New Letter from Pope Francis: Christ is Alive!

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02/04/2019 - Vatican City

POST-SYNODAL APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION

CHRISTUS VIVIT

OF THE HOLY FATHER
FRANCIS

TO YOUNG PEOPLE AND TO THE ENTIRE PEOPLE OF GOD

This wonderful letter is a "must-read" for all age groups. For all of us who know young people, let's seek a way to put at least one young person in touch with these encouraging words of Pope Francis.

Here is the Introduction to whet your appetite and lead you to read the whole document.

1. Christ is alive! He is our hope, and in a wonderful way he brings youth to our world, and everything he touches becomes young, new, full of life. The very first words, then, that I would like to say to every young Christian are these: Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive!

2. He is in you, he is with you and he never abandons you. However far you may wander, he is always there, the Risen One. He calls you and he waits for you to return to him and start over again. When you feel you are growing old out of sorrow, resentment or fear, doubt or failure, he will always be there to restore your strength and your hope.

3. With great affection, I address this Apostolic Exhortation to all Christian young people.It is meant to remind you of certain convictions born of our faith, and at the same time to encourage you to grow in holiness and in commitment to your personal vocation. But since it is also part of a synodal process, I am also addressing this message to the entire People of God, pastors and faithful alike, since all of us are challenged and urged to reflect both on the young and for the young. Consequently, I will speak to young people directly in some places, while in others I will propose some more general considerations for the Church’s discernment.

4. I have let myself be inspired by the wealth of reflections and conversations that emerged from last year’s Synod. I cannot include all those contributions here, but you can read them in the Final Document. In writing this letter, though, I have attempted to summarize those proposals I considered most significant. In this way, my words will echo the myriad voices of believers the world over who made their opinions known to the Synod. Those young people who are not believers, yet wished to share their thoughts, also raised issues that led me to ask new questions.

Pope Francis divides his reflections as follows:

What does the word of God have to say about young people?
Jesus, ever young
You are the “now” of God
A great message for all young people
Paths of youth
Young people with roots, firmly grounded
Youth Ministry
Vocation
Discernment

And to conclude… a wish

Dear young people, my joyful hope is to see you keep running the race before you,
outstripping all those who are slow or fearful.
Keep running, attracted by the face of Christ, whom we love so much,
whom we adore in the Holy Eucharist and
acknowledge in the flesh of our suffering brothers and sisters.
May the Holy Spirit urge you on as you run this race.
The Church needs your momentum, your intuitions, your faith.
We need them!
And when you arrive where we have not yet reached,
have the patience to wait for us.

Please share this letter with one young person - at least!