LIMA, Peru — Pope Leo XIV drew an exuberant crowd of young people to Peru's national stadium on Thursday and told them that friendship with Christ was the key to discovering their path in life.
"Learning to recognize the Lord's voice is essential," Leo said Nov. 12 at a youth prayer vigil, his third such event during his tour of South America. "… Speak to him about your plans and allow his word to question you. Do not be afraid to ask him what he expects of you. He will call some to the priesthood or the consecrated life, others to marriage and to forming a family. All are called to put their abilities at the service of others."
According to local authorities, some 60,000 people attended the event in the stadium, and another 300,000 followed the proceedings in the surrounding area.
The pope spoke after hearing the testimonies of three young adults who had experienced bullying, depression or the loss of loved ones before finding roles in the Church.
Leo noted the ambiguity of the word "passion," which young people are commonly encouraged to discover and pursue.
"We use it to speak of what we love deeply, what awakens our enthusiasm and moves us to give the best of ourselves. But the word also reminds us of suffering, of experiences that seem to extinguish our desire to keep going," he said.
The pope pointed to Christ's Passion as the model for distinguishing between the distinct but linked senses of the word.
"He did not desire the cross; he desired our salvation. Out of love for us, he accepted it and bore it to the end. Thus, through his self-giving, that instrument of death became the place where his passionate love was revealed, a love capable of conquering death."
Leo acknowledged that the Christian path can be a forbidding one.
"At times, we wonder whether following God's will means giving up our dreams. This fear can give rise to an even more dangerous suspicion: thinking that God is depriving us of something and that, in order to enjoy life fully, we also need to experience sin," the pope said.
"Do not be deceived. How could something that harms us make us happy? God knows our deepest desires, even better than we know them ourselves. He has placed within us the desire to love and to be happy, and he wants to bring that desire to fulfillment," he said.
