We have to look to them, not to be stuck in the past, but to learn to find courage in adversityPope Francis continued his apostolic visit to Thailand, telling young people of the nation during a Mass at Bangkok’s cathedral that the secret to happiness is found in the lives of their elders.
The Holy Father has repeatedly urged young people around the world to find their roots in their grandparents, assuring them that forging a relationship with our elders is a key to building their own futures.
He made the same assertion at the Mass for young people in Thailand, as he reflected on the Gospel reading of the 10 virgins who did not have oil for their lamps.
“The problem was that some of them were not prepared, not because they had fallen asleep, but because they lacked the oil they needed for their lamps, the inner fuel to keep the fire of love burning. … This parable is about what can happen to any Christian.”
The pope told the youth that in light of this parable, he had three questions:
Do you want to keep alive the fire that keeps you burning brightly amid darkness and difficulties? Do you want to be prepared to answer the Lord’s call? Do you want to be ready to do his will?
Francis told them that in order to obtain this “oil,” they have to remember that they are heirs to a “precious history of evangelization that has been handed down to you as a sacred treasure. This beautiful cathedral is a witness to your ancestors’ faith in Jesus Christ.”
The pope specified that for the young people of today, the secret to a happy heart is in this faith.
Dear friends, in order that the fire of the Spirit will keep burning, so that you can keep your eyes bright and your hearts aflame, you need to be deeply rooted in the faith of your ancestors: your parents, grandparents and teachers. Not to be stuck in the past, but to learn to find the courage that can help us respond to ever new situations. They had to endure many trials and much suffering in their lives. Yet along the way, they discovered that the secret to a happy heart is the security we find when we are anchored, rooted in Jesus: in his life, in his words, in his death and resurrection.
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Pope: Grandparents aren’t an inconvenience!
