On August 25, Pope Francis delivered a speech to Russian youth via video link. The Pope invited them to sow “seeds of reconciliation”, “these small seeds will not sprout from the ice and snow in this winter of war, but will surely bear fruit in the coming spring”.
(Vatican News Network) The Vatican is nearly 2,500 kilometers away from St. Petersburg, but this does not prevent this “small gathering”. For more than an hour, Pope Francis communicated closely with about 400 young people. They are in St. Petersburg for the 10th National Gathering of Russian Young Catholics, which ends on August 27.
The event, which has been held since 2000, is being held in St. Petersburg for the first time this year, and some attendees even had to travel 9,000 kilometers to get there. Archbishop Paolo Pezzi of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow started with an opening speech, followed by the testimony of two young people. Afterwards, the Pope delivered a speech to Russian youths, centering on the theme of the World Youth Day in Lisbon, “Mary arose and set off with haste” (Luke 1:39), and put forward three main points, namely: accept the call and go out; God loves everyone One, the Church is for all; the importance of mutual acceptance of youth and elders.
“I wish you, young Russians, to be craftsmen of peace in the midst of so many conflicts, of the many problems of radicalization that our world suffers from,” said the Pope. The seeds of peace, the little seeds that will not sprout from the ice and snow this winter of war, will surely blossom and bear fruit in the spring to come. As I said in Lisbon: take courage and replace fear with dreams. Don’t be Managers, but entrepreneurs who dream. Allow yourself the luxury of dreaming great dreams!”
Pope Francis talks about the meeting between Mary and Elizabeth. The Pope said that the Lord calls us by name first, before considering our talents, our merits, or even our darkness and wounds. “We cannot sit still when God calls us. We must get up, and get up quickly, because the world, our brothers and sisters, those who suffer, and even those around us who do not know God’s hope We all need to receive God, to receive the joy of God. We have to get up quickly and bring the joy of God to others.”
Citing the parable of the feast of the Kingdom in the Gospel, the Pope stressed that “God’s love is for everyone, and the Church is the Church of all”. “The Church is an open mother who knows how to welcome and accept, especially those who need more care,” said the Pope. … Please don’t let the Church become a ‘gateway’ to filter who can and who cannot ’. No, everyone, admission is free.”
Here, the Pope also mentioned another topic of his concern, that is, the importance of dialogue between young and old, and the consequent transmission of experience. The Pope returned to the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth, calling it a dream. The Pope invites us to be “builders of bridges between generations, recognizing the dreams of predecessors and grandparents”. “The alliance between generations keeps the history and culture of a people alive”.
The pope concluded by exhorting young people to follow the example of the Virgin Mary and become “a sign of hope, peace and joy”. Learn from her humility, “You too can change the history you live in”.
Link URL: www.vaticannews.cn
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2023-08-28 14:41:09
