The weary but joyful faces of the pilgrims emerging at dawn on the vast grounds of Tor Vergata told the story of a short night, punctuated by festive drumbeats and a brief spell of rain, unexpected in August.
Shortly before seven o'clock, to the sound of loudspeakers broadcasting instructions, this mass of survival blankets, groundsheets, and sleeping bags began to organize itself — relatively speaking.
Pope Leo XIV, who had left the young people the night before after the vigil, arrived by helicopter around 7:30.
Taking up the popemobile, he traveled slowly through the large camp, reawakening the enthusiasm of the previous day.
But this sudden excitement quickly gave way to deep contemplation during the Mass, concelebrated with 450 bishops and 7,000 priests.
At the window of the encounter with God
Facing the vast colorful plain, the Pope emphasized in his homily the beauty of human frailty, comparing it to the fleeting but ever-renewed reality of grass in a field.
Think of the image of grass: Is not a field of flowers beautiful? Of course, it is delicate, made up of small, vulnerable stems, prone to drying out, to being bent and broken. Yet at the same time these flowers are immediately replaced by others that sprout up after them, generously nourished and fertilized by the first ones as they decay on the ground. [...] Even during the cold months of winter, when everything seems silent, its energy stirs beneath the ground, preparing to blossom into a thousand colors when spring comes.
As the sun gradually warmed the 96 hectares (about 235 acres) of the esplanade, the Pope spoke of the thirst for something greater that everyone feels in their hearts.
Warning against “cheap imitations,” he urged his audience to "turn this thirst into a step stool, like children who stand on tiptoe, in order to peer through the window of encounter with God."
"We will then find ourselves before him, who is waiting for us, knocking gently on the window of our soul," the Pope assured.
“It is truly beautiful, especially at a young age, to open wide your hearts, to allow him to enter, and to set out on this adventure with him towards eternity,” said the son of St. Augustine in a beautiful lyrical flourish.
He recalled the “intense search” undertaken in his youth by the Bishop of Hippo, who, in his Confessions, addressed these words to God:
You [Lord] were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you […] You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you (cf. Ps 34:8; 1 Pt 2:3) now I hunger and thirst for more (cf. Mt 5:6; 1 Cor 4:11); you touched me, and I burned for your peace” (Confessions, 10, 27).
Don't settle for anything less than holiness
Recalling the words of Pope Francis at World Youth Day in Lisbon, his successor encouraged Catholic youth to embrace the "inner thirst, a restless, unfulfilled longing for meaning and a future."
The Pontiff retraced the path taken by young people in Rome and its surroundings during the week: their encounters, their exchanges, the time devoted to culture or to the sacrament of penance.
Through all this, you can grasp an important point: the fullness of our existence does not depend on what we store up or, as we heard in the Gospel, on what we possess (cf. Lk 12:13-21). Rather, fullness has to do with what we joyfully welcome and share
Leo XIV invited young people to cultivate their friendship with God, naming five keys to cultivating the relationship:
prayer,
adoration,
Eucharistic Communion,
frequent Confession,
and generous charity,
He pointed to the examples of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and Blessed Carlo Acutis who will be canonized September 7.
Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less. You will then see the light of the Gospel growing every day, in you and around you
The Pope finally entrusted the million of souls united in prayer “to Our Lady of Hope,” and had a special thought for the young people who were unable to come to Rome during this week.
With her help, as you return to your countries in the coming days, in every part of the world, continue to walk joyfully in the footsteps of the Savior, and spread your enthusiasm and the witness of your faith to everyone you meet! Have a good trip home!
Full text of the homily is below:
