Lenten campaign 2026
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Today's modern culture frequently encourages young people to "Be yourself," and to even "Remake yourself" in your own image.
The message it communicates to young people is that they do not have any foundation in their life and are meant to eternally move from one thing to the next. It teaches them to only pursue whatever feels "good" in the moment.
While this type of philosophy of life might provide momentary happiness, it never lasts and leaves the young person feeling more empty than before.
The cure to this ache that is inside each of us is to be firmly rooted in God.
Finding your roots in God
Pope Benedict XVI spoke about this solution when speaking to youth at the annual World Youth Day in Rome in 2011:
For this reason, dear friends, I encourage you to strengthen your faith in God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. You are the future of society and of the Church! As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians of Colossae, it is vital to have roots, a solid foundation! This is particularly true today. Many people have no stable points of reference on which to build their lives, and so they end up deeply insecure.
He then went on to explain where they should plant their roots:
The prophet Jeremiah wrote: “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit” (Jer 17:7-8). For the prophet, to send out roots means to put one’s trust in God. From him we draw our life. Without him, we cannot truly live.
Putting our trust in God is the only way we can have deep roots and a firm foundation. Otherwise we run the risk of trusting in ourselves and our own means.
Pope Benedict XVI encouraged young people to "build your own house on rock, just like the person who 'dug deeply.' Try each day to follow Christ’s word. Listen to him as a true friend with whom you can share your path in life."
God is not the enemy to our lasting happiness, but the key that unlocks it. If we want our young people to be secure in who they are, they need to see Jesus as their friend, whom they can trust with everything.
Without roots in God, our young people will continue to flit to and fro to whatever is trending at the moment.
