2023-08-05 21:15:42
On the followingnoon of this Saturday, August 5, the Holy Father presided over the Vigil with the Youth on the occasion of the XXXVII World Youth Day, in “Parque Tejo” in Lisbon, Portugal. The Pontiff encouraged the more than 1.5 million pilgrims to “walk in hope, looking at our roots, without fear.”
Vatican News
“Walk and, if you fall, get up; walk with a goal; train every day in life. In life, nothing is free. Everything is paid. There is only one thing free: the love of Jesus”, Pope Francis told the young people who participated in the Vigil for the XXXVII World Youth Day, which was celebrated on the night of this Saturday, August 5, in the “Parque Tejo” in Lisbon, Portugal, within the framework of the 42nd International Apostolic Journey of his pontificate.
Mary is a missionary of joy
From the central box that was installed in the “Campo de Gracia”, near the Vasco de Gama Bridge in Lisbon, the Holy Father thanked the young pilgrims who came from all over the world to participate in this WYD. And commenting on the motto of the event, “he left and went without delay” (Lc 1,39), the Pontiff stressed that Mary makes an unsolicited, non-obligatory gesture, Mary goes because she loves, and “he who loves flies, runs and Rejoices”. That’s what love does to us.
“Mary’s joy is twofold: she has just received the angel’s announcement that she was going to receive the Redeemer and also the news that her cousin is pregnant. So, it’s funny: instead of thinking regarding her, he thinks regarding the other. Because? Because joy is missionary, joy is not for one, it is to bring something”.
Joy is missionary!
And to the young people who participate in this WYD, to the young people who have come to meet, to seek the message of Christ, to seek a beautiful meaning in life, the Holy Father asked: are you going to keep this for yourselves? or will they take it to the others? And the Pontiff told them that this is to take it to others because joy is missionary.
“And then I have to bring that joy to others, but that joy that we have, others also prepared us to receive it. Now let’s look back at all that we have received. What we have received and what they have prepared, all this has prepared our hearts for joy. All. If we look back, we have people who were a ray of light for life: parents, grandparents, friends, priests, religious, catechists, animators, teachers…”
Being for others roots of joy
Pope Francis said that these people are like the roots of our joy. And making a moment of silence, the Pontiff invited the young people to think regarding those who gave us something in life, who are like the roots of joy.
“That joy that came from those roots is what we have to give, because we have roots of joy, roots of joy. And we too can be, for others, roots of joy. It is not regarding bringing a fleeting joy, a momentary joy. It is regarding bringing a joy that creates roots”.
Become roots of joy
In this sense, the Holy Father told the pilgrims that we have to become roots of joy. Joy is not in the library, locked up, although you have to study, but it is elsewhere. It is not kept under lock and key, joy must be sought, it must be discovered, it must be discovered in our dialogue with others where we have to give those roots of joy that we have received.
“Think regarding what happens when you’re tired: you don’t feel like doing anything, as we say in Spanish, you throw away the sponge because you don’t feel like going on and then you give up, stop walking and fall. Do you think that a person who falls in life, who has a failure, who even makes heavy, strong mistakes, is finished? No. What is there to do? Get up”.
Help rise up who is down
And there is something very beautiful that I would like you to take away as a souvenir today, Pope Francis told them, noting that the Alpines, who like to climb mountains, have a very beautiful song that goes like this: “In the art of climbing the mountain, what matters is not not not falling, but not staying fallen.
“He who remains fallen ‘retired’ from life now, closed, closed hope, closed illusion and there he remains fallen. And when we see some of our friends who are down, what do we have to do? Pick it up, strong. lift it up Notice when one has to lift or help lift a person what gesture he makes: he looks at him from top to bottom. The only opportunity, the only moment that is legal to look at a person from top to bottom is to help them get up.”
The importance of training in life
And in life, the Pope affirmed, to achieve things you have to train yourself along the way. Sometimes we don’t feel like walking, we don’t feel like making efforts, we cheat on exams because we don’t want to study and we don’t achieve success.
“And in life, you can’t always do what you want, but rather what the vocation I have inside -each one has their vocation- leads us to do. Walk; if I fall, get up or be helped up; not stay down; And train me, train me along the way. And all of this is possible, not because we take courses on the path – there is no course to teach us to walk in life, that is learned, learned from parents, learned from grandparents, learned from friends, taking from each other’s hand.”
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