Pope tells youth: get off the sofa, follow Jesus, and ‘leave your mark on history’
August 01, 2016
During a prayer vigil on July 30 that concluded with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, Pope Francis challenged participants in World Youth Day not to settle for a “sofa happiness” of personal comfort.
The Pope called upon young people not to think
that in order to be happy all we need is a good sofa. A sofa that makes us feel comfortable, calm, safe. A sofa like one of those we have nowadays with a built-in massage unit to put us to sleep. A sofa that promises us hours of comfort so we can escape to the world of videogames and spend all kinds of time in front of a computer screen. A sofa that keeps us safe from any kind of pain and fear. A sofa that allows us to stay home without needing to work at, or worry about, anything. “Sofa-happiness”! That is probably the most harmful and insidious form of paralysis, which can cause the greatest harm to young people.
“My friends, Jesus is the Lord of risk, he is the Lord of the eternal ‘more,’” the Pope continued. “Jesus is not the Lord of comfort, security and ease. Following Jesus demands a good dose of courage, a readiness to trade in the sofa for a pair of walking shoes and to set out on new and uncharted paths. To blaze trails that open up new horizons capable of spreading joy, the joy that is born of God’s love and wells up in your hearts with every act of mercy.”
The Pope added:
To take the path of the “craziness” of our God, who teaches us to encounter him in the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, the friend in trouble, the prisoner, the refugee and the migrant, and our neighbors who feel abandoned. To take the path of our God, who encourages us to be politicians, thinkers, social activists. The God who encourages us to devise an economy marked by greater solidarity than our own. In all the settings in which you find yourselves, God’s love invites you bring the Good News, making of your own lives a gift to him and to others. This means being courageous, this means being free!
“Today Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life, is calling you, you, and you to leave your mark on history,” the Pope concluded. “He, who is life, is asking each of you to leave a mark that brings life to your own history and that of many others. He, who is truth, is asking you to abandon the paths of rejection, division and emptiness. Are you up to this? [Yes!] Are you up to this? [Yes!] What answer will you give, and I’d like to see it, with your hands and with your feet, to the Lord, who is the way, the truth and the life? Are you up to this? [Yes!] May the Lord bless your dreams. Thank you!”
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Further information:
- Pope Francis in Poland: Prayer Vigil (YouTube Vatican)
- APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO POLAND ON THE OCCASION OF THE XXXI WORLD YOUTH DAY (Holy See)
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