Hajja Salesjana - September October 2016

25 as “sofa-happiness” – in other words, the paralysis of confusing happiness with the sense of comfort, freeing us up to escape into the world of videogames and the computer, all the while keeping us at home with the illusion of safety. “That is probably the most harmful and insidious form of paralysis, since little by little, without even realizing it, we start to nod off, to grow drowsy and dull while others – perhaps more alert thanwe are, but not necessarily better – decide our future for us,” he said. “For many people, that is more convenient than having young people who are alert and searching, trying to respond to God’s dream and to all the restlessness present in the human heart.” The Pope challenged young people not to “vegetate” in a comfortable life, but reminded them of their call “to leave a mark.” “But when we opt for ease and convenience, for confusing happiness with consumption, then we end up paying a high price indeed: we lose our freedom,” he said. “This is itself a great formof paralysis, whenever we start thinking that happiness is the same as comfort and convenience, that being happy means going through life asleep or on tranquillizers, that the only way to be happy is to live in a haze.” In contrast to this life of “sofa-happy” paralysis, Pope Francis said, “Jesus is the Lord of risk, of the eternal 'more'.” “Jesus is not the Lord of comfort, security and ease. Following Jesus demands a good dose of courage, a readiness to trade in the sofa for a pair of walking shoes and to set out on new and uncharted paths.” He told young people to take the path of the “craziness” of our God, by which he means caring for those in need, be they neighbors, prisoners, friends, refugees, or migrants. “That is the secret, dear friends, and all of us are called to share in it. God expects something from you. God wants something from you. God hopes in you. God comes to break down all our fences.” “God comes to break open everything that keeps you closed in. He is encouraging you to dream. He wants to make you see that, with you, the world can be different.” “For the fact is, unless you offer the best of yourselves, the world will never be different.” It is not a time for young “couch potatoes,” the Pope said, but for protagonists of history. “History today calls us to defend our dignity and not to let others decide our future,” he said. For those concerned about their own limitations and sins, Pope Francis assured young people that the Lord is not concerned with what he have been or done, but “about everything we have to give, all the love we are capable of spreading.” “Jesus is inviting you, calling you, to leave your mark on life, to leave a mark on history, your own and that of many others as well,” he said. The Pope spoke of young people's role in teaching adults “how to live in diversity, in dialogue, to experience multiculturalism not as a threat but an opportunity.” “Have the courage to teach us that it is easier to build bridges than walls!” Concluding his address to the young people, the Pope said: “Today Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life, is calling you to leave your mark on history.” “He, who is truth, is asking you to abandon the paths of rejection, division and emptiness,” he said. “Are you up to this? What answer will you give, with your hands and with your feet, to the Lord, who is the way, the truth and the life?