULL TEXT

 

MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS

TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOUTH FESTIVAL  
[Medjugorje, 1-6 August 2021]  

Dear!

The Youth Festival is an intense week of prayer and encounter with Jesus Christ, especially in his living Word, in the Eucharist, in adoration and in the sacrament of Reconciliation. This event - the experience of so many says - has the strength to set us on the path towards the Lord. And this is precisely the first step taken by the "rich young man" of which the Synoptic Gospels speak to us (cf.  Mt  19 : 16-22;  Mk  10 : 17-22;  Lk 18: 18-23), who set out, indeed, ran to meet the Lord, full of enthusiasm and desire to find the Master to inherit eternal life, that is, happiness. The guiding word of this year's Festival is precisely the question that that young man addressed to Jesus: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?". It is a word that places us before the Lord; and He fixes his gaze on us, loves us and invites us: «Come! Follow me!" ( Mt  19:21).

The Gospel does not tell us the name of that young man, and this suggests that he can represent each of us. In addition to possessing many possessions, he appears well educated and educated, and also animated by a healthy restlessness that drives him to seek true happiness, life in fullness. Therefore he sets out to meet an authoritative, credible and reliable guide. He finds this authority in the person of Jesus Christ and that is why he asks him: "Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" ( Mk  10,17). But the young man thinks of a good to be conquered by his own strength. The Lord answers him with another question: «Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone "(v. 18). Thus, Jesus directs him to God, who is the one and highest Good from whom every other good comes.

To help him access the source of goodness and true happiness, Jesus points out the first step to take, that is, to learn to do good to others: "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments" ( Mt  19:17 ). Jesus brings him back to earthly life and shows him the way to inherit eternal life, that is, concrete love for neighbor. But the young man replies that he has always done this and has realized that following the precepts is not enough to be happy. Then Jesus fixes on him a gaze full of love. In fact, he recognizes the desire for fullness that the young man carries in his heart and his healthy restlessness that puts him in search; for this she feels tenderness and affection for him.

However, Jesus also understands what the weak point of his interlocutor is: he is too attached to the many material goods he possesses. Therefore the Lord proposes a second step to take, that of passing from the logic of "merit" to that of the gift: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, give it to the poor and you will have a treasure in heaven" ( Mt 19.21). Jesus changes the perspective: he invites him not to think about securing the afterlife, but to give everything in earthly life, thus imitating the Lord. It is the call to further maturation, to pass from observed precepts to obtain rewards to free and total love. Jesus asks him to leave what weighs down the heart and hinders love. What Jesus proposes is not so much a man deprived of everything, as a man who is free and rich in relationships. If the heart is crowded with goods, the Lord and neighbor become only things among others. Our having too much and too much will suffocate our hearts and make us unhappy and unable to love.

Finally, Jesus proposes a third stage, that of imitation: «Come! Follow me!". «Following Christ is not an external imitation, because it touches man in his profound interiority. Being disciples of Jesus means being conformed to him "(John Paul II, Encyclical Letter  Veritatis Splendor , 21). In return, we will receive a rich and happy life, full of the faces of so many brothers and sisters, and fathers and mothers and children… (cf.  Mt  19:29). Following Christ is not a loss, but an incalculable gain, while renunciation concerns the obstacle that prevents the path. That rich young man, however, has his heart divided between two masters: God and money. The fear of taking risks and losing his possessions makes him return home sad: "He darkened his face and went away saddened" ( Mc 10.22). He did not hesitate to ask the decisive question, but he did not find the courage to accept the answer, which is the proposal to "untie" oneself and from riches to "bind" oneself to Christ, to walk with him and discover true happiness. .

Friends, Jesus says to each one of you too: «Come! Follow me!". Have the courage to live your youth by entrusting yourselves to the Lord and setting out on a journey with him. Let yourself be conquered by his gaze of love that frees us from the seduction of idols, from false riches that promise life but procure death. Do not be afraid to welcome the Word of Christ and to accept his call. Don't be discouraged like the rich young man of the Gospel; instead, fix your gaze on Mary, the great model of the imitation of Christ, and entrust yourselves to her who, with her "here I am", responded unreservedly to the call of the Lord. Her life is a total self-giving, from the moment of the Annunciation to Calvary, where she became our Mother. We look to Mary to find the strength and receive the grace that allows us to say our "here I am" to the Lord. Let us look to Mary to learn to bring Christ into the world, as she did when, full of care and joy, she ran to help Saint Elizabeth. We look to Mary to transform our life into a gift for others. With her interest in the spouses of Cana, she teaches us to be attentive to others. With her life she shows us that in God's will is our joy and to welcome and live it is not easy, but it makes us happy. Yes, “the joy of the Gospel fills the heart and the whole life of those who meet with Jesus. Those who allow themselves to be saved by him are freed from sin, from sadness, from interior emptiness, from isolation. With Jesus Christ, joy is always born and reborn "(Ap. Let us look to Mary to learn to bring Christ into the world, as she did when, full of care and joy, she ran to help Saint Elizabeth. We look to Mary to transform our life into a gift for others. With her interest in the spouses of Cana, she teaches us to be attentive to others. With her life she shows us that in God's will is our joy and to welcome and live it is not easy, but it makes us happy. Yes, “the joy of the Gospel fills the heart and the whole life of those who meet with Jesus. Those who allow themselves to be saved by him are freed from sin, from sadness, from interior emptiness, from isolation. With Jesus Christ, joy is always born and reborn "(Ap. Let us look to Mary to learn to bring Christ into the world, as she did when, full of care and joy, she ran to help Saint Elizabeth. We look to Mary to transform our life into a gift for others. With her interest in the spouses of Cana, she teaches us to be attentive to others. With her life she shows us that in God's will is our joy and to welcome and live it is not easy, but it makes us happy. Yes, “the joy of the Gospel fills the heart and the whole life of those who meet with Jesus. Those who allow themselves to be saved by him are freed from sin, from sadness, from interior emptiness, from isolation. With Jesus Christ, joy is always born and reborn "(Ap. We look to Mary to transform our life into a gift for others. With her interest in the spouses of Cana, she teaches us to be attentive to others. With her life she shows us that in God's will is our joy and to welcome and live it is not easy, but it makes us happy. Yes, “the joy of the Gospel fills the heart and the whole life of those who meet with Jesus. Those who allow themselves to be saved by him are freed from sin, from sadness, from interior emptiness, from isolation. With Jesus Christ, joy is always born and reborn "(Ap. We look to Mary to transform our life into a gift for others. With her interest in the spouses of Cana, she teaches us to be attentive to others. With her life she shows us that in God's will is our joy and to welcome and live it is not easy, but it makes us happy. Yes, “the joy of the Gospel fills the heart and the whole life of those who meet with Jesus. Those who allow themselves to be saved by him are freed from sin, from sadness, from interior emptiness, from isolation. With Jesus Christ, joy is always born and reborn "(Ap. but it makes us happy. Yes, “the joy of the Gospel fills the heart and the whole life of those who meet with Jesus. Those who allow themselves to be saved by him are freed from sin, from sadness, from interior emptiness, from isolation. With Jesus Christ, joy is always born and reborn "(Ap. but it makes us happy. Yes, “the joy of the Gospel fills the heart and the whole life of those who meet with Jesus. Those who allow themselves to be saved by him are freed from sin, from sadness, from interior emptiness, from isolation. With Jesus Christ, joy is always born and reborn "(Ap. Evangelii gaudium , 1).

Dear young people, on your journey with the Lord Jesus, animated also by this Festival, I entrust you all to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our heavenly Mother, invoking light and strength from the Holy Spirit. May the gaze of God who loves you personally accompany you every day, so that, in relationships with others, you can be witnesses of the new life that you have received as a gift. For this I pray and bless you, and I also ask you to pray for me.

Rome, San Giovanni in Laterano, June 29, 2021

FRANCIS