Pope Leo XIV has already had two great meetings with the first young people who have arrived in Rome to participate in the Jubilee week that will culminate with the vigil at Tor Vergata, in the style of WYD.
Yesterday, July 29, he took a long ride in the popemobile, waving to the more than 120,000 visitors who filled St. Peter's Square all the way to Castel Sant'Angelo. The Pope appeared at the end of a Mass presided over by Archbishop Rino Fisichella in St. Peter's Square as part of a week-long series of celebrations welcoming the Jubilee of Youth.
"Jesus tells us that you are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world," Pope Leo said in English. "And today, your voices, your enthusiasm, your cheers, which are all for Jesus Christ, will be heard to the ends of the earth," he said in Spanish amid huge cheers.
"Today begins a journey, the Jubilee of Hope, and the world needs messages of hope. You are this message and you must continue to give hope to all," he said. "Let us walk together with our faith in Jesus Christ," he said in Italian. "And our cries must also be for peace in the world." "Let us all say it: we want peace in the world!" he shouted, as the crowd responded, "We want peace in the world."
Wednesday Catechesis
On Wednesday morning, July 30, Pope Leo XIV focused his weekly catechesis on the healing of the deaf mute narrated in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 7:32-37). With this episode, he concludes his journey through the public life of Jesus, "made up of encounters, parables and healings".
The Pontiff explained that this Gospel scene also reflects the state of today's world, marked by a profound malaise: "Our world is permeated by a climate of violence and hatred that mortifies human dignity," he said. He also pointed out that we live in a society sick with "a 'bulimia' of connections in social networks," where overexposure and emotional turmoil cause many to opt for isolation or inner silence.
From the behavior of Jesus in this story - who takes the man aside, touches him tenderly and says "Open up!" (Ephpheta) - the Pope developed a pastoral and spiritual reading: "It is as if Jesus is saying to him: 'Open yourself to this world that frightens you! Open yourself to the relationships that have disappointed you! Open yourself to the life you have given up facing!'"
The Holy Father emphasized that this healing not only restores the word to man, but does so "normally", which insinuates that the previous silence was perhaps the fruit of feeling misunderstood or inadequate: "We all experience that we are misunderstood and that we do not feel understood", he recalled. In this sense, he invited everyone to ask God to heal our words: "to avoid hurting others with our words" and to communicate "with honesty and prudence".
The Pope also insisted that authentic faith requires a path of following: "To truly know Jesus you have to walk a path, you have to be with Him and also go through His Passion... There are no shortcuts to becoming disciples of Jesus."
Finally, he concluded with a prayer for all those wounded by the misuse of the word and for the mission of the Church as a guide to Christ: "Let us pray for the Church, that she may never fail in her task of bringing people to Jesus, so that they may hear his Word, be healed by it and become, in turn, bearers of his proclamation of salvation."
