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CV NEWS FEED // In his World Youth Day message, Pope Francis urged young people to become “tireless missionaries of joy” and encouraged them to view their lives as a pilgrimage of hope.
The September 17 message, “Those who hope in the Lord will run and not be weary,” was released in eight different languages on the Vatican website.
According to a report from Vatican News, the Pope’s message is rooted in the teachings of the prophet Isaiah. It encouraged young people to “see life as a pilgrimage” and to persevere through the “admittedly tiring” pilgrimage of life.
The secret to overcoming this weariness, Pope Francis wrote, is not found in resting. Instead, one must “set out and become pilgrims of hope.”
“This is my invitation to you: walk in hope!” the Pope stated. “Hope overcomes all weariness, every crisis and every worry,” he continued. “It gives us a powerful incentive to press forward, for it is a gift received from God himself.”
Pope Francis reminded readers that all pilgrimages involve times of joy as well as times of suffering, like there were for the Israelites on the way to the Promised Land.
He emphasized that God remains faithful even in these times; He provided manna for the Israelites in the desert, and the Eucharist for us.
“In this way, in union with the Lord, we can walk without tiring, for he is walking alongside us,” he wrote.
“When the weariness of the journey weighs you down, come back to Jesus, learn to rest in him and abide with him, for ‘those who hope in the Lord… will run and not be weary,’” Pope Francis continued.
Anticipating the 2025 Jubilee year, Pope Francis encouraged young people to be “true pilgrims” rather than “tourists” or “superficial sightseers.”
“The Jubilee pilgrimage is meant to be the outward sign of an inward journey that all of us are called to make towards our final destination,” the Pope wrote. He emphasized the importance of possessing a spirit of “thanksgiving,” “seeking,” and “penance” as essential elements with which to approach the Jubilee Year.
Concluding, Pope Francis reminded readers that, “embraced by God and born again in him,” they will also be able to “become open arms to embrace your many friends and peers who need to feel, through your welcome, the love of God the Father.”
This is the way, according to Pope Francis, to “become tireless missionaries of joy.”
“All of you have a special place in my heart,” the Pope stated. “I entrust your journey to the Virgin Mary, so that, following her example, you may be able to look forward with patience and confidence to the fulfillment of all your hopes, even now, as you persevere in your journey as pilgrims of hope and of love.”
