THIS IS THE YOUTH OF THE POPE!…
~ A Reflection by Sr. Martha Lopez, MSC
This is the Youth of the Pope… is the expression that still resonates in the hearts of all of us who participated in the World Youth Day in Panama! I would like to share with you that I feel younger than ever, after having lived this experience. [This was an] experience that was an explosion of life, of enthusiasm, of color, of celebration, of joy … of the joy of the gospel. Undoubtedly, it was a celebration of united nations and young people hungry for God!
We were 140 youth from Ascension Church in Denver, and we can say that it was worth it to make so many efforts to travel. As a reward, we have been able to receive an injection of life, of love for the Church, of commitment to our own vocation. We were able to discover a young Jesus and a teenage Mary who said: Here is the servant of the Lord.
I am sure that the Lord has touched the hearts of many young people, as he has touched my own. I feel a great missionary fire and a great passion to help our young people discover and assume their vocation. I believe that many young people confirmed their call to consecrate themselves in the priestly or religious life. In our group we had four young women and three young men who are seriously considering religious and priestly life. With them we had special meeting moments and we are planning to live a VOCATIONAL missionary experience in the next Holy Week ….
May our hearts remain young and passionate for the young and that we make the words of Pope Francis to the Central American bishops come true: “You must accompany, support and welcome the young … Rob them from the street, before it is the culture of death that, selling them smoke and magic solutions, seizes and takes advantage of their imagination, and do it not with paternalism, from top to bottom. They are the Face of Christ for us and we cannot reach Christ from top to bottom, but from bottom to top. ”
Thank you for the opportunity that the Province gave me to have lived this experience. I hope to spill the fruits that the Lord expects from me. May we are capable of “creating a mess, a constructive mess, a loving mess, a mess that comes from knowing Jesus”!