My message for you, young people, is Jesus, his infinite love for each of you, his salvation and new life – says the Pope in his message for the 37th World Youth Day (WYD). The theme chosen for it: “Mary got up and went quickly” (Lk 1, 39). It is about Mary who goes to her cousin Elizabeth to help her. The Holy Father’s message was made public by the Vatican on Monday 12 September.
Jānis Evertovskis – Vatican
The celebration of the PJD will take place in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, in August 2023. They were originally scheduled for 2022, but have been postponed due to the pandemic. As for the theme, it is a call to rise. “Maria got up and left quickly.” It is about her decided “yes” about her and the haste with which she went to her cousin Elisabetta, who was already old and was carrying John the Baptist in her womb. At the beginning of the message, Francis explains that the verb “to rise again” also refers to the resurrection and awakening to life.
Maria got up
The document states that after the angel’s announcement, Mary may focus on herself, her worries and fears, but she completely trusts God and thinks more about Elizabeth. “She gets up and goes out in the sunlight, where life reigns and movement takes place”, the Pope writes in the message. Despite the shock that the angel caused her with her message, Mary does not remain “paralyzed” because she has within her Jesus, the power of the resurrection. She gets up and goes because she is sure that God’s plans are the best possible plan for her life. Experiencing the presence of the risen Christ in our life, meeting him alive is the source of our spiritual joy – emphasizes Francis, adding that the Mother of God is a model for young people on the move. An example of young people who do not sit in front of the mirror, to contemplate themselves, who are not “trapped” in the nets. She is facing completely outwards. She goes to God and her brothers and sisters.
… and he left quickly
In the continuation of the message, the Pope emphasizes that the grace of the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with slowness. Maria is in a hurry because she is concerned about serving, announcing her good news. It is important that you respond quickly to the grace of the Holy Spirit. Helping her elderly cousin is important to her. Maria is not indifferent. She thinks more of others than of herself. And she gives her life dynamism and enthusiasm.
In this context, Francis encourages each of us to ask ourselves: how do I react when I see different needs around me? Do I immediately think of an excuse to do nothing or am I interested and ready to get involved? “Of course you can’t solve all the problems in the world,” he admits, “but maybe you can start with the people closest to you.”
Francis stresses that in the face of a specific and urgent need, urgent action is needed. “How many people in the world are waiting for someone to visit them and take care of them!” he writes. “How many old people, sick people, prisoners, refugees need a sympathetic look, a visit from us, a brother or sister who breaks down the barriers of indifference!”
The Pope asks young people what is the “race” that engages them and does not allow them to stand still. Many people affected by pandemics, wars, forced migration, poverty, violence, climate disasters are wondering why all this is happening to them. Why is this happening to me? What time? Here the Holy Father comes to the central question of our life: “It came I’m?”
Maria is a role model for young people who do not waste time seeking attention or recognition from others – as happens when we depend on “likes” on social media – but tries to find the true connection that comes from meeting, sharing, loving and to serve.
Real haste always pushes us to go further
The real rush always pushes us to go higher and towards the other, writes the Pope. In this context he also speaks of a false, not good haste, such as that which leads us to a superficial life, to a carefree perception of everything. , to carelessness. He is about the haste with which we live, learn, work, visit others, without putting our minds or hearts into everything. We are doing something, but we are not involved in it and in part we are somewhere else. Francis points out that this can also happen in mutual relationships: in the family, when we never really listen to others and don’t dedicate our time; in friendship, in the deepest relationships, between betrothed; there are few who have the patience to really know and understand each other. We can observe the same in school, in the workplace and in other areas of daily life.
«Dear young people», the Pope writes, «it is time to relive real encounters soon, to truly welcome those who are different from us, as happened between the young Mary and the elderly Elizabeth. Only in this way will we be able to overcome the distances – between generations, social classes, ethnic groups and different types of groups and categories – and even wars. (…) We need an alliance between young and old, not to forget the lessons of history, to overcome the polarization and extremism of this time ».
In the final part of the message, Francis emphasizes that Jesus is God’s answer to humanity’s challenges at all times. The presence of Jesus is the greatest gift that Mary gives to Elizabeth. “My message to you, young people, the great message that the Church brings is Jesus!” he writes. «Yes, it is He himself, his infinite love for each of us, his salvation and the new life that he has given us. And Mary is an example of how to receive this infinitely precious gift of our life and give it to others, because we too become bearers of Christ, bearers of his compassionate love, imitators of his selfless service to suffering humanity “.
All together in Lisbon
In conclusion, the Holy Father recalls that on the feast of Christ the King, on November 20 this year, the PJD will be celebrated in the local Churches all over the world, and hopes that after the long periods of separation, in Lisbon (after less than a year) we can experience once again the fraternal embrace of peoples and generations, reconciliation and peace.
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