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IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring
By Junno Arocho Esteves
KRAKOW, Poland (CNS) -- Take
risks and do not let life's obstacles get in the way of encountering the true
joy and life that Jesus can give, Pope Francis told more than 1 million young
people.
"Don't be afraid to say
'yes' to him with all your heart, to respond generously and to follow
him," the pope told pilgrims at the closing Mass July 31 for World Youth
Day. "Don't let your soul grow numb, but aim for the goal of a beautiful
love which also demands sacrifice."
"When it comes to Jesus,
we cannot sit around waiting with arms folded; he offers us life. We can't
respond by thinking about it or 'texting' a few words," he told the young
people, thousands of whom had spent the night camping at an area dubbed the
Field of Mercy.
The lack of sleep and morning
heat seemed to have little impact as the young men and women energetically
waved their flags and ran as close as possible to the popemobile to greet Pope
Francis.
In his homily, the pope
reflected on the Gospel story of Zacchaeus, a reviled tax collector who, due to
his short height, climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus.
The obstacles Zacchaeus faced
-- including his short stature -- the pope said, can also "say something
to us."
"Even today we can risk
not getting close to Jesus because we don't feel big enough, because we don't
think ourselves worthy. This is a great temptation; it has to do not only with
self-esteem, but with faith itself," he said.
By not accepting themselves
and their limitations, Christians deny their "real stature" as
children of God and see themselves as unworthy of God's love.
At the same time, he said,
people will try to convince Christians that there are others who are unworthy
of God's love.
"People will try to
block you, to make you think that God is distant, rigid and insensitive, good
to the good and bad to the bad," he told the young people. "Instead,
our heavenly Father 'makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good.' He
demands of us real courage: the courage to be more powerful than evil by loving
everyone, even our enemies."
The pope noted that Jesus
looks at all people with the same gaze he looked at Zacchaeus, not taking into
account his sins, wealth or social standing.
"God counts on you for
what you are, not for what you possess. In his eyes the clothes you wear or the
kind of cell phone you use are of absolutely no concern. He doesn't care
whether you are stylish or not, he cares about you! In his eyes, you are
precious and your value is priceless," the pope said.
Another obstacle, the pope
continued, is the "paralysis of shame," one that Zacchaeus overcame
by climbing the sycamore tree at "the risk of appearing completely
ridiculous."
Pope Francis encouraged the young
men and women to not be ashamed in bringing "everything to the Lord in
confession, especially your weaknesses, your struggles and your sins."
"Don't be afraid to say
'yes' to him with all your heart, to respond generously and to follow him!
Don't let your soul grow numb, but aim for the goal of a beautiful love which
also demands sacrifice," the pope said.
Zacchaeus' final obstacle, he
noted, did not come from within but from the "grumbling of the crowd"
who first blocked him and then criticized him" for being a sinner.
God challenges Christians to
be more powerful than evil by loving everyone and to risk being ridiculed for
believing "in the gentle and unassuming power of mercy," he said.
As he did with Zacchaeus,
Jesus looks beyond appearances and faults to the heart -- something young
people are called to imitate, the pope said.
"Don't stop at the
surface of things; distrust the worldly cult of appearances, applying makeup on
our souls so we seem better than we are," he said. "Instead,
establish the most secure connection, that of the heart that sees and transmits
goodness without tiring."
Although the Mass brought the
World Youth Day celebrations to an end, Pope Francis invited the youth to
continue along the path that began with their pilgrimage to Krakow and bring
the remembrance of God's love to others.
"Trust the memory of
God: his memory is not a 'hard disk' that saves and archives all our data, but
a tender heart full of compassion that rejoices in definitively erasing every
trace of evil," the pope said.
Before concluding the Mass
with the recitation of the Angelus prayer, the pope invited the youths to carry
the "spiritual breath of fresh air" back to their countries and
communities and "wherever God's providence leads you."
That same providence, he
concluded, is "one step ahead of us" and "has already determined
the next stop in this great pilgrimage begun in 1985 by St. John Paul II!"
"So now I am happy to
announce that the next World Youth Day -- after the two that will be held on
the diocesan level -- will take place in 2019 in Panama," Pope Francis
told the youths.
The Panama delegation Krakow
greeted the announcement with shouts of joy -- dancing, bouncing and
high-fiving each other.
Pope Francis invited bishops
from Panama to join him at center stage in blessing the crowd.
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Follow Arocho on Twitter: @arochoju.
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