To Young People (11 September 2024)

On Tuesday, 11 September 1984, the Holy Father addressed young people in the Montreal Olympic Stadium. Responding to questions about the dark side of life, he pointed them to Jesus. "In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

Dear young people ,

1. During my visit to Quebec, being with you is a real joy. In a living country, in a living Church, it is you who trace the lines of the future. And this evening, at the Olympic stadium, a place of human effort and accomplishment, it is good to hear you and see you express the faith and the concerns, the hope and the questions of your generation by looking with lucidity at all that makes up your life.

You have taken up the founding word that opens the Gospel of John. Thus you place our meeting under the sign of life stronger than death, under the sign of light that darkness does not stop, under the sign of the Word, the eternal Word of God, who comes to dwell among us in Christ. May this act of faith guide us, may this light penetrate us when your questions resound!

For your questions are numerous. You have just expressed some of the most serious. They join those that were entrusted to me with simplicity by several thousand of you before I came to see you. I will dare to tell you that these questions often seem to me to be formulated as in the shadow zone where humanity fears its future when it traces its path without perceiving the light that is offered to it, without recognizing the true light that illuminates every man.

2. One of you, a young girl from Quebec, wrote to me: “Give us your secret for responding to love and for trusting in Jesus.” But I have not come to reveal a secret to you. I have come as a witness, as John the Baptist was there to bear witness to the light. I have come to invite you to open your eyes to the light of life, to Christ Jesus. If we listen to his word, if we follow him, if we discover the greatness of the love with which he loves all men and women of all ages, then we will know that life is worth living, and even better, worth giving!

In the Gospel passage that has inspired you this evening, John tells us of Jesus that he is the Word, that he is life and that he is the light of men. Certainly, God, no one has ever seen him, but the Son can reveal him to us ( Io . 1, 18). The Son, the Word, is the Word who perfectly expresses the will of the Father, who calls the billions of beings that we are to share the unheard-of beauty and purity of his infinite love through the tireless generosity of creation. In one of the prayers of the Mass, we say: “You, the God of goodness, the source of life, you have made the world so that many may rejoice in your light” ( Prex Eucharistica , IV).

3. Yet there is darkness: when life disappoints us, when life hurts us, when we do not find happiness, when the heart closes and brothers divide and fight each other. Darkness blocks the light: humanity erects a screen, and it feels its difficulties in living to the point of anguish. The world no longer recognizes the one who called it to life to flourish in the fraternal unity of all. Darkness leads to a fearful withdrawal into oneself, the inability to love freely and generously, the loss of truth in lies. In the darkness, the blinded gaze no longer knows how to perceive the Father, whose love remains faithful despite the distance of his sons and daughters, despite all the ruptures.

“In him there is no darkness at all” ( 1 John 1:5).

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” “The Word was the true light that enlightens every man.” “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” ( Io . 1, 5.9.14).

Faced with the dark side of your questions, I would like to say to you: “Stand up and lift up your heads; your redemption is near” ( Luke 21:28). Jesus, the Son of God, “true God from true God, light from light,” lives among us. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

4. These words introduce the whole Good News: in Jesus of Nazareth, the Son, resplendent with the glory of the Father, has become one of us; he begins an astonishing battle against the forces of darkness. A battle in which the power of darkness cannot stop the strength of Christ, which is of a completely different order, because he is strong only through the gift of himself to his Father for his brothers. A battle in which he agrees to share our weakness and our solitude, to endure the hostility of men, to the point of crying out: “Now is the hour of the power of darkness” ( Ibid . 22:53). But the darkness will not stop him; he fights with the weapons of peace.

To excess of power, Jesus opposes selflessness: he chose to be the Servant.

To excess pride, Jesus opposes humility: “I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me” ( Jn 5:30).

To hatred that rejects and kills, Jesus opposes forgiveness: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” ( Luke 23:34).

To the blind power of death, Jesus opposes the love of one who gives himself: “No one takes my life away, but I lay it down of myself” ( Jn 10:18).

To the derisory custody of his body in the tomb, Jesus opposes the freedom of the Resurrection: “As lightning flashes from one end of the horizon to the other, so will the Son of Man be on his Day” ( Luke 17:24).

To those who despair of life and feel the dizziness of nothingness, Jesus opposes the gift of new life: “This is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life; and I will raise him up” ( Jn 6:40).

5. My friends, in the letters I have received from you, I discern two sets of requests: on the one hand, “speak to us about Jesus Christ, about hope and faith” - and on the other hand, “help us to resolve the difficulties that darken our personal, social and religious life”.

I wanted first to speak to you of the light of Christ, because it is as a witness of the Redeemer that I have come to you. The choice of the Gospel that you have presented met this desire. Do not look elsewhere for inspiration to answer your questions. Listen to Him who says to you: “I am the light of the world. He who comes after me will not walk in darkness; he will have the light that leads to life” ( Jn 8:12).

You must remember this in times of doubt. If you follow Christ, you will fully develop the possibilities that are within you. You will be seekers of the truth, because only it sets you free. It is to your dynamism that I appeal: you will know how to move forward towards the solution of your problems by listening to the whole Gospel, by reflecting on it with your elders, and in your various Christian youth movements. Mobilize your energies together, show lucidity about what is the foundation of your life; discern the light of Christ who shows you how to escape the circles in which you could lock yourself. With him, you will love life!

6. Beware of escaping in dark hours. Have the courage to resist the illusion merchants who exploit your thirst for happiness and make you pay dearly for a moment of “artificial paradise” obtained with a little smoke, a dose of alcohol or drugs. This shortcut claims to lead to happiness, but in reality it leads nowhere. It turns you away from the intelligent self-control that builds man. Have the courage not to take this easy path, or to go back up the slope. And know how to reach out to those of your brothers who are lurking in despair when the darkness of the world is too cruel for them.

Many of you are marked by unemployment. At this level, it is the whole difficulty of a changing society that affects you. There are economic solutions, heavy and long: they remain to be found. Those responsible for society must devote themselves to them with the primary care of making the condition of all bearable and of observing this first justice which is respect for each person, however destitute they may be, however young they may be. But you yourselves, do not let difficulties destroy the springs of your personality: take charge of your future.

Also ask yourself what you expect from professional life, you who are preparing for it, you who are already entering it, and you who are prevented from flourishing there. Be creative! Don't remain the great absentees when it comes to building the future of the world today! You already have your share of responsibility.

You are often, and rightly so, critical of a society so greedy for consumer goods that it destroys nature and squanders its resources. But you, ask yourselves what meaning you give to gain, to the possession of the desired riches. Are you free with regard to money? What sharing are you prepared to do? Remember Jesus, the day he entered Zacchaeus' house: his presence transformed an entire lifestyle; not only did Zacchaeus rediscover justice by promising to return the money unjustly acquired, but he discovered generosity by distributing his riches.

Expand your gaze beyond your usual environment and your country. Your brothers and sisters in vast parts of the world are deprived even of the necessities, wounded in their dignity and oppressed in their freedom and faith. Christ loves all his own and recognizes himself with predilection in the poorest. May he make you share his love for all your brothers and sisters in humanity! May he help you to live a real solidarity that crosses borders and overcomes prejudices!

You are citizens of a country that lives in peace, but the future of humanity concerns you. You call for peace from the depths of your heart. Pass on this call! I hope that your concern for world peace will make you workers for peace. Start with your own environment. Truly take up the prayer of Francis of Assisi, a builder of peace in his own city: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me put love...”. And, as Madame Jeanne Sauvé said recently, “peace must become a state of mind, a way of being and working”.

7. Before I address other questions you have asked me, I would like to return to the Gospel that guides us this evening. “He came to his own... As many as received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

It is an unimaginable, unhoped-for relationship with the living and true God that Jesus makes possible, because he is close to us: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” By giving his life for the multitude, he promises his presence among us for all generations. Faithful to his mission, he made himself one of us and remains present, a light that enlightens every man, “the way and the truth and the life” ( Jn 14:6).

For most of you, the intimate encounter with Christ was consecrated by baptism. Jesus offered you the richness of the life that is in God. Peter said: “He has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light” ( 1 Pet . 2:9).

8. Today, very often, you do not find it easy to take your place in the community of the baptized. Some of you say that you do not recognize in the Church the place where it is natural to be fraternally united by the Christ of the Gospel. The building seems too large to you, built by others in a style different from yours. You find the light that illuminates it cut off by too many areas of shadow.

It is true that the community is still far from forming the perfect mirror that would reflect the whole face of Christ. It is true that unity remains an objective that is too often contradicted. It is true, in a word, that the Church called by the Savior to gather in him is on the road to conversion, and that the road is still long.

However, you young people, remember that Jesus asked us not to set ourselves up as judges ( Matt . 7:1-5). Do not remain on the threshold, outside. Do not let yourselves be tempted to expect from the Church only a reflection of yourselves. Baptized, you are members of the body of Christ. Only the whole body will be able to reflect for the community of men the Face of light of Christ.

You rightly expect your elders to welcome you with tolerance and respect you for who you are. But you do the same with them.

The Church is the community in which we inherit the gifts handed down to the Apostles and communicated to us without interruption: the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. She is for all the place of the encounter with the One who dwells among us: she is the place of the gift received from his Spirit and his grace, - she is the place where we are given a rule of life - she is the place where all are called to share, to give thanks, to join the Eucharistic offering of life given by Christ, to receive the gift of forgiveness, to take on the mission of proclaiming the truth and spreading love.

Take your part in the life of this body, however imperfect it remains. Bring your demands and your enthusiasm. Contribute to the expression of faith and prayer, with your poetic sense, and your desire for commitment.

And if the desire arises in you to dedicate your life to the service of God and your brothers in the ministry of the Church, in religious life, know how to recognize the call of the Lord and respond with the unhesitating generosity of the young. Take the time for discernment, let your vocation be tested in prayer and reflection, dedicate yourself to a solid formation. Enter with confidence into dialogue with the pastors and superiors who have the responsibility of confirming your call. You would be among those who know the joy of serving in the footsteps of Christ in the Church where he dwells, of giving your life by sharing, free and poor, his love for his brothers.

9. There is one last point that I wish to address, because you are deeply interested in it. It concerns your questions about marriage and about the love of a couple and love in marriage.

In reading your letters I have been impressed in seeing that they express much pain. Too many of you suffer because of the breakdown of family life, because of separation and divorce; and you have been wounded to the point of sometimes doubting whether a faithful and lasting love is possible.

It is not ours to judge those who have been hurt by the upheaval affecting morals and society. But I say to you: do not doubt; you can build a home on the rock of fidelity, because you can count totally on the fidelity of God, who is love.

Prepare yourselves for the worth-while and true commitment of marriage. React against false illusions and do not confuse a premature experience of pleasure with the giving of oneself in love, deliberately consented to, and for ever. When, as man and woman, you bind your lives together, decide to do so with complete generosity, each one desiring first the well-being of the other, together desiring to communicate life and to ensure the welfare of your children. Prepare yourselves for the one commitment that is worthy of human love, the commitment of marriage, in order to build something that deserves and requires the whole of one's life. And for this, too, may the words of Christ give you light: "A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends" ( Io . 15, 13).

10. Dear young people: in all the questions that deeply interest you, there is a dark side that worries you - and there is a light of hope -. This hope - and you have shared it with me - rightly leads you to question yourselves about your future, about the future of the world and the future of the Church.

In the name of Christ, I ask you: when weariness overcomes you or doubt seizes you, break the circle in which solitude has confined you, find Him who is the light of every man, join your brothers to walk together, lean on your elders.

Remain seekers of the truth. Courageously deploy the riches within you. Give yourselves without measure to the service of justice, peace, freedom and love, in the light of Christ.

Quebec, like the power of your river, you are a country with a generous nature. You who know how to channel rivers, will you know how to channel the living forces of your youth for the service of all man and all humanity loved by God?

Turn, young friends, at every stage of your journey, to the One in whom dwells all the fullness of God ( Col . 2:9). Following Peter, trust in him: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of life!” ( Jon . 6:68).

Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana