Pope Francis shared that he hopes to see “a seed for the world’s future” in Lisbon. “A world where love is at the center, where we can sense that we are sisters and brothers. We are at war; we need something else. A world that is not afraid of witnessing to the Gospel. A joyful world — because if we Christians have no joy, we are not credible, no one will believe us.”
With the motto “Mary arose and went with haste” (Luke 1:39), Pope Francis will encourage the young people to follow the example of Mary to “set out on a journey, in haste, to help” others.
The video promoting the pope’s prayer intention starts with a group of young people on a video chat saying that when they go to church they only see “old people.”
They then ask, “Is the Church only for old people?”
“The Church is not an old people’s club any more than it is a youth club,” the pope replied.
The video concluded with a prayer: “Let us pray that the World Youth Day in Lisbon will help us young people to set out on the journey, witnessing to the Gospel with our own lives.”
Pope Francis’ prayer video is promoted by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which raises awareness of monthly papal prayer intentions.
According to Bishop Américo Aguiar, President of the Lisbon 2023 WYD Foundation, “the meeting is essentially a meeting of young people with the Pope, an encounter of young people with young people, and an encounter of each young person with the person of the living Christ.
On this journey, I expect everything and expect nothing. Expecting everything, I hope that all of the young people will be touched by the Pope’s words and that each young person has an encounter with the Lord of Life. To expect nothing is to trust totally, to give all that I have and am, expecting nothing in return. I will strive each day, but most especially in the last days, for the complete detachment of one who knows it is not possible to carry out this immense task without the efficacious presence of the Risen Jesus.” he added
Read also:https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254938/this-is-pope-francis-prayer-intention-for-august-2023
