JESUS AND YOUNG PEOPLE

John Paul Speaks

Notable quotations from Pope John Paul II and official
teachings of the Roman Catholic Church

"DO NOT BE AFRAID"

Do not be afraid to meet Jesus: indeed, seek Him in reading Sacred Scripture with attention and availability and in personal and communal prayer; seek Him in active participation in the Eucharist; seek Him as you meet a priest for the sacrament of Reconciliation; seek Him in the Church which is manifest to you in parish groups, movements, and associations; seek Him in the face of the suffering brother who is in need and a stranger.

LISTEN TO JESUS

"Listen!" Do not tire of training yourselves in the difficult discipline of listening. Listen to the voice of the Lord Who is speaking to you through the events of daily life, through the joys and sufferings that go with it, the people who are close to you, the voice of your conscience thirsting for truth, goodness and beauty.

"OPEN YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS"

If you are able to open your hearts and minds with availability, you will discover "your vocation", in other words, the plan that God in His love has devised for you from eternity.

"GOOD NEWS"

Through your own witness, you will be able to confirm that even amid all the difficulties and obstacles, it is possible to live Christian marriage to the full as an experience filled with meaning and ... "good news" for all families.

"AN UNDIVIDED HEART"

Or if this is your vocation, you will be a priest or a Religious, giving your life to Christ and to the Church with an undivided heart and thus becoming a sign of God’s loving presence in today’s world... You will be able to be an undaunted and unflagging apostle, watchful in prayer, cheerful, and welcoming in community service.

"THE TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW!"

"Set out on your way!" Do not be content with discussion; Do not wait to do good for opportunities that may never come. The time for action is now!

"THE TESTIMONY OF YOUR LIVES"

You ... are called to proclaim the message of the Gospel with the testimony of your lives. The Church needs your energies, your enthusiasm, your youthful ideals to ensure that the Gospel permeates the fabric of society and inspires a civilization of authentic justice and love without discrimination.

DO NOT BE ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL

Now more than ever, in a world all too often deprived of light and the courage of noble ideals, it is not the time to be ashamed of the Gospel (cf. Rom 1:6). Rather, it is time to preach it from the rooftops (cf. Mt 10:27).

(Source: Address to Swiss youth, June 5, 2004, Bern, Switzerland)