{"id":18828,"date":"2017-03-21T20:07:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-21T20:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/the-church-and-society-need-you-pope-francis-tells-youth-24337\/"},"modified":"2017-03-21T20:07:00","modified_gmt":"2017-03-21T20:07:00","slug":"the-church-and-society-need-you-pope-francis-tells-youth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/03\/the-church-and-society-need-you-pope-francis-tells-youth\/","title":{"rendered":"The Church and society need you, Pope Francis tells youth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Vatican City, Mar 21, 2017 \/ 02:07 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- On Tuesday Pope Francis released a video message to youth in advance of the next World Youth Day, to be held in Panama in 2019.\u00a0 He said that like the Virgin Mary, they are needed, and they should not be afraid to leave their mark on the world.
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\n\u201cLike the young woman of Nazareth, you can improve the world and leave an imprint that makes a mark on history, your history and that of many others,\u201d Pope Francis said in the message, released March 21. \u201cThe Church and society need you.\u201d
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\n\u201cWith your plans and with your courage, with your dreams and ideals, walls of stagnation fall and roads open up that lead us to a better, fairer, less cruel and more humane world.\u201d
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\nThe message, made in advance of the annual diocesan-level \u201cWorld Youth Day\u201d which takes place on April 9 this year, reflects specifically on the spiritual journey pilgrims will take before reaching Panama, encouraging young people to cultivate a strong friendship with Our Lady, saying they \u201cwill not regret it.\u201d
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\n\u201cSpeak to her as you would to a Mother. Together with her, give thanks for the precious gift of faith that you have received from your elders, and entrust your whole life to her. She is a good Mother who listens to you and embraces you, who loves you and walks together with you,\u201d he said.
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\nThe theme for the upcoming local World Youth Day is taken from the words of Mary in the Magnificat: \u201cThe Mighty has done great things for me\u201d (Luke 1:49).
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\nMary \u201crecognized the great things that God was accomplishing in her life,\u201d gave thanks for it, and then put it into action, going to help her cousin Elizabeth, the Pope said. She \u201cwas not a young couch potato who looks for comfort and safety where nobody can bother them.\u201d
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\n\u201cDear young people, God is also watching over you and calling you, and when God does so, he is looking at all the love you are able to offer,\u201d Francis said.
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\nIn anticipation of World Youth Day in Panama January 22-27, 2017, the Pope also released a longer written message to youth, reflecting on themes from the last international World Youth Day in Krakow in July 2016 and on the themes of each year\u2019s meeting leading up to Panama.
\n\u00a0
\nContinuing the Marian themes, in 2018 the theme will be \u201cDo not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God\u201d (Luke 1:49) and in 2019, in Panama, it will be \u201cI am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word\u201d (Luke 1:38), the Pope said.
\n\u00a0
\nFrancis said that he hopes preparations for World Youth Day in Panama and for the Synod of Bishops in October 2018, \u201cwill move forward in tandem,\u201d since the topic of the Synod will be youth, faith and vocational discernment.
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\nAt the Synod, \u201cwe will talk about how you, as young people, are experiencing the life of faith amid the challenges of our time,\u201d the Pope said. \u201cWe will also discuss the question of how you can develop a life project by discerning your personal vocation\u2026\u201d
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\nIn discerning the plan God has for our lives, we can look to Mary, who was very young herself, as an example of the gift of faith lived out, he said.
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\nReferencing an address he gave at World Youth Day in Krakow, Francis said to not be afraid, for though we might think, but \u201cI am a sinner, what can I do?\u201d the truth is that \u201cwhen the Lord calls us, he doesn\u2019t stop at what we are or what we have done.\u201d
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\n\u201cOn the contrary, at the very moment that he calls us, he is looking ahead to everything we can do, all the love we are capable of giving.\u201d
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\nHow do we prepare to, like Mary, give this love? Pope Francis offered four practical suggestions. One, is to end each day doing an examination of conscience \u2013 reflecting on our day, remembering both \u201cthe good times and the challenges, what went well and those that went wrong.\u201d
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\nThese can also be recorded in a journal if we like and is a good way of noticing what God is doing in our lives, he said.
\n\u00a0
\nAnother suggestion the Pope made is to spend more time reading the Bible. If you, as young people, want to make your life a \u201cgift for humanity\u201d it is \u201cessential to connect with the historical tradition and the prayer of those who have gone before you,\u201d he said.
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\nDoing lectio divina, a method of prayerfully reading the Bible and applying God\u2019s word to your own life will help to \u201cillumine your steps.\u201d
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\nThirdly, Francis stressed the importance of going to Mass and frequent reception of the Eucharist, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
\n\u00a0
\nAnd lastly, he said that young people must speak to and learn from the wisdom of their elders, especially grandparents or other relatives. \u201cDo you realize how extraordinarily enriching the encounter between the young and the elderly can be?\u201d he asked.
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\n\u201cYoung people have strength, while the elderly have memory and wisdom.\u201d
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\n\u201cThe genuine experience of the Church is not like a flash mob, where people agree to meet, do their thing and then go their separate ways,\u201d Pope Francis continued.
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\n\u201cThe Church is heir to a long tradition which, passed down from generation to generation, is further enriched by the experience of each individual. Your personal history has a place within the greater history of the Church.\u201d
\n\u00a0
\nEven young people should be mindful of tradition and the past, he said, though this is not the same as being nostalgic or remaining stuck on a certain period of history as being the best. One of the gifts of youth is questioning and dreaming about the future, he said.
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cGod came to enlarge the horizons of our life in every direction. He helps us to give due value to the past so as to better build a future of happiness.\u201d
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cMany people think that young people are distracted and superficial,\u201d Francis explained. \u201cThey are wrong! Still, we should acknowledge our need to reflect on our lives and direct them towards the future.\u201d
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cWhen God touches the heart of a young man or woman, they become capable of doing tremendous things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Vatican City, Mar 21, 2017 \/ 02:07 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- On Tuesday Pope Francis released a video message to youth in advance of the next World Youth Day, to be held in Panama in 2019.  He said that like the Virgin Mary, they are needed, and they s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Church and society need you, Pope Francis tells youth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Mar 21, 2017 \/ 02:07 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- On Tuesday Pope Francis released a video message to youth in advance of the next World Youth Day, to be held in Panama in 2019.  He said that like the Virgin Mary, they are needed, and they s...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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