Pope Francis: Our encounter with Jesus fills our hearts with joy
(Vatican Radio) (Vatican Radio) “There are so many young people in the Piazza today
. . . It seems like Rio de Janeiro.” Those were the words of Pope Francis as he looked
over the crowds of people who braved the August heat to take part in Sunday’s weekly
Angelus.
Listen to Christopher Wells' report:
World Youth
Day was at the front of the Pope’s mind as he asked the people to “thank the Lord
for this great gift for Brazil, for Latin America and for the world.” He reminded
his listeners that “World Youth Days are not ‘fireworks’, not just moments of enthusiasm
that end in themselves; rather, they are stages of a long journey.” The Holy Father
emphasized that the young people who participate in World Youth Day “are not following
the Pope, they are following Jesus Christ, bearing His Cross. And the Pope guides
them and accompanies them in this journey of faith and hope.”
Pope Francis
departed from his prepared remarks to offer his profound thanks to the people of Brazil,
whom he described as “a people of great heart . . . a generous people.”
The
Pope went on to ask us to pray with him for a special intention: “that the young people
that participated in World Youth Day will be able to translate this experience into
their daily journey, in their everyday conduct.” He recalled the “provocative” words
of Sunday’s first Reading, from the book of Ecclesiastes: “Vanity of vanities . .
. all things are vanities.” Young people, he said, “are particularly sensitive to
the emptiness of meaning and values that surrounds them. And they, unfortunately,
pay the consequences.” He warned against the “poison of emptiness that insinuates
itself into our society based on profit and having [things], that deludes young people
with consumerism.” But there is an alternative: “the encounter with the living Jesus,
in the great family that is the Church, fills the heart with joy, because it fills
it with true life, a profound goodness that does not pass away or decay.” True wealth,
Pope Francis said, “is the love of God, shared with the brothers . . . he who experiences
this love of God does not fear death; he receives peace of heart.”
After the
Angelus, the Holy Father greeted pilgrims and visitors, especially the many young
people in Saint Peter’s Square. He had particular greetings for pilgrims from Croatia
and from a number of Italian dioceses, noting that some had come part way to Rome
on foot, while others had made the journey to Saint Peter’s on bicycle.
Finally,
Pope Francis spoke about several upcoming liturgical feasts. Noting that Sunday was
the feast of St. John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of priests, he greeted pastors
and all priests of the world, saying “let us be united in prayer and pastoral charity.”
He also noted that on Monday “we Romans” remember our Mother “Mary, Salus
Populi Romani” – Mary the Protectress of the Roman People. Pope Francis' devotion
to Mary under this title has been on display since the beginning of his pontificate
– he has already visited the famous icon in the papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
several times since his election in March.
Finally, Pope Francis noted that
Tuesday, the feast of the Transfiguration, is the 35th anniversary of the
death of Pope Paul VI.
At the end of his remarks, Pope Francis wished everyone
a good Sunday and a good August . . . and a good lunch.
Below, please
find Vatican Radio's translation of Pope Francis’ remarks at the recitation of the
Angelus for Sunday, 4 August 2013:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good day!
Last Sunday found me in Rio de Janeiro. It was the Holy Mass
for conclusion of World Youth Day. I think all of us together should thank the Lord
for the great gift of this event, for Brazil, for Latin America, and for the whole
world. It was a new stage in the pilgrimage of young people across the continents
with the Cross of Christ. We must never forget that the World Youth days are not “fireworks”,
moments of enthusiasm that end with themselves; they are stages of a long journey,
begun in 1985 through the initiative of Pope John Paul II. He entrusted the Cross
to young people, saying, “Go, and I will come with you.” And so it was; and this pilgrimage
of young people continued with Pope Benedict, and thanks to God I too have been able
to live this wonderful stage in Brazil. Let us always remember: the youth are not
following the Pope, they are following Jesus Christ, bearing His Cross. And the Pope
guides them and accompanies them in this journey of faith and hope. And so I thank
all the young people that have participated, even by making sacrifices. And I thank
the Lord also for the other encounters I had with the Pastors and the people of the
great Country that is Brazil, and also with the authorities and the volunteers. May
the Lord reward all those that worked for this great festival of faith.
I
also want to emphasize my gratitude, my deep gratitude, to the Brazilian people. A
great people, the people of Brazil, a people of great heart. I won’t forget their
warm welcome, their greeting, their affectionate gaze, so much joy! They are a generous
people. I ask the Lord to bless them greatly.
I want to ask you to pray with
me, that the young people that participated in World Youth Day will be able to translate
this experience into their daily journey, in their everyday conduct; and that they
will be able to translate it in the most important choices of their life, responding
to the personal call of the Lord. Today in the liturgy the provocative words of Qoheleth
resonate: “Vanity of vanities . . . all things are vanity” (Ecc. 1, 2). Young people
are particularly sensitive to the emptiness of meaning and values that surrounds them.
And they, unfortunately, pay the consequences. On the other hand, the encounter with
the living Jesus, in the great family that is the Church, fills the heart with joy,
because it fills it with true life, a profound goodness that does not pass away or
decay: we have seen this in the faces of the youths in Rio. But this experience must
face the daily vanity, the poison of emptiness that insinuates itself into our society
based on profit and having [things], that deludes young people with consumerism. The
Gospel of this Sunday reminds us of the absurdity of basing their happiness on ‘having’.
“The rich man says to himself: ‘My soul, you have many good things stored up . . .
rest, eat, drink, be merry!’ But God says to him: ‘You fool, this very night your
life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they
belong?’” (cf. Lk 12, 19-20). Dear brothers and sisters, true wealth is the love of
God, shared with the brothers. That love that comes from God and makes us share among
ourselves, and makes us help one another. He who experiences this does not fear death,
and receives peace of heart. Let us entrust this intention, the intention of receiving
the love of God and sharing it with our brothers, to the Virgin Mary.
After
the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I greet all of you,
and thank you for your presence despite the heat.
I am happy to greet in particular
several groups of young people: The Carmelite Youth of Croatia; the young people of
Sandon and Fossò, from the diocese of Verona; those of Mozzanica, from the diocese
of Cremona; those of Moncalieri, who came part of the way on foot; and those of Bergamo,
who came by bicycle. Thank you, all of you!
But there are so many young people
in the Piazza today! It seems like Rio de Janeiro . . .
I want to assure you
of my special regard for pastors and for all the priests of the world, because today
we remember their patron saint, Saint John Mary Vianney. Dear brothers, let us be
united in prayer and pastoral charity.
Tomorrow, we Romans remember our Mother,
“Salus populi Romani” [English: Protectress of the Roman People]. Let us ask that
she might protect us. Let us, all of us together, greet our Mother with a ‘Hail Mary’
. . . All together: "Hail Mary. . . " A greeting for our Mother, all together,
a greeting for our Mother [applause together with the people].
I am also pleased
to remember the liturgical feast of the Transfiguration, which takes place the day
after tomorrow, with a thought of profound gratitude for the Venerable Pope Paul VI,
who departed this world on the evening of 6 August 35 years ago.
Dear friends,
I wish you a good Sunday and a good August . . . and a good lunch! Arrivederci!