Pope Francis urged Poland’s Roman Catholic churchmen on Saturday to live more simple lives, focus on those most in need and shun worldly ambitions.
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“Jesus”, however, “is the Lord of risk, of the eternal “more”, he said.
He added: ‘Following Jesus demands a good dose of courage, a readiness to trade in the sofa for a pair of walking shoes and to set out on new and uncharted paths’.
Hundreds of thousands of people camped out overnight in the field 13 miles from the Polish city ahead of the World Youth Day event.
After over 1 million people arrived on Europe’s southern shores a year ago, some nations on the continent, notably in central and eastern Europe, hastily built fences to keep the refugees out.
The long homily Francis delivered on Sunday was an epic pep-talk aimed at young people in a world that can too often give them reasons for paralysis and fear.
The extent of these situations can not be appreciated by viewing them through a cell phone screen or computer, he said. We must defend each other, and we must look after one another: one religious community after the other, one country after the other.
God is not concerned about whether you are stylish or what kind of phone you have, Pope Francis said.
The young men and women invited to join the Pope for lunch came from all the different continents and included representatives from New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Italy, Columbia, as well as the host nation, Poland. “I hope that the youngest of my group can live this experience and transmit all that they have learned here with their classmates and their families”, he said.
Later Friday, Francis met with patients at the University Children’s Hospital in Krakow, where he called on Christians to spend more time with the ill and to care for them, as he said Jesus did.
“I do not know if I will be in Panama – but Peter will be in Panama, and he will ask you if you kept your memory, your courage and your hope”. “Let our best word, our best argument, be our unity in prayer”.
“Let us also place before the Lord your own “battles”, the interior struggles that each of your carries in his or her heart”.
“Preparing a World Youth Day is an adventure – people laugh, work, do things and are then dismissed, but the adventure is one of generosity”, the pope told organizers and volunteers.
Reminding the young of the motto for WYD, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy”, the pope urged the young not to be deterred by those who are wary of them for being dreamers.
“We pray to You also for all those who have died as victims of brutal terrorist attacks”.
Sunday’s faithful numbered at least in the hundreds of thousands.
Universal: Human Solidarity: That the aged, marginalized, and those who have no one may find-even within the huge cities of the world-opportunities for encounter and solidarity.
“But when we opt for ease and convenience, for confusing happiness with consumption, then we end up paying a high price indeed: we lose our freedom”, he said.
“How truly hard it is to welcome Jesus, how hard it is to accept a ‘God who is rich in mercy, ‘” the pope said.
In his speech to youth at the balcony window, Pope Francis noted how they are closed the day uniting to the suffering Jesus.
“That is the secret, dear friends, and all of us are called to share in it. God expects something from you”.
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God does not want young people to remain in the lovely city of Krakow or in their “cherished memories” of the place.
