Pope Leo XIV's style of speaking to young people is not as lively as that of Pope Francis - it bears the imprint of a calmer style - but his words still reach them as they did with Benedict XVI and John Paul II.
Seeking God
We feel a thirst so great and burning that no drink of this world can quench it. Let us not deceive our hearts before this thirst, seeking to satisfy it with ineffective substitutes. Rather, let us listen to it. Let us make of it a stool to climb up and lean out, like children, on tiptoe, to the window of our encounter with God.
Treating Christ
Dear young people, Jesus is the friend who always accompanies us in the formation of our conscience. If you really want to meet the Risen Lord, listen to his word, which is the Gospel of salvation. Reflect on your way of life, seek justice in order to build a more humane world. Serve the poor and thus bear witness to the good that we would always like to receive from our neighbors. Be united to Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, source of eternal life. Study, work and love following the example of Jesus, the good Teacher who always walks beside us.
Yes, with Christ it is possible! With his love, with his forgiveness, with the strength of his Spirit. My dear friends, united to Jesus as the branches to the vine, you will bear much fruit; you will be salt of the earth, light of the world; you will be seeds of hope wherever you live: in the family, with your friends, at school, at work, in sports. Seeds of hope with Christ our hope.
Christ sets us free
Dear young people, it is true what you have said: "to opt is also to renounce something and this sometimes blocks us". To be free, we must start from a stable foundation, from the rock that supports our steps. This rock is a love that precedes us, surprises us and surpasses us infinitely: the love of God. Therefore, before Him, the decision is a judgment that does not take away any good from us, but always leads us to the best. The courage to choose arises from the love that God manifests to us in Christ. It is he who has loved us with his whole being, saving the world and thus showing us that the way to fulfill ourselves as persons is to give our lives. Therefore, the encounter with Jesus corresponds to the deepest hopes of our heart, because Jesus is the Love of God made man.
The Church
We find Christ in the Church, that is, in the communion of those who sincerely seek him. The Lord himself gathers us together to form community, not just any community, but a community of believers who support one another.
Bringing Christ to the whole world
We need missionary disciples who bring the gift of the Risen Christ to the world; who give voice to the hope that the living Jesus gives us, to the ends of the earth (cf. Ac 1:3-8); may they reach wherever there is a heart that hopes, a heart that seeks, a heart that needs. Yes, to the ends of the earth, to the existential ends where there is no hope.
Paz
And our cry must also be for peace in the world. Let us all repeat: We want peace in the world! [People respond: We want peace in the world! Let us pray for peace.
Consumerism
Buying, accumulating and consuming are not enough. We need to raise our eyes, to look upwards, to "heavenly things" (Col 3:2), to realize that everything has meaning, among the realities of the world, only to the extent that it serves to unite us to God and to our brothers and sisters in charity.
Artificial Intelligence
Today we find ourselves in a culture in which the technological dimension is present in almost everything, especially now that the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence will mark a new era in the lives of individuals and society as a whole. This is a challenge we must face: to reflect on the authenticity of our witness, on our ability to listen and speak, and on our capacity to understand and be understood. We have a duty to work together to develop a way of thinking and a language of our time that gives voice to Love.
Social networks
It is not simply a matter of generating content, but of creating an encounter between hearts. This will involve seeking out those who suffer, those who need to know the Lord, so that they can heal their wounds, get back on their feet and find meaning in their lives. This process begins, first of all, with the acceptance of our own poverty, setting aside all pretense and recognizing our innate need for the Gospel.
I appeal to all of you: "go and mend your nets". Jesus called his first apostles while they were repairing their fishermen's nets (cf. Mt 4,21-22). He also asks this of us, indeed, he asks us today to build other networks: networks of relationships, networks of love, networks of free exchange, in which friendship is authentic and deep. Networks where what has been broken can be repaired, where loneliness can be remedied, regardless of the number of followers - those who follow us - can be repaired. follower-but by experiencing in every encounter the infinite greatness of Love. Networks that open space to the other, more than to themselves, where no "filter bubble" can muffle the voice of the weakest. Networks that liberate, networks that save. Networks that make us rediscover the beauty of looking into each other's eyes. Networks of truth. In this way, each story of shared good will be the knot of a unique and immense network: the network of networks, the network of God.
Today there are algorithms that tell us what we need to see, what we need to think, and who our friends should be. And then our relationships become confused, sometimes anxious. It is that when the instrument dominates man, man becomes an instrument: yes, a market instrument and in turn a commodity. Only sincere relationships and stable ties make good life stories grow.
Polarization
Be agents of communion, capable of breaking the logic of division and polarization, of individualism and self-centeredness. Center yourselves in Christ, in order to overcome the logic of the world, of the fake news and frivolity, with the beauty and light of truth (cf. Jn 8,31-32).
Sharing the experience in Rome
Dear young people, I would like you to keep everything you experience during these days in your hearts, but not to keep it only for yourselves. That is very important: what you are going to experience here, do not keep it only for yourself. We have to learn to share. Please, do not let all this remain only as a memory, only as beautiful photos, only as something from the past.
