Pope Francis urges religious to help young people realize their great need for God in their lives as he welcomes Oblates of St. Joseph in the Vatican.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
“The young people do not need us, they need God!” stressed Pope Francis to participants in the XVIII General Chapter of the Congregation of the Oblates of St. Joseph on Monday in the Vatican.
Addressing the religious congregation founded by St. Joseph Marello in 1878, the Pope recalled, “As you know, my family also has roots in Asti.”
“We share common origins in that land of Piedmont, which gave birth to your founder, St. Joseph Marello,” he reminded.
Remembering their Chapter’s theme is the phrase from St. Paul to Timothy: “I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you” (2 Tim 1:6), the Pope said, “these are demanding words.”
In them, he pondered, you “recognize yourselves as beneficiaries of a gift,” namely, “the holiness of your founder,” and “commit yourselves to the responsibilities that come with it, to safeguard and make fruitful the talents received by placing them at the service of others today.”
St. Joseph, guardian of the Holy Family
These two attitudes of gratitude and responsibility, the Pope said, are well reflected in the figure of St. Joseph, “the guardian of the Holy Family,” who, he highlighted, “is the model, he who inspires, and the intercessor, of your Congregation.”
Reflecting on the beloved Saint, the Pope reminded them he himself keeps a ‘sleeping St. Joseph’ statue in his room.
“One of the striking things about the Holy Spouse of Mary is the generous faith with which he welcomed into his home and life, a God who, contrary to all expectations,” the Pope marveled, “presented Himself at his door in the son of a fragile girl, lacking any possibility of making claims.”
Keeping this in mind, the Pope urged each of them to root their lives of faith and their religious consecration in “a daily ‘being’ with Jesus.”
“Root your life of faith and religious consecration in a daily ‘being’ with Jesus.”
Sustains us amid our fragility
This, the Pope who had declared a Year of St. Joseph observed, “is primarily how St. Joseph responded to the immense gift of having the Son of God made man in his home: by being with Him, listening to Him, speaking to Him, and sharing daily life with Him.”
Each of us, with our own fragility, Pope Francis recognized, cannot stay standing without the Lord who sustains us.
Therefore, he encouraged them always to cultivate a good life of prayer, through participation in the Sacraments, listening to and meditating on the Word of God, and Eucharistic Adoration, both personally and as a community.
As he called on those before him to reflect on their own sins, the Pope suggested that we all need to stay so close to the Lord, that, when we start to slip into sin, we can cling to Him and are able to stay afloat.
Their prayerfulness and closeness to God, the Pope encouraged, “will positively reflect on your apostolate, especially on that mission that characterizes you as ‘apostles of the youth.’”
Young people need God
“The young people do not need us; they need God!” Pope Francis underscored, saying, “The more we live in His presence, the more we are capable of helping them encounter Him.” The youth, the Pope reminded, have a great potential for good, and “just waiting to bloom and bear fruit if supported and accompanied by wise, patient, and generous guides.”
“Young people do not need us; they need God! The more we live in His presence, the more we are capable of helping them encounter Him.”
While it “is a great task that takes a lot of work,” he said that especially in our times it remains “indispensable.
Pope Francis concluded by thanking the Oblates of St. Joseph for their service and generosity to the Church and society.
Pope welcomes Oblates of St. Joseph
