1

Christus Vivit
Introduction
1. To the young Christians: Christ is alive and He wants you to be alive
3. Addressed to the young people, and to the entire people of God, as part of the synodal process. It is meant
to:
- remind about certain convictions boen of faith
-and to encourage us to grow in holiness and commitment to our personal vocation.

Chapter One- What does the word of God have to say about young people?
OT
6-11. The young were not highly regarded in this age, though God sees them differently. We see that in the
stories of Joseph, Gideon, Samuel, Saul, David, Solomon, Jerimiah, the Jewish girl in the book of Kings
and Ruth.
NT
12. The Parable of the Lost Son.
- Young hearts are naturally ready to change, to turn back, get up and learn from life (younger bro).
- Grown old hearts: possessed by greed, selfishness and envy (older bro).
13. Letters of St. Paul
- “cast out the old leaven that you may be fresh dough” (1 Cor 5:7).
- strip ourselves of the “old self” and to put on a “young” self (Col 3:9-10)
- being renewed (young) means having compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience… (Col
3:12-13)
- In a nut shell, true youth: heart capable of loving, where as things that separate us from others makes a
soul grow old.
14. Luke- “the greatest among you must become like the youngest”. Age does not establish privileges, being
young does not imply lesser worth or dignity.
15. Young people are not meant to be discouraged but meant to dream big which leads to build something
better.
-they are urged to not let themselves be robbed of hope.
16. However, young people are also urged to accept the authority of those who are older, who are filld with
wealth of experience.
-to the young: be self-controlled.
-Wise Young Man- open to the future and capable of learning something from the experience of other.
17. We should no repent fpr spending our youth being good, being open to the Lord, living differently.
18. The Parable of the rich young man. He’s question, as sign of a youth that seeks for new horizons and great
challenges. But he’s spirit not really that young since he is too attached with riches. In that case, he has
given up his youth.
19. The Parable of the wise young women. We have the choice to be half asleep or always wide-awake and
ready.
20. If you have lost your youthfulness, Jesus is telling you, “Young man, I say to you, arise” (Lk 7:14)

Chapter Two- Jesus ever young

22. Jesus was also a youth, thereby sanctifying it.
Jesus’ youth
23. Jesus offered his life for us when he was less than 30 yrs old, a young adult. He was a young person.
24. Nothing about his childhood, but there are accounts about his adolescence and youth.
- Last image of being a child- as refugee in Egypt and going back to Nazareth.
- First image of being young adult- baptism at Jordan.
25. Jesus’ baptism is a consecration prior to his mission.
26. As an adolescent: loosing and finding at the temple. He was obedient to his parents, grew in wisdom, age,
grace before God and men. There was a spiritual growth in Jesus not only physical. His fulness in grace
increased as he grew in age.
27. His youth was a training or preparation in carrying out the Father’s plan.
28. His relationship with the Father as youth was that of a beloved Son. Grew up concerned for his affairs but
not self-absorbed; shared fully in the life of his family and people. Not regarded as unsual but was known to
be the carpenter’s son, and also called as the carpenter himself.
29. Interacted with the wider family, the relatives of his parents and their friends.
His Youth Teaches Us
 2

30. Jesus’ youth can inspire the young who are preparing for their mission in life, aspects such as growing in a
relationship with the Father, in awareness of being part of a family and a people, and in openness to being
filled with the Holy Spirit and thus led to carry out their personal vocation.
-accompany the youth in encountering others, engaging in generous service and in mission.
31. Jesus teaches from your very youth. Thus contemplate the young Jesus as presented in the Gospels, as a true
youth:
-He trusts the Father
-He maintained the friendship with his disciples.
-He showed compassion for the weak and the sick, sinners and excluded.
-He had the courage to confront the political authorities of his time.
-He knew the feeling of being rejected.
-He experienced the fear of suffering.
-He turned his gaze to the future, entrusting to the Father.
32. Jesus is the true youthfulness of a world grown old, the youthfulness of a universe waiting in travail, to be
clothed with his light and to live his life.
33. The Lord calls us to enkindle stars in the night of other young people. Look to the true stars. Christ himself
is our great light of hope and our guide in the night, for is the bright morning star.
The Youth of the Church
34. Youth is a state of mind. That is why the Church can experience renewal and a return to youth at different
points in her age-old history. In her, it is always possible to encounter Christ, the companion and friend of
the youth.
A Church Open to Renewal
35. The Church is young because she is herself, when she receives anew the strength born of God’s Word, the
Eucharist, the daily presence of Christ and the power of His Spirit in ourlives. She is young when she shows
that she is capable of returning constantly to her source.
36. As members of the Church, we must stand together, but daring to be different, to point to ideals other than
those of this world, testifying to generosity, service, purity, perseverance, forgiveness, etc.
37. Young people can keep the Church young.
38. The old must keep close to the voices and concerns of the young. Drawing together makes the Church a
place of dialogue and witness to life giving fraternity.
The Church Attentive to the Signs of the Times
39. Preaching Jesus in a more attractive and effective way. She needs to acknowledge that some things need to
change. Thus, she needs to appreciate the vision and criticisms of the young people.
40. The young are less attracted by the Church because of the
-sexual and financial scandals;
-clergy not ready to engage with the sensitivities of the young;
-bad homily;
-passive role given to the young with in the church;
-being unable to explain its dotrines and ethical positions to contemporary society.
41. The young are also happy to see a Church who is always ready to listen than a church which simply
condemns the world. To be credible to the young, she must regain her humility and simply listen, that what
other say can be of great help of understanding the Gospel. She must grow in her grasp of the inexhaustible
treasure found in the Gospel.
Mary, the Young Woman of Nazareth
43. While still very young, she accepted the message of the angel but not afraid to ask questions.
44. Her Yes was filled with determination, prepared to be committed, willing to take a risk, ready to stake
everything she had, her security was the fact that she would be the bearer of a promise. Her yes was stronger
than any doubts and diffuculties.
45. She accompanied the suffering of her Son, share his suffering.
48. Mary is the Mother who watches over us her children who hopes the light of hope may never fail. Under the
gaze of Mary, there is a room only for silence of hope. Thus Mary illumines anew our youth.
Young Saints
49. Young saints and martyrs are reflections of the young Christ, whose been real prophets of change in their
own times. Their examples shows what the young are capable of, when they open up themselves to
encounter Christ.
50. The holiness of the young people can heal the wounds of the Church and of the world. Some saints did not
reach adulthood which taught us another way to spend our youth. Some of them are as follows:
St. Sebastian, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Joan of Arc, Blessed Andrew Phu Yen, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, St.
Dominic Savio, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, etc.
 3

Chapter Three- You are the Now of God

64. The young are the present of the Church, even now they are helping to enrich it.\
In Positive Terms
65. The Church should set aside their preconceptions of the youth and start listening to them. This allows them
to contribute to the community, helping it to appreciate new senstivities and consider new questions.
66. Adults seem to list the young’s failures, which results to greater distance, less closeness, less mutual
assistance.
67. Each young person’s heart should thus be considered “holy ground”, a bearer of seeds of divine life.
Anyone must have that farsightedness to appreciate the little flame and fragile reed among the youth, and to
recognize potential where others only see peril.
Many Ways of Being Young
68. Synod Fathers: the differences among regions must be emphasized. Thus, the age group considered by the
Synod (16-29 years) does not represent a homogeneous category, but is composed of distinct groups, each
with its own life experience.
69. Demographically the youth also differ. There are places of ancient Christian tradition who are influenced by
other religious traditions. There are places where Christians are persecuted. There are young who live in a
progressive state of life while others are in the fringes of society.
Some Experiences of the Young People
71. The youth must not be analyzed as an abtract idea. They are young people with the reality of his or her own
life.
Living in a World in Crisis
72. Many young people live in warzones, experiencing violence in many forms. Many because of their faith are
persecuted. Many engage in crimes by force of by lack of alternatives, which destroys them.
73. Many are used and exploited to destroy others. They end up as individulist, hostile, distrustful of others,
becoming an easy target of political groups and economic powers.
74. Many are also marginalized because of religious, ethnic and economic reasons. Let us not forget the difficult
situation of adolescents and young people who become pregnant, the scourge of abortion, the spread of
HIV, various forms of addiction (drugs, gambling, pornography and so forth), and the plight of street
children without homes, families or economic resources.
75. We weep for the young victims. Though the pain won’t be cancelled out, the society must learn how to be a
mother who cares for them. The worst thing we can do is anaesthetize young people with other messages,
with other distractions, with trivial pursuits.
76. Weeping is also an expression of mercy and compassion. Once you can weep, you will be able to help
others from the heart.
77. The hope of the young who suffer comes from the promise of Jesus: Blessed are those who mourn, for they
shall be comforted. May this words be concretized within the Christian community.
78. Economic aid from richer countries are attached with the acceptance of the western views of sexuality,
marriage, life or social justice. These ideological colonization is harmful to the young. Advertisements teach
the young to be perpetually dissatisfied and contributes to the throwaway culture.
79. Today beauty is associated with youthful appearance. Young bodies are advertised as means of selling
products. The ideal beauty is youth but it has something little to do with the young people. It only means
that adults want to snatch youth for themselves, not that they respect, love and care for young people.
80. In other parts of the world, other than generational conflict, there is mutual estrangement. Sometimes adults
fail, or do not even try, to hand on the basic values of life, or they try to imitate young people, thus inverting
the relationship between generations. The relationship between young people and adults thus risks
remaining on the affective level, leaving its educational and cultural aspects untouched.
Desire, Hurts and Longings
81. The world has distorted the real meaning of sexuality which has confused the young. Thus, sexual morality
became a source of incomprehension and alienation from the Church, inasmuch as she’s viewed as a place
of judgement and condemnation.
82. Advances in science and biomedical technologies led to the idea that the body can be subject to unlimited
modifications, which in turn raise serious anthropological and ethical questions and they make us forget that
life is a gift, and that we are creatures with innate limits. By this, many young people are fascinated with
risk-taking behaviours as a means of self-exploration, seeking powerful emotions and gaining attention, an
obstacle to their serene growth in maturity.
83. Young people experience setbacks, failures from which they feel pain. Then too “there are moral wounds, a
sense of guilt for having made mistakes. But Jesus heals them by his consolatiopn and friendship. The
Church must be an instrument of their healing.
84. In many of them, we encounter a deep desire to live life differently. In all of this, we can find real starting
points, inner resources open to a word of incentive, wisdom and encouragement.
 4

The Digital Environment

86. The digital environment is characteristic of the contemporary world, which has impacted heavily the minds
and the way of living of the people. By this, the approach to reality privileges on images instead of listening
and reading, affecting how the people learn and develop their critical sense.
87. It has also made a new and extraodinary way of communicating and bonding. The internet and social
network has established forum for reaching and involving young people, not least in pastoral initiatives and
activities.
88. However, it has its own limitations and deficiencies. Communication must not be confused with mere
virtual contact. It may block the authentic interpersonal relationships.
89. The digital world has been a platform of the spread of fake news, expression of a culture that has lost its
sense of truth and bends the facts to suit particular interests. The church and pastors not exempt from it.
90. Online relationships can be inhuman. Immersion in the virtual world has brought about a kind of digital
migration—withdrawal from their families and their cultural and religious values, and entrance into a world
of lonliness and of self-invention, with the result that they feel rootless even while remaining physically in
one place. Young people must be able to find ways to pass from virtual contact to good and healthy
communication.
Migrants as an Epitome of our Time
91. Migration has affected many young people. The Church’s concern is focused on those fleeing from war,
violence, religious and political persecution, natural disasters caused by climate change, poverty. Migrants
—remind us of a basic aspect of our faith, that we are strangers and exiles on earth.
92. Opressed migrants can be led to a xenophobic mentality—people close in on themselves.
93. Fragmentation is also an effect of migration especially of the community left behind, a prefect example is
when parents migrate leaving behind their children. Church has an important role as a point of reference for
the young members of these divided families.
-However, the stories of migrants are stories also of encounter between individuals and cultures. To the
places they come, they open opportunity for enrichment and human development. From here, initiative of
welcome involving the church is an important role.
94. The very fact that the church can embrace all these varied perspectives allows her to play a prophetic role in
society with regard to the issue of migration.
Ending every form of Abuse
95. The abuses perpetrated by the clergy and the lay are obstacles of the church in accomplishing her mission.
96. When the abuse of minors happens with in the Church is in no way montrous. Justified anger of the people
is a reflection of the wrath of God.
97. In veiw of this, the preventive measures, starting from the selection and formation of those to whom tasks of
responsibility and education will be entrusted, to the determination to apply the action and sanctions
necessary must be reiterated.
98. Forms: abuse of power, conscience, sexual and financial. Clericalism, which rampant among priests, is a
belief that the ministry entrusted is a power to be exercised rather than a generous service to be offered.
101.The Church is not afraid to reveal the sins of her members before the burning light of the Gospel which
cleanses and purifies. We should not abandon our Mother when she is wounded, stay beside her, so that she
can summon up all her strength and ability to begin ever anew.
102. Behind all these dark moments, with the help of the youth, Jesus offers her strength and means to set out
on a new path. They will all the more be helpful if they fully part of the People of God, borne up and
enlivened by the Holy Spirit.
A Way Out
104. Like the morning of the resurrection, there is a way out of the dark and painful situations. For example,
about the digital world which could expose us to self-absorption and empty pleasures, it can still be an area
where the young can be creative and genius, like Carlo Acutis.
-he didn’t fall to the trap of consumerism, brought to us by the communication, advertising and social
networking.
-to those who end up being like everyone else set up according to the standards of consumerism, he told,
everyone is born as an original, but many people end up dying as photocopies.
-Dare to be more because who you are is more important than any possession. You can become wht the
Lord know you are. Ask help from the Holy Spirit and aim for the great goal of holiness.
108. Basic truth: being young is not only about pursuing fleeting pleasures and superficial achievements. The
years of youth, in order that it may server its purpose in life, it must be a time of generous commitment,
dedication, sacrifice, though difficult, are fruitful.
109. If you feel weak and trapped in some bad habits, ask Jesus to renew you. He wants to make your youth
worthwhile, thus, not depriving the world of the contribution that you alone can make.
 5

110. It is very hard to fight against concupiscence when you live in isolation. Unite as young people, for when
you are united you have marvelous strength. When enthused with life in common, you become capable of
great sacrifices for others and community.

Chapter Four— A Great Message for all Young People

A God who is Love

112. You are inifinitely loved by God.
113. You can find security in the embrace of the heavenly Father. He’s your firm support, but mind you!!! He
fully respects your freedom.
114. God has expressed His love for us in many different ways, so that with one of them atleast, He could touch
our hearts.
-as an affectionate father who plays with his children.
-a mother whose visceral love makes it impossible to abandon her children.
-a lover who wrote on his palm the name of her beloved, to keep her face always before him.
-emphasized the strength of his love (Is 54:10)
-he waits us to eternity, and not by chance that we’re created.
-he sees as beauty in us that no one else can see
- His love is pure joy.
115. For him, you have a worth; you are not insignificant. He finds joy in deleting from us every trace of evil.
116. His love: a daily, discreet and respectful love; free and freeing; heals and raises up.
117. When faced with challenges, he hopes that you make a room for him to push you, to help you grow.
Christ Saves You
118. Christ, out of love, sacrificed himself to save you. His cross is its proof.
119. He continues to save and redeem us but the power of his total self-surrender. If you stray from him, he will
lift you up by the power of his cross. Again and again, he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of
the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love.
120. Only what is loved can be saved. Only what is embraced can be transformed. Through our frailties and
flaws that he wants to write this love story. He helps us to rise and get back on our feet. Because the worst
fall, and pay attention to this, the worst fall, the one that can ruin our lives, is when we stay down and do not
allow ourselves to be helped up.
121. His forgiveness and salvation are not something we can buy, or that we have to acquire by our own works
or efforts. He forgives us and sets us free without cost.
122. How valuable must you be, if you were redeemed by the precious blood of Christ! Dear young people,
“you are priceless! You are not up for sale! Please, do not let yourselves be bought. You are priceless. You
must repeat this always: I am not up for sale; I do not have a price. I am free! Fall in love with this freedom,
which is what Jesus offers”.
123. Keep your eyes fixed on the outstretched arms of Christ crucified, let yourself be saved over and over
again.
He is Alive!
124. Christ is alive! If we don’t believe this, then we might only view Jesus as a fine model from a distant past,
as a memory, as someone who saved us 2000 years ago. Someone who liberates us, transforms, heals us is
someone who is alive.
125. He is with us with his unseen presence, every moment and wherever we go.
126. See Jesus as happy, overflowing with joy. Rejoice with him as with a friend who has triumphed.
127. Because he lives, all our struggles will prove worthwhile.
129. Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a
person, which gives life a new horizon and decisive direction.
The Spirit of Life
130. Wherever is the Father and the Son, there too is the Holy Spirit. He is the one who opens hearts to receive
that message.
131. Ask the Holy Spirit each day to help you experience anew the great message.
132. What you are in love with, what siezes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get
you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evening, how you spend your weekends, what you
read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love,
stay in love, and it will decide everything.
133. He is the source of youth at its best.

Chapter Five- Paths of the Youth

 6

134. To be young, is a grace, a blessing.

135. Making the most of our youthful years entails seeing theis season of lifes worthwhile in itself, and not
simply as a brief prelude to adulthood.
A Time of Dreams and Decision
137. At this stage in life, the young are called to move forward without cutting themselves off from their roots,
to build autonomy bit not in solitude.
138. The longing present in the hearts of the young can be summed up into one word: restlessness. And an inner
peace coexist with the profound discontent.
139. The young always ready, has one foot forward, always racing onward, having so much strength, looking
ahead with hope.
140. It is the age of choices and herein lies its fascination and its greatest responsibility.
141. Opposed to dreams that generate decisions is the temptation to complain or give up. Jesus is the way. He
changes the way we see life.
142. Follow your hopes and dreams but be careful of one temptation that can hold us back: anxiety, making us
give up when we do not see instant results. Best dreams are attained through hope, commitment, and
patience and never in haste.
143. Don’t observe life from a balcony. Don’t confuse happiness with an armchair, or live life behind a screen.
Don’t be parked cars, but dream freely and make good decisions. Take risks. Don’t go through life lika a
tourist. Make a rukus. Don’t become young mummies. Don’t take an early retirement.
A Thirst for Life and Experience
144. Young people also have a powerful desire to experience the present moment, to make the most of the
opportunities life offers.
145. The true God, who loves you, wants you to be happy.
147. Enjoy the present not only prepare for the future. Live the present to the full, spending our energies on
good things, cultivatiing fraternity, following Jesus and making the most of life’s little joys as gifts of God’s
love.
149. It is a paradox, but for many Christians, suffering and darkness have become places of encounter with God.
Young people with physical, mental, sensory disabilities possess amazing resources and abilities that are
often far from above average. God grants them other gifts that they can discover his plan of love for each of
them.
In Friendship with Christ
150. The deepest and fullest meaning of the youth’s experience is only known when you encounter each day
your bestfriend, Jesus.
151. The experience of friendship teaches us to be open, understanding and caring towards others, to come out
of our own comfortable isolation and to share our lives with others. There is nothing so precious as a faithful
friend.
153. Frienship is so important that Jesus calls himself a friend, and we are elevated in such a way that we truly
become friends. The same love that Jesus pours in us, we can share to others in the hope that they take their
place in the community of friendship he established.
155. As our friend we can always have conversation with him. Prayer is both a challenge and adventure. When
we pray, we open everything we do to him and we give him room so that he can act, enter and claim victory.
156. Do not deprive your youth of this friendship. You will be able to feel him at your side not only when you
pray, but every moment.
Growth in Maturity
158. What makes young hearts strong: seeking God, keeping his word, entrusting our life to him and growing in
the virtues. Thus, always remain online with Jesus. Since no one grows happy and holy by his own efforts
and intelligence alone.
159. There is also the beauty of seeking righteousness, faith, love and peace.
160. Adults have to mature without losing the values of youth. Every stage of life is a permanent grace, with its
own enduring value. As we mature, grow older and structure our lives, we should never lose that enthusiasm
and openness to an ever greater reality. At every moment in life, we can renew our youthfulness.
161. Growing older means preserving and cherishing the most precious things about our youth, but it also
involves having to purify those things that are not good and receiving new gifts from God so we can
develop the things that really matter.
162. But I would also remind you that you won’t become holy and find fulfilment by copying others. Imitating
the Saints does not mean copying their lifestyle and their way of living holiness. Becoming a saint means
becoming more fully yourself, becoming what the Lord wished to dream and create, and not a photocopy.
Paths of Fraternity
163. Your spiritual growth is expressed above all by your growth in fraternal, generous and merciful love.
 7

164. When an encounter with God is called an “ecstasy”, it is because it takes us out of ourselves, lifts us up and
overwhelms us with God’s love and beauty. Yet we can also experience ecstasy when we recognize in
others their hidden beauty, their dignity and their grandeur as images of God and children of the Father.
165. Hurts you have experienced might tempt you to withdraw from others, to turn in on yourself and to nurse
feelings of anger, but never stop listening to God’s call to forgiveness.
166. What makes one old before his time: dwelling on ourselves and our problems, our hurt feelings and our
grievances.
167. God loves the joy of young people. He wants them especially to share in the joy of fraternal communion,
the sublime joy felt by those who share with others, for “it is more blessed to give than to receive”.
Young and Committed
168. Young people can be tempted to withdraw into small groups, feeling that they are experiencing fraternity
and love, but their small group may in fact become nothing other than an extension of their own ego. The
lay vocation is directed above all to charity within the family and to social and political charity. It involves
living in the midst of society and the world in order to bring the Gospel everywhere.
169. I ask young people to go beyond their small groups and to build “social friendship, where everyone works
for the common good. Social enmity, on the other hand, is destructive.
170. Albeit in a different way from earlier generations, social commitment is a specific feature of today’s young
people. Alongside some who are indifferent, there are many others who are ready to commit themselves to
initiatives of volunteer work, active citizenship and social solidarity. They need to be guided to use their
talents and skills creatively and to take up their responsibilities.
171. We grow in wisdom and maturity when we take the time to touch the suffering of others. The poor have a
hidden wisdom and, with a few simple words, they can help us discover unexpected values.
172. Young people are involved in charitable acts, why not this shared energy could be channelled and
organized in a more stable way and with clear goals, so as to be even more effective.
173. Mercy, creativity and hope make life grow.
174. Dear young people, please, do not be bystanders in life. Get involved! Jesus was not a bystander. He got
involved. Don’t stand aloof, but immerse yourselves in the reality of life, as Jesus did”.[92] Above all, in
one way or another, fight for the common good, serve the poor, be protagonists of the revolution of charity
and service, capable of resisting the pathologies of consumerism and superficial individualism.
Courageous Missionaries
175. Young people are called to be witnesses of the Gospel— not only speaking about the truth but living it,
embodying it, being transformed in Christ. Not about bearing the torch, but being the light.
176. It does not mean that we should be silent about the word, as St. Paul said, Woe to me if I do not proc;aim
the Gospel.
177. Jesus sends us everywhere; the Gospel is for everyone, even to those who seem so indifferent.

Chapter Six— Young People with Roots

179. Impossible for us to grow without having strong roots to support us and to keep us firmly grounded.
Don’t Allow Yourselves to be Uprooted
180. Joy of Youth vs false cult of youth
181. Various ideologies destroy the difference so that they can reign unopposed. They let the youth disregard
the past and experiences of the elders, and so only believe their plans and advices.
182. Cult of Youth— dismisses all that is not young as contemptible and outmoded. Youthful body becomes the
symbol of the new cult, degrading to the young, strips them of their real value.
183. They confuse beauty to mere appearances.
184. They also promote a spirituality without God— an affectivity without community or concern for those who
suffer, fear of the poor.
186. There is a tendency to homogenize the youth blurring their disntinctive origins and backgrounds, turning
them into malleable goods that results a cultural devastation just as the disappearance of a specie.
Your Relationship with the Elderly
187. Help the young discover the living richness of the past, treasure its memory and make use of it for their
choices and opportunities, is a genuine act of love towards them, for the sake of their growth and the
decisions they are called to make.
188. For “the glory of young men is their strength, but the beauty of old men is their grey hair” (Prov 20:29)
190. Does not mean youth should do everything they see from the elder but they have a critical spirit.
191. Lie: only what is new is good and beautiful. Intergenerational relationships should exist. If the young had
knowledge and the old strength, there would be nothing they could not accomplish.
Dreams and Visions
192. The old dream dreams, and the young see visions. How do the two complement one another?
 8

193. the old have dreams built up by their memories and imgaes that bear the mark of their experience. From
them the youth should take root, so they can peer into the future.
194. The very first dream of all is the creative dream of God our Father, which precedes and accompanies the
lives of all his children.
196. Elders: be memory keepers, a permanent choir of a great spiritual sanctuary, where prayers of supplication
and songs of praise support the larger community that works and struggles in the field of life.
197. Elders to the young: life without love is an arid life; anxiety about the future can be overcome; there is
more joy in giving than in receiving, and that love is not only shown in words, but also in actions.
Taking Risks Together
198. Taking risks may often lead to mistakes but we shall recognize the beauty that God can create even out of
our mistakes. Analogy of a tapestry. Messy tangled threads but the right side of the tapestry displays a
magnificent story.
199. If we journey together, young and old, we can be firmly rooted in the present, and from here, revisit the
past and look to the future. To learn from history and heal old wounds; to look to the future in order to
nourish our enthusiasm.
200. Roots are not anchors chaining us to past times but a fixed point from which we can grow and meet new
challenges.
201. Let us steer clear of young people who think that adults represent a meaningless past, and those adults who
always think they know how young people should act. Instead, let us all climb aboard the same canoe and
together seek a better world, with the constantly renewed momentum of the Holy Spirit.

Chapter Seven—Youth Ministry

202. Youth ministry, has been significantly affected by social and cultural changes. Thus it is never easy to
approach young people, two things have become increasingly evident: the realization that the entire
community has to be involved in evangelizing them, and the urgent requirement that young people
take on a greater role in pastoral outreach.
A Pastoral Care that is Synodal
203. the young people themselves are agents of youth ministry but needed to need to he helped and guided, but
at the same time left free to develop new approaches, with creativity and a certain audacity.
204. The young make us see the need for new styles and new strategies.
205. We should take into greater consideration those practices that have shown their value – the methods,
language and aims that have proved truly effective in bringing young people to Christ and the Church.
206. We should take into greater consideration those practices that have shown their value – the methods,
language and aims that have proved truly effective in bringing young people to Christ and the Church. Thus
we can have a participatory and co-responsible Church.
207. We can better reflect that wonderful multifaceted reality that Christ’s Church is meant to be, which is not
monolithic.
Main Courses of Action
209. Two main courses of action. One is outreach, the way we attract new young people to an experience of the
Lord. The other is growth, the way we help those who have already had that experience to mature in it.
210. As for outreach, I trust that young people themselves know how best to find appealing ways to come
together.
211. we need to use above all the language of closeness, the language of generous, relational and existential
love that touches the heart, impacts life, and awakens hope and desires. We also have to give greater thought
to ways of incarnating the kerygma in the language of today’s youth.
212. As for growth, so much of the talking, but try to awaken and consolidate the great experiences that sustain
the Christian life. In the words of Romano Guardini, “when we experience a great love… everything else
becomes part of it”.
213. However, it must certainly include formation in Christian doctrine and morality but with two main goals:
kerygma, the foundational experience of encounter with God through Christ’s death and resurrection. The
other is growth in fraternal love, community life and service.
214. All Christian formation consists of entering more deeply into the kerygma” and incarnating it ever more
fully in our lives. Consequently, youth ministry should always include occasions for renewing and
deepening our personal experience of the love of God and the living Christ. This shouldn’t be replaced by
indoctrination.
215. Any programme of youth ministry should clearly incorporate various means and resources that can help
young people grow in fraternal love, the new commandment, the fullness of the law.
Suitable Environments
 9

216. We need to make all our institutions better equipped to be more welcoming to young people, since so
many have a real sense of being orphaned. The experience of discontinuity, uprootedness and the collapse of
fundamental certainties, fostered by today’s media culture, creates a deep sense of orphanhood to which we
must respond by creating an attractive and fraternal environment where others can live with a sense of
purpose.
218. Our institutions should provide young people with places they can make their own, where they can come
and go freely, feel welcome and readily meet other young people, whether at times of difficulty and
frustration, or of joy and celebration.
219. Friendship and discussion, often within more or less structured groups, offer the opportunity to strengthen
social and relational skills. The young are able to guide other young people and to exercise a genuine
apostolate among their friends.
220. They will be better integrated into communities that are open, living their faith, eager to radiate Christ,
joyful, free, fraternal and committed.
Youth Ministry in Educational Institutions
221. Schools are unquestionably a platform for drawing close to children and young people. Catholic schools
seem to be structured only for the sake of self-preservation. Fear of change makes them entrenched and
defensive before the dangers, real or imagined, that any change might bring. when the young graduates from
certain educational institutions: an insurmountable disconnect between what they were taught and the world
in which they live.
222. Veritatis Gaudium—renewal and revival of missionary outreach on the part of schools and universities.
223. Today, above all, the right to a good education means protecting wisdom, that is, knowledge that is human
and humanizing. However, some take it for granted and believe it as necessary only when it immediately
provides concrete results. But education makes us raise questions, keeps us from being anaesthetized by
banality, and impels us to pursue meaning in life.
Areas Needing to be Developed
224. We should never underestimate the ability of young people to be open to contemplative prayer. We need
only find the right ways and means to help them embark on this precious experience. Likewise in worship
and prayer.
225. The young are attracted to charitable works, and grow weary of our programmes of doctrinal and spiritual
formation.
226. Nor can we overlook the importance of the arts, like theatre, painting, and others; music, capable of
arousing emotion and shaping identity.
227. Additionally, sport is “joy: the joy of exercising, of being together, of being alive and rejoicing in the gifts
the Creator gives us each day”. Helpful in overcoming idleness and boredom. Like in sports, we should also
train and prepare for us to get the ultimate reward that God has offered us.
228. Movements of care for the environment can be a real initiation into the school of universal fraternity and
contemplative prayer.
229. Despite the changing times and sensibilities of young people, there are gifts of God that never grow old:
the Word of God, Eucharist, Sacrament of Reconciliation. Likewise, witness of the saints and the
teaching of the great spiritual masters.
A “Popular” Youth Ministry
230. It is also important to allow room for a “popular” youth ministry, with a different style, schedule, pace and
method. Broader and more flexible, to places where real young people are active, fosters the natural
leadership qualities and the charisms sown by the Holy Spirit. Less obstacles, rules, controls and obligatory
structures, trusting a little more in the genius of the Holy Spirit.
231. -“popular” leaders—they need to learn to listen to the sense of the people, to become their spokespersons
and to work for their promotion; those able to make everyone, including the poor, the vulnerable, the frail
and the wounded, part of the forward march of youth.
-“the people”, all those persons who journey, not as individuals, but as a closely-bound community of all
and for all, one that refuses to leave the poor and the vulnerable behind.
232. Encourage the young from non-christian families or institution. A ministry marked by abstract ideas,
protected from the world and free of every flaw, turns the Gospel into a dull, meaningless and unattractive
proposition. Such a youth ministry ends up completely removed from the world of young people and suited
only to an elite Christian youth that sees itself as different, while living in an empty and unproductive
isolation.
233. Instead of “overwhelming young people with a body of rules that make Christianity seem reductive and
moralistic, invest in their fearlessness and to train them to take up their responsibilities, and teach that error,
failure and crisis are experiences that can strengthen their humanity.
234. Youth ministry must be capable of being inclusive, with room for all kinds of young people, to show that
we are a Church with open doors.
 10

235. Room should also be made for “all those who have other visions of life, who belong to other religions or
who distance themselves from religion altogether. All the young, without exception, are in God’s heart and
thus in the Church’s heart.
236. Youth ministry, when it ceases to be elitist and is willing to be “popular”, is a process that is gradual,
respectful, patient, hopeful, tireless and compassionate.
237. Like the journey to Emmaus, Jesus patiently and gradually helps the disciples recognize and understand the
events that has taken place.
238. Popular piety, like pilgrimages attract the young, a legitimate way of living the faith and an expression of
th spontaneous missionary activity of the People of God.
Always Missionaries
239. Inseparable from a “popular” youth ministry is an irrepresible “popular” missionary acitivity that breaks
through our costumary models an ways of thinking.
240. Youth missions can lead to a renewed experience of faith and even serious thoughts about vocation.
241. They should be encouraged to use the social networks to becoming missionaries, filling them with God,
fraternity and commitment.
The accompaniment by Adults
242. Respect the youth’s freedom but accompany them as well. The family has the first place of
accompaniment. Most of the young are called to the married life, thus the youth ministry and the pastoral
care for the family should go side by side in view of accompanying them to the vocational process.
243. The community alos holds an important role in accompanying them. Donot judge them but understand and
appreciate.
244. Listening to them is a vital to one who is to accompany them. The priestly ministry should giving attention
to it. There is also a need to train consecrated persons and lay people, male and female, to accompany them.
Listening charism might as well deserve an institutional recognition as an ecclesial service.
245. The youth who have potential on leadership should be given training and necessary qualifications. Some
young women feel there is a lack of female role models within the Church, thus they wanted to share their
own expertise and professions.
-seminarians and religious should have greater ability to accompany them.
246. Qualities of a mentor:
a. faithful Christian who engages with the church
b. a confidant without judgment
c. actively listens to the needs of the young and responds in kind
d. deeply loving and self-aware
e. recognizes his limits
f. knows the joys and sorrows of the spiritual journey
♦ acknowledges his own humanity—not perfect but forgiven
- Should not make the young passive followers but active co-journeyers
- Respect the freedom of the youngin their process of discernment
- Should nuture the seeds of faith of the young
247. Church’s educaional institution—communal setting for accomapaniment. They shuldnot impose rigid
criteria for students to remain and enter in them it against our purpose of guiding and welcoming all young
people.

Chapter Eight—Vocation

248. Vocation—call to life, frienship with him, to holiness; everything in our lives can become a response to the
Lord.
249. GE—vocation of all—to grow and mature for the glory of God. All are called to that perfect holiness each
in his own way.
250. Jesus wants to be a friend to all young person and from here he calls them to a mission. Ex. Peter do you
love me?... feeed my sheep.
252. The salvation that God offers us is an invitation to be part of a love story interwoven with our personal
stories.
Being there for Others
253. Vocation in the strict sense: call to a missionary service to others.
254. Our life reaches its full stature when it becomes an offering. The mission of being in the hearts of the
people cannot be uprooted in our being without destroying ourselves. This is our reason for living.
255. Personal vocation—not only work you do, but the path guiding your efforts towards the service to others.
Thus in discernment, determine your abilites to perform that service to society.
 11

256. Vocation more than a pragmatic decision. But a recognition why I was made and he will show me my
direction in life. Just have to listen to his voice.
257. To respond to our vocation we have to find our true selves in the light of God and letting ourlives flourish
and bear fruit.
258. Issues arising from being there for others: forming a new family and working. Worries and excites the
young.
Love and Family
259. Young people feel the call to love. They dream of finding the one with home they build a family.
Undoubtedly a vocation God makes known to them through feelings, desires and dreams.
260. Married Christians see the call of God in their own love story, the vocation to form a family which is
enveloped by the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony in the grace God.
261. God created us as sexual beings. Within the sacrament of marriage we acknowledge that sexuality and sex
are gifts from God. It has two purposes: to love and to generate life.
262. The family is the point of reference for the young. They are inspired by the love that exists in their bond to
succeed in forming a family when it’s their time. The damages of the family causes great suffering and
crisis of identity among the young. Often they are forced to take responsibilities not porportioned to their
age thus robs them of their youth.
263. The difficulties we encounter in the family dicourages the young to start their own, to be faithful and
generous but it is still worth the effort to invest in the family. Don’t let yourselves get robbed of great love.
264. The culture of the ephemeral has destructed our minds about marriage. They say it as out of fashion, they
just enjoy the moment. For them it is not worth making a lifelong commitment, making a definitive
decision.
265. Preparation for Marriage
a. growing in self-knowledge
b. developing the greater virtues—love, patience, openness to dialogue, helping others.
c. maturing in your own sexuality,thus treats it as less and less means of using others.
d. capacity to entrust yourself to another person in an exclusive and generous way.
266. Overcome their weakness and lack of constancyin order that their love can grow and endure.
267. The very first and most important vocation is that which we received in baptism. Single persons (not by
choice), can offer a particular witness to that vocation through their own path of personal growth.
Work
268. Young adulthood signals one’s entrance to the world of work. Work can dictate their use of time and what
they can afford, determines the quality and quantity of leisure. Define his identity and self-concept. They
think of work as fulfilling a work and providing a meaning. Important for them to nurture a vision, how to
work in a life-giving way, and to continue to discern God’d call.
269. Work is a necessity,part of the meaning of on this earth, a path to growth, human development and
personal fulfillment. We cannot depend on others forever.
270. In the area of work, the young experience exclusion and marginalization, the most serious of which is
unemployment. Lack of work impedes one’s capacity to dream, deprives them of the chance to contribute to
society. Loss of oportunity also comes from the lack of professional skills because of the deficiencies in the
system of education and training, and in some cases from exploitation of labor rooted to economic interests.
271. Employment not only a means to make money, but expression of human dignity, path of development and
of social inclusion. A stimulus to grow in resposibility and creativity, protection against individualism and
personal gratification. Also an opportunity to give glory to God by developing one’s abilities.
272. There is a harsh reality of the job market, but never give up on your dreams, never bury a calling, never
accept defeat. Seek atleast partial or imperfect ways to live what you have dicerned to be your calling.
273. When we discover what God calls us for, we do our best capacities for sacrifice, generosity and dedication
because we know we do things not for the sake of mere doing but we give it a meaning that is a response to
the call of God to offer something to others.
The Vocation to Special Consecration
274. Cast out the nets if we believe that the Holy Spirit continues to inspire vocations to the priesthood and the
religious life.
275. The Lord cannot fail in his promise to provide the church shepherds, for without the she cannot carry out
her mission.
277. Interior silence makes us capable of perceiving Jesus’ gaze and hear his call. Better to seek the calm and
quiet that enables us to pray, reflect and so we come to recognize our own vocation.

Chapter Nine—Discernment
 12

279. Without the wisdom of discernment, we can easily become prey to every passing trend, now that the young
are used to the culture of zapping.
280. Discernment seeks a glimpse of that unique and mysterious plan that God has for each of us. It has to do
with the meaning of my life before the Father and with the real purpose of my life.
281. Here we see the importance of the formation of conscience, which allows discernment to grow in depth
and in fidelity to God. Formed properly, we are able to know very sentiments of Jesus Christ, adopting the
criteria behind his choices and the intentions behind his actions.
282. In this process of formation, we do not simply identify sins, but also recognize God’s work in our daily
lives, our personal history and the world around us, and in the witness of all those men and women who
have gone before us or accompany us with their wisdom.
Discerning your Vocation
283. Discerning our vocation is a personal decision and requires a certain degree of solitude and silence. We
simply cannot do without the silence of prolonged prayer, which enables us better to perceive God’s
language, to interpret the real meaning of the inspirations we received, to calm our anxieties.
284. We must remember that prayerful discernment has to be born of an openness to listening – to the Lord and
to others, and to reality itself, which always challenges us in new ways. Only if we are ready to listen we are
able to set aside insufficient ideas.
285. There are certain questions we ought to ask in discerning:
a) Do I know myself, quite apart from my illusions and emotions? Do I know what brings joy or sorrow to
my heart? What are my strengths and weaknesses?
b) How can I serve people better and prove most helpful to our world and to the Church? What is my real
place in this world? What can I offer to society?
c) Do I have the abilities needed to offer this kind of service? Could I develop those abilities?
286. But the real question is: ‘For whom am I?’”. Of course, you are for God but also for others, your many
qualities, inclinations, gifts and charisms are not for you, but for you to share with those around you.
The Call of Jesus our Friend
287. When we discern our vocation, realize that it is a call from a friend, Jesus. When we give something to our
friends, we give them the best we have, to make them happy. This has to be the model for trying to
discover God’s will for your lives.
288. When the Lord thinks of each of you and what he wants to give you, he sees you as his close friend. it will
surely be a gift that will bring you more joy and excitement than anything else in this world because it
perfectly fits you.
289. A vocation is also demanding. To enjoy them we have to be ready to take risks. demands not an obligation
imposed from without but but an incentive to let that gift grow and develop, and then become a gift for
others.
290. More than rules and obligations, the choice that Jesus sets before us is to follow him as friends follow one
another, seeking each other’s company and spending time together out of pure friendship.
Listening and Accompaniment
291. We can be of help to the young in their vocational discernment, first and foremost through listening.
Listening calls for three distinct and complementary kinds of sensitivity.
292. The first kind of sensitivity is directed to the individual. It is a matter of listening to someone who is
sharing his very self in what he says. A sign of this willingness to listen is the time we are ready to spare
for others. I am listening unconditionally, without being offended or shocked, tired or bored.
293. The second kind of sensitivity is marked by discernment. It tries to grasp exactly where grace or
temptation is present, for sometimes the things that flit across our minds are mere temptations that can
distract us from our true path. I need to ask myself what is it that the other person is trying to tell me, what
they want me to realize is happening in their lives.
294. The third kind of sensitivity is the ability to perceive what is driving the other person. This calls for a
deeper kind of listening, one able to discern the direction in which that person truly wants to move; the
real issue is what they would like to be. This may demand that they look not to their own superficial
wishes and desires, but rather to what is most pleasing to the Lord, to his plans for their life. This kind of
listening seeks to discern their ultimate intention, the intention that definitively decides the meaning of
their life.
295. In the end, good discernment is a path of freedom that brings to full fruit what is unique in each person,
something so personal that only God knows it.
296. At a certain moment we ourselves have to disappear in order to let the other person follow the path he or
she has discovered. We have to vanish as the Lord did from the sight of his disciples in Emmaus.
297. We need to encourage and accompany processes, without imposing our own roadmaps.
298. If you are to accompany others on this path, you must be the first to follow it, day in and day out.
 13

Given in Loreto, at the Shrine of the Holy House, on 25 March, Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, in
the year 2019, the seventh of my Pontificate.