YOUTH AND JUBILEE
The front cover portrays faces of various youth leaders from the parish of Regina Mundi in Soweto. This parish played a significant role during the 1976 uprisings, protecting those who took refuge in its shelter. Nearly 50 years later, these young men and women represent the hope for a better South Africa, where youth can exercise a meaningful role in society and in the Church, where their talents can be recognized and their voices heard. May their dreams for a bright future and a fruitful discipleship of Jesus be fulfilled.
WITNESS • POPE FRANCIS & YOUTH
“¡ESTA ES LA JUVENTUD DEL PAPA”! (WE ARE THE YOUTH OF THE POPE!)
BY DILLON NAICKER | LAY YOUTH MISSIONARY, JOHANNESBURG
BY THE time you read this, a new pope will have filled the chair of Peter. God bless Pope Leo XIV! May our prayers for the new Holy Father continue as he takes on this enormous role in the Church and the world. His predecessor, Pope Francis, presided over four international World Youth Day celebrations, all of which I was privileged to attend, as well as over the Youth Synod in 2018. On that note, I begin with a key message at the very beginning of his post-Synodal exhortation, Christus Vivit (2019, section 1):
“Christ is alive! He is our hope, and in a wonderful way he brings youth to our world, and everything he touches becomes young, new, full of life. The very first words, then, that I would like to say to every young Christian are these: Christ is alive and he wants 1you to be alive!”
I encountered Jesus personally fifteen years ago, experiencing a radical conversion. Few sayings capture that experience as well as the one above by Pope Francis. The moment I felt Jesus seeing me, personally and intimately, with nothing but love and mercy in his eyes, I knew he is indeed alive and wants me to be alive, as I have been ever since. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come”, says St Paul to the Corinthians (2 Cor 5:17). I became so “new” and “full of life” that I barely recognise my old self today, and am passionately intent on attaining heights of newness and fullness of life (Jn 10:10).
I have been drawn to the simplicity and beauty of Pope Francis’ language in inviting young people into this intimate relationship with Jesus.
In my twelve years as a lay youth missionary, it has been my growing realisation that many Catholics, young and old, do not know Jesus in a personal and intimate way, and that this has a fundamental impact on their lives. Having journeyed with Pope Francis over these twelve years, I have been drawn to the simplicity and beauty of his language in inviting young people into this intimate relationship with Jesus. During his World Youth Day (WYD) welcoming address in Lisbon on 3 August 2023, he said:
“Think of this: Jesus called me by name […] In God’s eyes, we are precious children, and he calls us each day in order to embrace and encourage us, to make of us a unique and original masterpiece. Each of us is an “original”, whose beauty we can only begin to glimpse.”
When sharing my testimony with young people, I tend to define conversion in this way, i.e., as the moment you realise how personal God’s love is for you, and how carefully and uniquely you were created in that love — what a big deal you are. I sense Pope Francis having earnestly invited every young person to ponder on the meaning and purpose of their existence in the time and place they find themselves, and on how that meaning and purpose reaches its full potential in Christ, who calls each of us to shine with a unique light, to become the “original” saints we were meant to be, setting the world on fire with his love. This requires the “yes” of every youth, upon which the Holy Spirit can “give us a new Pentecost”, said the Pope in his homily at the concluding Mass at WYD 2019, Panama.
To live in line with this awareness is easier said than done. Life is indeed a tedious struggle. Pope Francis often acknowledged this to young people, many of whom are hungry for hope as they suffer many personal and social ills. In his message for the 39th WYD (2024), which was his last, he encouraged young people to embrace life as a pilgrimage toward God:
“Even for those who are believers, the pilgrimage of life and the journey to our ultimate goal can prove tiring[…] It can happen that our initial enthusiasm for school or work, or for following Christ – whether in marriage, the priesthood or consecrated life – can be followed by moments of crisis, that make life seem like a difficult trek in the des2ert. Those times of crisis, however, are not wasted or useless: they can become important times of growth. They are moments when hope is purified!”
Having based this WYD message on Isaiah 40:31, the pope exhorted the youth to “run and not be weary”, placing their hope in Jesus. He expressed his preference for those who move forward, even in their fatigue, above those who get stuck in “apathy and dissatisfaction”. He indeed calls us to live the “Joy of the Gospel” (Francis, 2013), i.e., to embrace our daily crosses joyfully as we choose to follow Jesus (Mt 16:24), trusting that all we face is permitted by God who “works for good with those who love him” (Rom 8:28).
Aware of the many struggles of youth, and the consequent false hopes and joys of this world, eager to attract them, Pope Francis invited young people to pursue that which will fulfill them, asserting that temporary material gains and pleasures leave us all, ironically, perpetually empty and hungry for “something greater”. As St Paul invites the Colossians, we are to set our minds on what is above, where Christ is, and not on the things of this earth (Col 3:1-2). True happiness, young friends, does not come from earthly wealth, power, fame, and pleasure. Seek and build all these in the Eternal Kingdom, not in this finite world. It is a brave and saintly thing to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Mt 6:33). This is the meaning of being “blessed” (Mt 5:3-12). It is for this reason that Pope Francis beseeched young people to look to the saints, and to Mother Mary:
“As we press forward, let us lift our gaze, in faith, to the saints who have gone before us on the journey[…]The example of so many saints, men and women, impels and sustains us. Courage! All of you have a special place in my heart. I entrust your journey to the Virgin Mary, so that, following her example, you may be able to look forward with patience and confidence to the fulfilment of all your hopes, even now, as you persevere in your journey as pilgrims of hope and of love3.”
Pope Francis not only preached but practised what he taught. It is my personal conviction that we have gained another saint.
In recent years he drew specific attention to Bl. Carlo Acutis, urging the youth of today to consider and imitate the profound holiness of this millennial saint, particularly his prayerful devotion to the Holy Eucharist (Francis, 2024). I heartily and passionately echo the pope’s invitation, dear young ones, by inviting you to consider Bl. Carlo’s words, “Jesus is my great friend and the Eucharist is my highway to Heaven”.
May you be alive with Jesus now more than ever, dear Papa! Pray for youth, that more and more of them may come alive in Christ! ¡Esta es la juventud del Papa!
SPECIAL CARE FOR THE UNDERPRIVILEGED
One of the biggest difficulties in the lives of migrants and refugees is access to health care systems, especially when they lack regular stay permits for the country. The Scalabrinian Fathers try to address this challenge.