Face to Face with the Young Canadians

“Do not let your youth be stolen from you. Do not allow anyone to slow and obscure the light that Christ puts in your face and in your heart. Be weavers of relationships signed by trust, by sharing, by openness even to ends of the world. Do not raise walls of division: do not raise walls of division! Build bridges, like this extraordinary one that you are crossing in spirit, and that links the shores of two oceans.” Pope Francis said this to the young, addressing especially the young Canadians, in a video message that was broadcast last night on Salt & Light TV. A talk show with the participation of our Dicastery’s Prefect, Card. Kevin Farrell, was transmitted by Toronto’s Catholic Canadian Media Foundation. This dialogue with Bishops of six Canadian cities and many young people, on the theme “Young People, Faith and Vocational Discernment,” lasted nearly an hour and a half.

“You are experiencing a moment of intense preparation for the next Synod that concerns you in a particular way, just as it involves the whole Christian community,” the Pope continued, adding that he was certain that “your young heart will not be closed to the cry for help of so many of your peers who seek freedom, work, study, a chance to make sense of their lives. I count on your willingness, your commitment, your ability to face important challenges and dare to make the future, to take decisive steps along the path of change.” Finally, Francis invited them: “Go to meet Jesus, be with Him in prayer, entrust yourselves to Him, give your whole life over to His merciful love and your faith, and your faith will be the luminous witness of generosity and of the joy there is in following Him—he concluded—wherever He should lead you.”