We Te are not made for a life where we take everything for granted and expect things to remain static. We are called to constantly renew ourselves through the gift of oneself in love. This is why we continually aspire for something “more” that no created reality can give us; we feel a deep and burning thirst that no drink in this world can satisfy. Knowing this, let us not deceive our hearts by trying to satisfy them with cheap imitations! Let us rather listen to these aspirations! Let us turn this thirst into a step stool, like children who stand on tiptoe, in order to peer through the window of encounter with God. We will then find ourselves before him, who is waiting for us, knocking gently on the window of our soul (Rev 3:20). It is truly beautiful, especially in your youth, to open wide your hearts, to allow Him to enter, and to set out on this adventure with Him towards eternity
St Augustine, reflecting on his intense search for God, asked himself: “What, then, is the object of our hope? Is it the earth? No. Is it something that comes from the earth, such as gold, silver, trees, crops, or water? These things are pleasing, these things are beautiful, these things are good.” And the conclusion he reached was: “Seek the one who made them, He is your hope.” Thinking of his own journey, he prayed, saying: “You Lord, were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you (Ps 34:8; 1 Pt 2:3) now I hunger and thirst for more (Mt 5:6; 1 Cor 4:11); you touched me, and I burned for your peace.” These are beautiful words and they remind us of what Pope Francis said to young people during World Youth Day in Lisbon: “We find ourselves facing great questions that have no simple or immediate answers, but challenge us to continue the journey, to rise above ourselves and to press beyond the here and now. We are called to something higher, and we will never be able to soar unless we first take flight. We should not be alarmed, then, if we sense an inner thirst, a restless, unfulfilled longing for meaning and a future. We should not be lethargic, but alive!” There is a burning question in our hearts, a need for truth that we cannot ignore, which leads us to ask ourselves: what is true happiness? What is the true meaning of life? What can free us from being trapped in meaninglessness, boredom and mediocrity? The fullness of our existence does not depend on what we store up or on what we possess (Lk 12:13-21). Rather, fullness has to do with what we joyfully welcome and share (Mt 10:8-10; Jn 6:1-13). Buying, hoarding and consuming are not enough. We need to lift our eyes, to look upwards, to the “things that are above” (Col 3:2), to realize that everything in the world has meaning only insofar as it serves to unite us to God and to our brothers and sisters in charity, helping us to grow in “compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience” (Col 3:12), forgiveness and peace (Jn 14:27), all in imitation of Christ (Phil 2:5). And in this way we will grow in an ever deeper understanding of what it means that hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Rom 5:5).Dear young people, Jesus is our hope. It is He, as Saint John Paul II said, “who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives to commit, to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.” Let us remain united to him, let us remain in his friendship, always, cultivating it through prayer, adoration, Eucharistic Communion, frequent Confession, and generous charity. Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less. You will then see the light of the Gospel growing every day, in you and around you.
