Some discover it at church, during a moment of prayer. Some during a trip, perhaps after a special encounter. Some in daily life, in the most diverse ways: a movie or book that makes you reflect; an accident or illness that forces you to remain in bed; a relationship that does not leave you fully satisfied, because you realize you want something else. The ways in which you discover that you are called by God to serve him by consecrating yourself to him are truly infinite, as infinite is the Lord’s imagination to speak to our hearts. Most of the time, this happens at a crucial time of making life choices: in one’s younger years, which today — because of the social changes we are experiencing — lasts much longer than it did a generation or two ago.
It is precisely to young people “who feel the call to serve Christ’s mission in priestly and religious life” that the Pope’s prayer intention for the month of February is dedicated, and Francis – in the accompanying video message – introduces the intention by talking about himself, his own story. For he was a young man like many (“when I was 17 years old I was a student and working, I had my own plans”), who probably imagined a future in the family and with children (“I didn’t think at all about becoming a priest”), but at a certain point he heard a knock on his own heart: “one day I entered the parish … and there was God, waiting for me!”
What happened to young Jorge continues to happen, every day, to thousands of girls and boys. And the Church, Francis tells us, must accompany them on this journey of growth and discernment: welcoming even their doubts, because the Holy Spirit also speaks “through the anxieties that young people feel,” and giving them confidence, because they can contribute meaningfully to the Church and the world. Do their words provoke us? Do they challenge us? This is precisely why we must listen to them even more: because they can show us new paths for the Church today, and even offer us an opportunity for our own conversion.
Andrea Sarubbi
Coordinator – The Pope’s Video