Remain united to Jesus and aspire to holiness, Pope preaches to 1 million young people

August 04, 2025

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass for a million young people on August 3 (booklet, video) in the culminating event of the Jubilee of Youth, part of the 2025 jubilee year.

Preaching about the “encounter with the risen Christ who transforms our lives and enlightens our affections, desires and thoughts,” Pope Leo said, “We are not made for a life where everything is taken for granted and static, but for an existence that is constantly renewed through gift of self in love. This is why we continually aspire to something ‘more’ that no created reality can give us; we feel a deep and burning thirst that no drink in this world can satisfy. Knowing this, let us not deceive our hearts by trying to satisfy them with cheap imitations!”

The Pope continued:

Saint Augustine, reflecting on his intense search for God, asked himself: “What, then, is the object of our hope [...]? Is it the earth? No. Is it something that comes from the earth, such as gold, silver, trees, crops, or water [...]? These things are pleasing, these things are beautiful, these things are good” (Sermo 313/F, 3). And the conclusion he reached was: “Seek the one who made them, he is your hope” (ibid.). Thinking of his own journey, he prayed, saying: “You [Lord] were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you […] You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you (cf. Ps 34:8; 1 Pt 2:3) now I hunger and thirst for more (cf. Mt 5:6; 1 Cor 4:11); you touched me, and I burned for your peace” (Confessions, 10, 27).

“Dear young people, Jesus is our hope,” the Pope added. “Let us remain united to him, let us remain in his friendship, always, cultivating it through prayer, adoration, Eucharistic Communion, frequent Confession, and generous charity, following the examples of Blessed Piergiorgio Frassati and Blessed Carlo Acutis who will soon be declared saints. Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less. You will then see the light of the Gospel growing every day, in you and around you.”

The previous evening, Pope Leo took part in a prayer vigil with the young people that culminated in Eucharistic adoration and Benediction (video). The vigil, like the Mass, took place on the grounds of Tor Vergata, a public university in a Roman suburb. Addressing questions from youth, the Pope emphasized friendship with Christ:

Dear young people, every person naturally desires a good life, just as lungs long for air, but how difficult it is to find it! How difficult it is to find true friendship! Centuries ago, Saint Augustine understood the deepest desire of our hearts, the desire of every human heart, even without the technological developments of today. He too had a restless youth, but he did not settle for less, he did not silence the cry of his heart.

Augustine sought the truth, the truth that does not disappoint and the beauty that does not fade. And how did he find it? How did he find true friendship and a love capable of giving hope? By finding the one who was already looking for him, by finding Jesus Christ. How did he build his future? By following the one who had always been his friend. In his own words, friendship is nowhere faithful but in Christ. Saint Augustine tells us there is no friendship that is authentic if that is not in Christ. And the true friendship is always in Jesus Christ with truth, love and respect. Only in him can it be eternal and happy.

Addressing a question about paralysis in the face of making choices, the Pontiff said that “the courage to choose comes from love, which God shows us in Christ. It is he who loved us with his whole self, saving the world and thus showing us that self-giving is the way to our fulfillment. For this reason, the encounter with Jesus corresponds to the deepest longings of our hearts, because Jesus is God’s love made man.”

In this context, Pope Leo described matrimony, holy orders, and consecrated life as choices that “give meaning to our lives, transforming them into the image of the perfect love that created them and redeemed them from all evil, even from death ... Find the courage to make difficult choices and say to Jesus: ‘You are my life, Lord,’ ‘Lord, You are my life.’“

The Pope concluded:

I would like to invite each of you, dear young people, to say to the Lord: “Thank you, Jesus, for calling me. My desire is to remain as one of your friends, so that, embracing you, I may also be a companion on the journey for anyone I meet. Grant, O Lord, that those who meet me may encounter you, even through my limitations and frailties.”

Through praying these words, our dialogue will continue each time we look at the crucified Lord, for our hearts will be united in him. Each time we adore Christ in the Eucharist, our hearts will be united in him. Finally, my prayer for you is that you may persevere in faith, with joy and courage! And we can say, “Thank you Jesus for loving us.” Stay with us Lord.

 

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Further information:

• 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Holy Mass (Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana)
• Prayer Vigil with the young people (Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana)