Pope urges Angola’s youth not to be afraid of making generous life-long commitments

(March 22, 2009) The heart of the message of Pope Benedict to the youth of Angola was that they are the hope of the future if only they dare to make generous life-long commitments and decisions fully trusting in Christ. This exhortation of the Pope came when he met them at the sports stadium of Luanda Saturday evening.
Speaking in Portuguese the Holy Father told them that despite their share of difficulties, they are filled with great hope, great enthusiasm and a great desire to make a new beginning. He pointed out that they hold within them the power to shape the future, and encouraged them to look to that future through the eyes of the Apostle John who saw a new heaven and a new earth. He told the young people that God makes all the difference and much more – He changes us; He makes us new!
Noting many maimed and disabled young people among the crowd as a result of the war and the landmines, Pope Benedict recalled the countless tears that have been shed for the loss of relatives and friends. He said it not difficult to imagine the dark clouds that still dim the horizon of their fondest hopes and dreams. They see no visible sign of the things that the Pope is talking about! But Pope Benedict said that the change is not outside but in them. Renewal, he said, starts from within. The power to shape the future is within you, the Pope said, just as life exists within a seed. He gave the example of Jesus who spoke of wonderful things and worked miracles, but the world had not changed. The Romans remained in power and everyday life continued to be hard. Deep down, people questioned the value of his message. It is then that Jesus spoke about the sower who sows in the field of the world, and he explained that the seed is his word and his miracles of healing. Deep within the seed, which seems almost nothing, the future is already present, since the seed contains tomorrow’s bread, tomorrow’s life. When it falls on good soil, it produces fruit, thirty, sixty and even a hundredfold.
Pope Benedict told the young people they were ‘a seed which God has sown in the world, a seed that contains power from on high, the power of the Holy Spirit. And yet, the only way to pass from the promise of life to actually bearing fruit is to give your lives in love, to die for love. As seeds filled with the power of the same eternal Spirit, sprout up before the warmth of the Eucharist, God gives himself to us and we respond by giving ourselves to others, for love of him. This is the way that leads to life.
Pope Benedict observed that the dominant individualistic and hedonist culture of today does help young people live by Jesus’ word or to practise self-giving. He acknowledged young people did not lack generosity, but the idea of making a lifelong commitment, whether in marriage or in a life of special consecration, can be daunting. One regards it risky to make a life-long commitment or fears losing one’s freedom by making a definitive decision. Yet, the Pope said, when young people avoid decisions, there is a risk of never attaining full maturity! He therefore urged the young people of Angola to unleash the power of the Holy Spirit within them, and give life a chance.