AsiaNews has the complete text of the Pope’s message to youth posted.

(There were about 25,000 present.)

Print it out and use it as the kick-off point for your youth group, religious ed class and Catholic school this fall:

Saint Francis speaks to all men and women, but I know that he has a special attraction for young people.  Your presence here in great numbers confirms this as do the questions you have put before me.  His conversion took place at the prime of his life, of his experiences, of his dreams. He had spent twenty five years without ever having come to understand the meaning of life.  A few months before his death, he will remember that period as a time when he was “in sin” (cfr. 2 Test 1: FF 110).

“Aimless wandering”, ambition and truth

What was Francis thinking of when he spoke of sins? According to biographies, each with its own line, it is not easy to determine. A useful account of his way of life is found in the Legend of the Three Companions, where it reads: “Francis was expansive and highly strung, addicted to gaming and song, he wandered aimlessly throughout the city of Assisi by day and by night with friends of his cast, so generous in his spending on luncheons and other delights all that he could have or earn” (3 Comp 1,2: FF 1396). How many young people of today could be described in a similar way? Now there is also the possibility to go beyond our own cities in search of enjoyment.  Each weekend recreational events gather the youth in great numbers.  Now we can also “wander” virtually “surfing” the net, in search of all kinds of information and contacts.  Unfortunately there is no small number – actually there are far too many! – young men and women who search for fatuous and destructive surroundings in the artificial paradise of drugs.  How can we deny that there are many young people, and some not so young, who are tempted to follow the lifestyle of the youthful Francis, before his conversion? Deep down, in that way of life there was the desire for happiness which inhabits each heart.  But could that life give true joy? Francis certainly did not find it to be so.  You, my dear young people can test this from your own experience.  The truth is that finite things give the weak impression of joy; only the Infinite can fill the heart. This was said by another great convert Saint Augustine: "for Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee" (Confess. 1,1).

The same biographical text tells us that Francis was quite vain. He liked to have sumptuous clothes tailored for him and sought to be original. (Comp 1, 2: FF 1396). In vanity, in the search for originality, there is something which touches us all directly. Today there is much talk about “taking care of one’s image” or “keeping up with appearances”. In order to have the slightest chance of success, we have to strike others with something new, original. In a certain way, this may be expressed in an innocent desire for acceptance. But all too often it is penetrated by a subtle pride, an excessive search for ourselves, egoism and the desire to outdo others.  In real terms, a life which revolves around oneself is a death trap: we can only be ourselves if we open up to love, by loving God and others.

Another aspect which left a marked impression on Francis’ contemporaries was his ambition, his thirst for glory and adventure. This was what drew him onto the battle field, and led to him becoming a prisoner for a year in Perugia. This same thirst for glory also brought him to Puglia, in a new military campaign, but it was at this point, in Spoleto, that the Lord made himself known to Francis’ heart, inducing him to retrace his steps and listen seriously to his Word.  It’s interesting to note how the Lord took up this trait in Francis, his desire to succeed, to indicate the road to saintly success, stretching out into infinity: “Who can be of more use: the Lord or the servant?” (3 Comp 2,6: FF 1401), this was the question that he heard echo in his heart. As if to say: why content yourself to be dependent on other men, when there is a God ready to welcome you to his home, to his royal service?

Dear young people, you have reminded me of some of the pressing issues for youth today, of your difficulties in building a future for yourselves and above all of your strained efforts to discover the truth.  In the account of Christ’s passion we find Pilates question: “What is the truth?” (Jn 18,38). It is a question which resounds widely throughout modern day culture.  The Gospel indicates Christ as the truth: God’s truth and man’s truth.  We risk spending our entire lives deafened by the chaos of empty voices, we risk losing his voice among the din, the only voice which counts because it is the only voice which saves. We content ourselves with fragments of the truth, we allow ourselves to be seduced by truths that are only such in appearance.  Is it really a wonder, then, that we find ourselves surrounded by a world of contradictions, which, despite the many marvellous things, so often deludes us with its banal expressions, its injustices, and its violence?  Without God, the world looses its basis and its direction.  Do not be afraid my dear friends, to imitate Francis above all in the ability to turn to yourselves. He knew how to make room for silence within himself, to listen to God’s Word. Step by step he allowed himself to be taken by the hand and guided by God towards a full encounter with Christ, to the point of making it the precious treasure and light of his life.

Snip

My dear youth, your presence here today in great numbers is a sign of how much the figure of Francis speaks to your heart. I willingly give you once again, his message, but above all his life and his testament. The time has come for young people, like Francis, to commit themselves and learn how to enter into a personal relationship with Christ. The time has come for us to look upon the history of this third millennium which has just begun a history that needs more than ever to be lifted by the Good News of the Gospel.

He ends with a reference to Loreto, at which there will be a gathering of youth in early September, and at which he will be present.