The Evangelical Pope | Strive to Be YOU!

Each week we let Saint Pope John Paul II share meaningful signposts to spark socio-economic resolves through justice and righteousness combined with mercy and compassion; in short, love.

               ¹⁰ So do not fear, for I am with you;
               __ Isaiah 41:10 (New International Version NIV)

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Isaiah 41:10 in all English translations

The Vatican, 8 January 1984 | The first appeal I want to address to you, young men and women today, is this: Do not be afraid! Do not be frightened of your youth and your deep desires for happiness, truth, beauty, and lasting love!

Young People, Do Not Be Afraid of Your Youth

Sometimes people say that society is afraid of these powerful desires of young people and that you are fearful of them. Do not be afraid! I feel tremendous gratitude and hope when I look at you, the young people. The future far into the next century lies in your hands. The future of peace lies in your hearts. To construct history as you can and must, you must free history from the false paths it is pursuing. To do this, you must be people with a deep trust in humankind and a deep faith in the grandeur of the human vocation - a vocation to be pursued with respect for truth and the dignity and inviolable rights of the individual.

What I see arising in you is a new awareness of your responsibility and a fresh sensitivity to the needs of your fellow human beings. You are touched by the hunger for peace that many share with you. You are troubled by so much injustice around you. You sense overwhelming danger in the gigantic stockpiles of arms and in the threats of nuclear war. You suffer when you see widespread hunger and malnutrition. You are concerned about the environment today and for the coming generations. You are threatened by unemployment, and many of you are already without work and the prospect of meaningful employment. You are upset by the large number of people who are oppressed politically and spiritually and who cannot enjoy the exercise of their fundamental human rights as individuals or as a community. All this can give rise to a feeling that life has little meaning.

In this complex world, you may be tempted to escape from responsibility: in the allure of alcohol and drugs, in fleeting relationships without commitment, in indifference, cynicism, and even violence. But beware of a world that seeks to exploit or misdirect your search for happiness and meaning. Instead, embrace the search for accurate answers to the questions that confront you. Do not be afraid to seek truth and meaning in life!

The Inevitable Question: What is Your Idea of Humanity?

Among the inevitable questions you must ask yourselves, the first and foremost is this: What is your idea of humanity? What, to you, makes up the dignity and the greatness of a human being? This is a question that you young people have to ask yourselves but which you also put to the generation that has preceded you, to your parents, and to all those who at various levels have had the responsibility of caring for the goods and values of the world.

In the attempt to respond to this question honestly and openly, young and old can be led to reconsider their actions and their histories.

               Is it not true that people, especially in the more developed and more prosperous nations, have given in to a worldly idea of life?

               Is it not true that parents sometimes feel that they have fulfilled their obligations to their children by offering them more material goods as the answer to their lives, beyond the satisfaction of necessities?

               Is it not true that, by doing this, they are passing on to the younger generations a world that will be poor in essential spiritual values, peace, and justice?

Is it not equally valid that in other nations, the fascination with certain ideologies has left to the younger generations a legacy of new forms of enslavement without the freedom to pursue the values that genuinely enhance life in all its aspects?

Ask yourselves what kind of people you want yourselves and your fellow human beings to be and what culture you want to build.

Do not be afraid of the answers, even if they require a change of direction in your thoughts and loyalties.

Excerpted from:
Message of His Holiness Pope John Paul II for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace, PEACE AND YOUTH GO FORWARD TOGETHER, 1 JANUARY 1985

https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/messages/peace/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_19841208_xviii-world-day-for-peace.html