An excerpt from Pope Francis’ message to young people for the XXXIX World Youth Day to be celebrated on November 24, 2024.
Dear young people!
Last year we set out on the path of hope towards the Great Jubilee by reflecting on Saint Paul’s words, “Rejoice in hope” (Rom12:12). In order to prepare ourselves for the Jubilee pilgrimage of 2025, this year we can take inspiration from the prophet Isaiah, who says: “Those who hope in the Lord… will run and not be weary” (Is 40:31). These words are taken from the so-called Book of Consolation (Is 40-55), which heralds the end of Israel’s exile in Babylon and the beginning of a new age of hope and rebirth for God’s people, who can return to their homeland thanks to a new “highway” that the Lord is presently opening up for his children (cf. Is 40:3).
Today, we too live in times marked by dramatic situations that generate despair and prevent us from looking to the future with serenity: the tragedy of war, social injustices, inequalities, hunger and the exploitation of human beings and the natural environment. Often the ones who pay the highest price are precisely young people. You sense the uncertainty of the future and are not sure about where your dreams will lead. In this way, you can be tempted to live without hope, as prisoners of boredom, depression and even be drawn to risk-taking and destructive behaviours (cf. Spes Non Confundit, 12). For this reason, dear young people, I would like the message of hope to come to you, as was the case with Israel in Babylon. Today too, the Lord is opening a highway before you, and he invites you to set out on it with joy and hope.
The prophet Isaiah speaks of “walking without tiring”. Let us reflect then on these two realities: walking and tiredness.
Our life is a pilgrimage, a journey that pushes us beyond ourselves, a journey in search of happiness. The Christian life in particular is a pilgrimage towards God, our salvation and the fullness of every good thing. Our goals, achievements and successes along the way, if they remain only material, will, after an initial moment of satisfaction, still leave us hungry, longing for something greater. They cannot completely satisfy our soul, because we were created by One who is infinite; as a result, we have an innate desire for transcendence, a constant restless drive towards the fulfilment of higher aspirations, towards “even more”. That is why, as I have often said to you, “looking at life from a balcony” is not enough for you young people.
Still, it is normal that, while we set out on our journeys with enthusiasm, sooner or later we will begin to feel tired. In some cases, anxiety and inner fatigue are brought on by social pressures, the need to attain certain levels of success in our studies, our work and our personal life. This produces a certain despondency, as we live running from one thing to another in an empty “activism” that makes us fill our days with a thousand things and, in spite of this, feel that we never manage to do enough and never quite measure up. This tiredness is often accompanied by a certain ennui, the apathy and dissatisfaction that affects those who never set out, choose, decide, take risks, preferring to remain in their own comfort zone, closed in on themselves, seeing and judging the world from a distance, without ever “dirtying their hands” with problems, with other people, with life itself. This kind of tiredness is a kind of wet cement in which we stand; eventually it hardens, weighs us down, paralyzes us and prevents us from moving forward. I prefer the tiredness of those who are moving forward, not the ennui of those who stand still with no desire to move!
The solution to tiredness, oddly enough, is not to stand still and rest. It is to set out and become pilgrims of hope. This is my invitation to you: walk in hope! Hope overcomes all weariness, every crisis and every worry. It gives us a powerful incentive to press forward, for it is a gift received from God himself. The Lord fills our life with meaning, sheds light on our path and shows us its ultimate direction and goal….