VATICAN CITY — The life of a young person and the vocation to
which God calls each one is "holy ground" that pastors and parents
must respect, nurture and encourage, Pope Francis wrote in a new apostolic
exhortation.
"Christus Vivit" ("Christ Lives"), the pope's
reflections on the 2018 Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith and
vocational discernment, is a combination letter to young people about their
place in the church and a plea to older members of the church not to stifle the
enthusiasm of the young, but to offer gentle guidance when needed.
In the document, released April 2, Pope Francis talked about how
the sex abuse crisis, a history of sexism and an overly narrow focus on just a
handful of moral issues can keep young people away from the church.
But he also said many young people want to know and understand
the teachings of the church and, despite what many people think, they long for
and need times of silent reflection and opportunities to serve their
communities.
"A church always on the defensive, which loses her humility
and stops listening to others, which leaves no room for questions, loses her
youth and turns into a museum," Pope Francis wrote. "How, then, will
she be able to respond to the dreams of young people?"
Young people have a natural desire to improve the life of the
church and the world around them, the pope said. If older people in the church
will let the young people try, it will keep the church youthful, too.
"Let us ask the Lord to free the church from those who would
make her grow old, encase her in the past, hold her back or keep her at a
standstill," Pope Francis wrote. "But let us also ask him to free her
from another temptation: that of thinking she is young because she accepts
everything the world offers her, thinking that she is renewed because she sets
her message aside and acts like everybody else."
The core of the pope's message to young people was that they
remember they are loved by God and saved by Jesus, who continues to live and
act in the world and in their lives.
"His love is so real, so true, so concrete, that it invites
us to a relationship of openness and fruitful dialogue," even when one is
angry with God, the pope said. "He does not get upset if you share your
questions with him. He is concerned when you don't talk to him, when you are
not open to dialogue with him."
Drawing on the final documents from the synod and from a presynod
gathering of young people in Rome, Pope Francis urged parishes and dioceses to
rethink their young and young adult programs and to make changes based on what
young people themselves say they want and need.
"Young people need to be approached with the grammar of
love, not by being preached at," he said. "The language that young
people understand is spoken by those who radiate life, by those who are there
for them and with them. And those who, for all their limitations and
weaknesses, try to live their faith with integrity."
Directly addressing young people, he said, "Take risks, even
if it means making mistakes. Don't go through life anaesthetized or approach
the world like tourists. Make a ruckus!"
And, he told them, reach out to other young people, do not be
afraid to mention Jesus and to invite friends to church or a church-sponsored
activity.
"With the same love that Christ pours out on us," the pope
said, "we can love him in turn and share his love with others in the hope
that they too will take their place in the community of friendship he
established."
Youth ministry cannot be elitist or focused only on the teens and
young adults already active in the church's life, he said. It must be "a
process that is gradual, respectful, patient, hopeful, tireless and
compassionate," as Jesus was when he walked with the disciples on the road
to Emmaus.
Parents, pastors and spiritual guides must have "the ability
to discern pathways where others only see walls, to recognize potential where
others see only peril. That is how God the Father see things; he knows how to
cherish and nurture the seeds of goodness sown in the hearts of the
young."
"Each young person's heart should thus be considered 'holy
ground,' a bearer of seeds of divine life, before which we must 'take off our
shoes' in order to draw near and enter more deeply into the mystery."
A long section of the document is focused on discerning one's
vocation, which, he said, always is a call to serve God and serve others, but
always in a unique way.
Discovering one's vocation, he said, "has to do with finding
our true selves in the light of God and letting our lives flourish and bear
fruit."
For most young people, that will mean marrying, forming a family
and working, the pope said.
"Within the vocation to marriage we should acknowledge and
appreciate that 'sexuality, sex, is a gift from God. It is not taboo. It is a
gift from God, a gift the Lord gives us,'" he wrote. Sexuality "has
two purposes: to love and to generate life. It is passion, passionate love.
True love is passionate. Love between a man and a woman, when it is passionate,
always leads to giving life. Always. To give life with body and soul."
Pope Francis also encouraged young people not to dismiss out of
hand the fact that God may be calling them to priesthood or religious life.
God's call to each person is individual, made-to-measure just for
him or her, the pope said, so discovering that call can be done only with calm,
silence, prayer and the wise help of someone who truly knows how to listen and
ask the right questions.
A vocation, he said, is a gift that "will help you live to
the full and become someone who benefits others, someone who leaves a mark in
life; it will surely be a gift that will bring you more joy and excitement than
anything else in this world. Not because that gift will be rare or
extraordinary, but because it will perfectly fit you. It will be a perfect fit
for your entire life."