Get off the couch, make some noise, be a protagonist. Pope Francis was always disruptive in the way he addressed young people, a true provocateur of Christ. He constantly reminded us that we were not created for comfort, but to be agents of change in the world, faithful to the Gospel and with the boldness of those who trust in the Holy Spirit.
Uncertain times cause fear to block us. We feel lost amid so many voices and so much noise, submerged in the excess of images and sounds of our days. Instability and unpredictability lead us to prefer safe spaces, in an obsession with “getting it right,” and rob us of the freedom to risk following Christ. But Pope Francis has come to tell us that being lost does not prevent us from following: not knowing where to go feeds the desire to encounter Christ.
The Adventure of Being Lost
Being lost is not a defeat or a failure: it is a way of gaining knowledge. Of getting to know oneself and the world. And it is an opportunity to recognise God and his calling. Being lost is the guarantee that there is an adventure to be lived.
Turning to Christ in the midst of turmoil is characteristic of the disciple, for there is not a single appearance of the Risen One that immediately and categorically confirms the disciples in their faith. This is evident in the Gospel accounts. Why do we hesitate so much? It is by venturing forth that we evangelise. It is by allowing ourselves to be guided by the Spirit that we encounter Christ at the crossroads of the world.
A Church on the Streets
At the end of his first month as pope, Francis was particularly clear in his exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (§49):
Let us go forth, then, let us go forth to offer everyone the life of Jesus Christ. Here I repeat for the entire Church what I have often said to the priests and laity of Buenos Aires: I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.
I do not want a Church concerned with being at the center and which then ends by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures. If something should rightly disturb us and trouble our consciences, it is the fact that so many of our brothers and sisters are living without the strength, light and consolation born of friendship with Jesus Christ, without a community of faith to support them, without meaning and a goal in life.
More than by fear of going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: “Give them something to eat” (Mk 6:37).
Accompanying the Youth
It is on each one of us, but particularly on young people, that Pope Francis counts in the task of evangelisation, in proclaiming the risen Christ, in opening up horizons of hope where only shadows seem to reign.
When he entrusted the Universal Apostolic Preferences to the Society of Jesus in 2019, Pope Francis confirmed that one of them should be accompanying young people in creating a future full of hope. For Jesuits, Pope Francis’ recurring provocations confirmed our way of proceeding in young adult ministry, schools, and summer camp movements, where young people are challenged to define the direction of our proposals and to take responsibility, to be agents promoting the Church they envision and desire.
I am convinced that the Jesuits are helping the Church to ensure that we cease to be “administrators of fears and become promoters of dreams,” as Pope Francis asked us to do in his meeting with young people at UCP-Lisbon during World Youth Day Lisbon 2023.
A Call to Conversion
However, remaining in the “comfort zone” of contentment would be insufficient for a spirituality of God’s greatest glory. There is a conversion to be lived, and it is clear to see: to be, as Francis asked us, teachers of life in the Spirit, who pray and help others to pray, who promote a deeper personal relationship with the living God in prayer and in service to others, as well as in understanding the intelligence of faith. Young people count on the Society, and we must not delay along the way.
There is enthusiasm in the air regarding faith but also signs of discouragement. There is great hope for the possibilities that are opening up, but also a heavy awareness that the process of breaking down walls is slow. There is a loving dynamism that leads us to go out of ourselves, but also the fear of failing and losing ourselves. There are contradictory signs, yes. But this should not surprise us or take away our peace, for this is typical of those who are living through turning points in the history of humanity.
Inspired by Francis, we must ask for the grace not to be afraid of losing ourselves in the world, confident that we only have to focus our gaze, our hearts, and our hands on following Christ, aware that we belong to a history much greater than ourselves and that it is our responsibility to write the next pages with Jesus and in the Church. We are prophets of a future that does not belong to us, as we pray in the prayer of Saint Alberto Hurtado.
And Christ asks us one question every day: Can I count on you? May the legacy and life of Pope Francis inspire us, in the grace of the Spirit, to perfect our ‘yes’ every day and to live, with a full heart, the joy of the Gospel.
Fiat lux!
