“Dear young people, Jesus is our hope. It is He, as Saint John Paul II said, ‘who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives […] to commit… to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal’” (XV World Youth Day, Prayer Vigil, 19 August 2000), declared Pope Leo XIV during the Eucharist that concluded the Youth Jubilee. He encouraged young people to aim high, to strive for holiness. “Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less,” the Holy Father urged.
Follow the desires of your heart – seek their fulfilment in God
Pope Leo XIV once again invoked his spiritual master, St. Augustine, encouraging young people to pay attention to the longings in their hearts and to look for their fulfilment in God.
Fragility is part of the miracle that we are
The Pope based his homily on the First Reading from Ecclesiastes and the Responsorial Psalm, which speak of the fleeting nature of human life. He reflected on the image of grass and flowers:
“The image of ‘the grass that is renewed… in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers’ (Ps 90:5-6) […] The fragility they speak of is, in fact, part of the marvel of creation. […] Even during the cold months of winter, when everything seems silent, its energy stirs beneath the ground, preparing to blossom into a thousand colours when spring comes.”
This, he emphasised, should not frighten us: “Fragility is part of the marvel of creation.”
People are made for something more
“We too, dear friends, are made this way, we are made for this. We are not made for a life where everything is taken for granted and static, but for an existence that is constantly renewed through gift of self in love,” Pope Leo said. He explained that it is natural for us to feel a desire for something greater:
“This is why we continually aspire to something ‘more’ that no created reality can give us; we feel a deep and burning thirst that no drink in this world can satisfy.”
Do not deceive your hearts with substitutes
“Knowing this,” Pope Leo continued, “let us not deceive our hearts by trying to satisfy them with cheap imitations! Let us rather listen to them! Let us turn this thirst into a step stool, like children who stand on tiptoe, in order to peer through the window of encounter with God.”
“It is truly beautiful, especially at a young age, to open wide your hearts, to allow him to enter, and to set out on this adventure with him towards eternity.”
he added.
Inspired by St. Augustine
Pope Leo drew on the profound reflections of St. Augustine:
“Seek the one who made them, he is your hope” (Sermo 313/F, 3).
He quoted Augustine’s famous confession:
“You [Lord] were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you […] You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath, and now I pant for you. I have tasted you […] now I hunger and thirst for more; you touched me, and I burned for your peace” (Confessions, 10, 27).
No easy answers, yet the questions are essential
Pope Leo reminded the youth that Pope Francis also spoke about these profound longings during World Youth Day in Lisbon:
“We find ourselves facing great questions that have no simple or immediate answers, but challenge us to continue the journey, to rise above ourselves and to press beyond the here and now. […] We should not be alarmed, then, if we sense an inner thirst, a restless, unfulfilled longing for meaning and a future” (Address to University Students, 3 August 2023).
What is true happiness?
“Within our hearts lies a burning question,” said Pope Leo, “a need for truth that we cannot ignore, which leads us to ask ourselves: what is true happiness? What is the true meaning of life? What can free us from being trapped in meaninglessness, boredom and mediocrity?”
Lift your eyes, look to what is above
Reflecting on the Jubilee experiences, the Pope emphasised that life’s fullness doesn’t depend on possessions:
“Buying, hoarding and consuming are not enough. We need to lift our eyes, to look upwards, to the ‘things that are above’ (Col 3:2), to realise that everything in the world has meaning only insofar as it serves to unite us to God and to our brothers and sisters in charity.”
Stay close to God, like Frassati and Acutis
In conclusion, Pope Leo urged young people to remain in friendship with Christ:
“Let us remain united to him, let us remain in his friendship, always, cultivating it through prayer, adoration, Eucharistic Communion, frequent Confession, and generous charity, following the examples of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and Blessed Carlo Acutis, who will soon be declared saints.”
“Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less. You will then see the light of the Gospel growing every day, in you and around you.”
Text based on the Homily of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV and the article by Krzysztof Bronk on Vatican News.