“IN HIS homily, the Holy Father spoke to the selected congregation. He was a. Commenting briefly on Jesus’ invitation to the young man: ‘Come, follow me!”
- Expanding on the theme of the Tenth World Youth Day: As the Father has sent me, so am I sending you.
The gist of his talk was the youth’s, response to God’s call to live one’s life with meaning and dignity, with a sense of vocation in the state of life for them and profession most suited to each one the basic call addressed to all to build up the Church and to proclaim the Word, trusting in God’s constant presence and unfailing help” (Pope John II, “As the Father sent me, so Am I sending you”, 1995).
-oOo-
Pope John Paul II’s homily was given to the selected congregation of youth delegates of the 10th International Youth Forum at the Chapel of the University of Santo Tomas (my Alma Mater), Manila, January 13, 1995.
The homily centered on a conversation between our Lord Jesus and a rich young man. The dialogue went this way: “Good Teacher What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17) Jesus replied: “You lack one thing: go sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven; and come follow me” (Mark 10:21).
Today, this call to our youth is still very relevant. The yough is one of the “special concerns” of our Catholic Church. Of course, our youth to “qualify” to follow our Lord Jesus must “live a life with meaning and dignity with a sense of vocation in the state of life, and profession most suited to him or her.”
The youth’s overall Mission covers the following:
“1) To build up the Church and 2) To proclaim the Word. In pursuing their Mission, the youth must continue “trusting in God’s constant presence and unfailing help.”
Furthermore, “most of our youth will choose marriage and family life but some will receive a call to the priesthood and religious life.” There are many paths our youth can take in building our Church. Thus, our youth must learn to closely examine his/her life and carefully discern which path to take. The youth must also search and discover God’s will for him/her.
After reading the whole speech under discussion, four very important things concerning our modern youth in the 3rd Millennium came out.
These four very vital concerns are:
- How will the youth effectively respond to the needs of the 4th Industrial Revolution Era?
- How will the youth effectively respond to the degrading spirituality and morality in their respective society?
- How can Christian Youth truly be Christian by imitating our Lord Jesus?
- How can our youth be effective instruments of God in the renewal of our people, Church and society?
Lastly, our youth must be globally recognized as the Fifth Estate. This is a unique and radical idea from our Davao advocates. Our youth, our succeeding generation, fully deserves such recognition to inspire and properly prepare them in being responsible as the Fifth Estate. Youth is undoubtedly our tomorrow!
There is a span of twenty six years between the Pope’s homily to the youth and the writing of this article. In our Church’s history this is a very short time. Furthermore, global institutions have their own projections of the future to anticipate coming possible events and be guided accordingly in their decision-making.
Let us end this article with a Prayer of Pope Francis:
“Lord, Father of the hungry family, you created all human beings equal in dignity: pour forth into our hearts a fraternal spirit and inspire in us a dream of renewed encounter, dialogue, justice and peace. Move us to create healthier societies and a more dignified world, a world without hunger, poverty, violence and war.
May our hearts be open to all the peoples and nations of earth. May we recognize the goodness and beauty that you have in each of us, and thus forge bonds of unity, common projects, and shared dreams. Amen.”
